>Possible Plot States in Play View

Purpose

This document gives examples of some different Plot States in Tuva Jr.'s Play View. Play View is the introductory phase of Tuva Jr., designed to be used when learners are first becoming acquainted with data and visual displays of data. This document is intended to give you ideas as you design your own lessons using Tuva's datasets and tools.

 

How to Use

Skim the examples to gain inspiration for different Plot States (graphical displays) you can use with students. When authoring activities, you can create and save a Plot State to give students as a starting point. Alternatively, you could give step-by-step directions to get students to reach the Plot State on their own.

 

Examples

Simple Comparison of Cards

This is the simplest way to have students interact in the Play View. By dragging and dropping two cards next to one another, students can answer simple compare and contrast questions such as “How are the two animals similar? How are they different?” or “Which animal card has the greatest length?” Students could also perform basic operations, such as subtraction.

 

Cards Grouped by Category

Once cards have been dragged into the Play View, Group Cards By and Order Cards By will appear in the bottom action bar. A list of categorical attributes will appear below Group Cards By. A list of numerical attributes will appear below Order Cards By. Students can group the cards by categorical attributes. In this example, we grouped the sea creatures by class. 

The Cards Grouped By Category Plot State introduces young students to the concept of a bar graph or dot plot. The groups with more cards in them have taller stacks. However, unlike in a bar chart, students can hover over the cards that make up the stack to read the information about the animal that each one represents.

Additionally, this Plot State can be used to craft questions using the basic operations. Clicking on the Count icon will show the total count above each column. From there, it is simple to craft word problems with addition, subtraction, multiplication or division.

 

Cards Ordered by Quantity

Selecting a numerical attribute from the Order Cards By action bar, makes this Plot State appear. It can be used to introduce students to concepts of variability and spread. This is a great place to begin asking questions about the range between the smallest and largest or where the cards lump together.  

 

 

Play View Using Icons

Another way Tuva Jr. helps students move from concrete to abstract thinking is by allowing them to toggle back and forth between cards and icons. Clicking Icon will change the cards into circles or, in some cases, specially shaped icons such as cats or rollercoaster cars. Using this view helps young learners understand that the card and the icon both represent an individual case. This scaffolds the transition that will occur later in their education, when the cases will be represented by data points.

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