Grade 4, Chapter 7 Investigation Organizer:
Go with the Flow!
Summary: Your group will gather information about traffic in your school. Use averages to help you. Make decisions about how to improve the flow of your school's traffic.
1. Plan It
A. Divide into groups. Select an area in the school to watch. Choose hallways, doorways, and cafeteria entrances.
B. Make a chart. Make a chart to keep track of your observations or use the Observation Chart here on Education Place.
![[Checkbox]](/math/mathcentral/graphics/chkbx.gif)
Our chart completed
2. Put It Together
A. Watch your area for 10 minutes. Observe the area from Monday through Friday, at the same time each day. Count each person who walks by, using numbers or tally marks. Make notes about what you see.
B. Find the average. On Friday find the average number of people who passed your area each day. Note this on your chart.
Our observations completed
3. Wrap It Up
A. Compare areas. Compare your area with those of other groups.
- Which locations were busiest?
- Which were the least busy?
B. Discuss. Talk about how you could improve traffic in your school.
- Where would you put up traffic signs?
- Would you make some areas one-way?
- What other changes would you make?
Our comparisons completed
4. Discuss Your Results
- Did you calculate the averages correctly?
- Was your note-taking on your school's traffic accurate?
- How clear is the information on your chart?
- How well did your group divide the tasks among members?
- How do averages give you a clearer picture of your school's traffic than just watching people?
Review completed
Return to Investigation Page.