Let me introduce you to a little known Google tool that can bring maths to life:
GoogleTrends . Haven’t heard of it? Well, you’re not alone. Check it out and I’m sure you’ll be opening a new tab to try it!
Why use Google Trends in your Classroom? If you teach Gr 3-6 Maths then this should be top of your list when you next cover data and graphing.
What is Google Trends? Allows users to view search term popularity over time as simple line graphs. It gets better in the fact you can compare search terms against each other and see remarkable trends, patterns and of course this elicits lots of curious…”why does it spike there?”…”what makes it drop off there?”…”I wonder if a different country has the same pattern?”
Comparing Roblox to Minecraft
AFL vs NRL in states of Australia
I guarantee students will be 500% more engaged in this maths lesson than graphing the favourite colours of their classmates (we’ve all done that lesson!).
I introduced trends to a Gr ⅚ class recently while we were just had a spare 5 minutes. Well that that 5 minutes turned into a full lesson full of curious inquiry….just how we want our learners to be!
Check our 2 minute guide to getting started with Google Trends:
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