Creating an Annual Report and Graphs

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Type:

E-book, Lesson Plan

Description:

In this lesson, students take the data they have generated, as well as their analysis of this data, and present it to the stakeholders in their business through means of an Annual Report. This lesson may take 2 or 3 45-minute class periods, depending on how much class time you wish to dedicate to it.

Subjects:

Educational Technology > General
Educational Technology > Careers
Educational Technology > Integrating Technology into the Classroom
Mathematics > General
Mathematics > Algebra
Mathematics > Careers
Mathematics > Equations
Mathematics > Graphing
Mathematics > Problem Solving
Mathematics > Statistics

Education Levels:

Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10

Keywords:

Algebra Linear Equations Graphing Linear Regression

Language:

English

Access Privileges:

Members

License Deed:

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Collections:

None

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On a scale of 0 to 3

This resource was reviewed using the Curriki Review rubric and received an overall Curriki Review System rating of 3, as of 2009-07-10.

Component Ratings:

Technical Completeness: 3
Content Accuracy: 3
Appropriate Pedagogy: 3

Reviewer Comments:

This section allows the students to reflect on what went well and what less well. Again, this is an aspect of work, collaborative or otherwise, that students rarely learn in school. ……………………………………………..………………………….…….…………….……………………………………….. This resource is part of a 8 week unit for an elementary Algebra class. The unit (Teaching Linear Equations through Running a Small Business) covers linear equations, linear regression, and uses the simple economics of running a small business to illustrate the ideas. It requires the teacher to integrate the material with various skills, including use of the Internet and other technologies. It is an ambitious and ultimately rewarding undertaking.

Not Rated Yet.

Group Size: Any

Learning Objectives:

1. Students will create original analyses of their performance and report this analysis in written form as an Annual Report.

2. Students will create appropriate graphs to communicate essential information about their project.

Materials:

Student report spreadsheets and tally spreadsheets

Computers with Microsoft Word and Excel programs

Scanner (if you choose not to use graph-making functionalities of Excel)

Procedures:

This lesson should be the major wrap-up lesson of the project. In it, students will work collaboratively to generate an Annual Report for stakeholders in their business.

To begin, lead a brief discussion on what an Annual Report is and what information it should contain. Next, lead a class discussion about what salient pieces of information should be included in the narrative. Suggestions include:

The process of creating and running the business
The dates/times when the business was run
Who did what?
Final results on cost, revenue, and profit, as well as marginal profit (profit per unit sold).
Any anecdotes the students may want to include
Graphs of sales results by day and cost breakdowns

After deciding on the information to be included, break the students up into groups according to their interests. Some students should work on the actual narrative for the report. Another group can work on creating a line graph of the sales results by day (using Excel, or on pencil and paper). A final group should create a pie graph of the break down of costs (i.e. what percentage of the total costs did cups represent? etc.). Again, they can either use the graph functionalities of Excel (recommended) or use pencil and paper. If the groups use pencil and paper methods, you should scan their results into image files to be included in the finalized report.

Once the students have created all of the essential elements, either a group of students can compile them into one file, or you can do so after class. You may choose to include pictures of the students preparing or selling the products as well. When the finalized report is finished, print it out and give each student a copy for their portfolio, as well as distributing it to any administrators that may be interested.