Lesson Plan Title : The Average Temperature on Halloween Night

Age Range: Grade 3 through grade 5 (Elementary School)

Overview and Purpose: No one likes to wear a coat over their costume on Halloween. In this lesson students will look at the temperatures on October 31st over the past ten years, graph them, and find the average. Then they can discuss whether they think this year they will need to wear a coat or not.

Objective: The student will be able to

*plot the temperature on Halloween night for the past ten years.

*find the average temperature on Halloween night over the past ten years.

Resources:

Temperatures for Halloween night over the past ten years

Teacher created worksheet

Activities:

Have students create a graph using the temperatures on Halloween night for the past ten years. After they have finished, have them complete the worksheet.

Sample questions for the worksheet:

1. What year had the coldest temperature on Halloween night?

2. Did any years have the same temperature?

3. What was the range of temperatures?

4. What was the average temperature on Halloween night?

5. Based on this data, do you think you will need a coat on Halloween night this year? Why or why not?

Wrap Up:

Come back to this lesson after Halloween and discuss the temperature and whether students needed a coat or not. Students can determine if this year's temperature changed the average temperature at all.