Source: Cyberchase: “Raising the Bar”
Funding for the VITAL/Ready to Teach collection was secured through the United States Department of Education under the Ready to Teach Program.
In this video segment from Cyberchase, Harry and Bianca have new jobs at a movie theater concession stand. They compete with each other to see who can sell the most snacks, and they report their sales using bar graphs. When their graphs are compared, it appears that Harry has sold more, but Bianca is not so sure, so she takes a closer look at the scale of each graph.
Download and ShareHere are some Frame, Focus and Follow-up suggestions for using this video in a math lesson.
What is Frame, Focus and Follow-up?
Frame: Data is information. There are many ways to keep track of data and communicate it to other people. For example, we can learn about statistics from a baseball game by reading about them in a paragraph or by viewing the data in a table or a bar graph. What kind of information have you seen displayed in bar graphs? What are the elements or parts of a bar graph?
Focus: As you watch, look carefully at Harry and Bianca’s bar graphs. It looks like Harry has sold more than Bianca has. Consider why, at first glance, this seems to be true. After Bianca suggests that everyone look more closely at the scale of the bar graph, consider why and how the scale makes a difference in determining who has sold the most.
Follow Up: In this video segment, what kind of information did the bar graphs display? What did the scales on these two bar graphs show? If they showed the same thing, then how were they different from one another? When you compare bar graphs, what elements must be the same in order to make a fair comparison?
HARRY: I am so stoked! I got a job in the movies. Even though it's only in a movie theater, it's show business!
BIANCA: Show business! I'm so excited. It's not the same as being on the screen, BUT it's in the same building. Yes!
HARRY: Excuse me.
BIANCA: No, go ahead.
HARRY: Excuse Me.
BIANCA: Sorry
HARRY: Harry
BIANCA: Bianca
MANAGER: You must be the new recruits.
BIANCA: Un huh.
HARRY: Un huh.
HARRY: Welcome to the theatre. Would you like butter with that? How about a drink?
HARRY: First Day?
BIANCA: Yeah. You?
HARRY: Yeah. Nervous?
BIANCA: A little. You?
HARRY: A little.
MANAGER: Speed. Speed is the key.
MANAGER: You have to keep records of your refreshment sales everyday -- a bar graph is the way we compare results. If you work fast, you become “Employee of the Month: and win free movies and refreshments!
HARRY: Hey, what can I do for you?
CUSTOMER #1 : I’d like some jellybeans.
HARRY: Jellybeans. Two, three. Oh, do you like chewy candy? We’ve got lots of chewy candy.
CUSTOMER #: Never mind, never mind.
HARRY: Peanut Butter?
BIANCA: Here you go!
HARRY: Ha! Done.
BIANCA: Popcorn, Get your popcorn here. Pop...
HARRY: That’ll be $12.95.
CUSTOMER #2: OK. That should do it.
HARRY: Oh, thank you.
HARRY: Welcome to the movies. Would you like some popcorn? How can I help you? I can help you. Would you like some candy? Maybe a soda? I can help you. No, wait. Wait.. No, no….
BIANCA: Hi, can I help you? How can I help you? Wait! I um, would you like to help you actually. What’s your name? Come here! Wait!
MANAGER: Our new recruits have done very well, selling more refreshments than the rest of you slugs! Ms. Bianca has a very nice graph. This shows her total sales for the month. Now Harry’s graph for the month. Wow! Look how much taller it is compared to Bianca’s. Well done boy! You look like a winner!
BIANCA: Wait a minute! May I see that?
BIANCA: Harry's graph is impressive, but look at his scale -- it increases by 1000. His total sales are $4000.
BIANCA: However, my graph seems half as tall, that is because my scale increases by 2000.
BIANCA: It's true, my bar doesn't go up as much, but the amounts represented are the same. I sold $4000 worth of refreshments --the same as Harry.
MANAGER: Well, I'll be popped, she's right. I should have compared the scales first. We have two winners!
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