Dear Family,

Your student is creating and analyzing graphs to understand real-world situations. To make sense of data, they determine the real-world meanings of x- and y-coordinates. Students graph points and discover that a trend emerges. They make sense of patterns and use the patterns to solve problems. This work prepares your student to use graphs and analyze algebraic relationships in later grades.

NEW KEY TERMS

Axes, origin, coordinate, x-axis, x-coordinate, y-axis, coordinate system, ordered pair, y-coordinate

AT HOME ACTIVITY

A Graph of My Time

Ask your student to think about an activity they do on a daily basis, such as reading, doing homework, playing an instrument, or watching television. Together, record the amount of time spent on the activity every day for seven days. Use the grid provided and have your student create a line graph of the data they collected. They should include all the standard parts of a graph by adding a title, drawing and labeling the axes, and deciding which units and intervals to

use on the axes. Look at the graph together and discuss any trends you see.

• “Which days did you spend the most time on the activity? The least time? Why?”

• “Do you think this pattern would be the same if you kept track during a month? Why?”