Poll Builder Lesson Plans Overview

A poll is a research tool that helps explain what a group of people think about a subject. First you present the group with a question and a set of answer choices. Then each person in the group gets to vote for the answer which best describes their personal feelings or opinion. After collecting votes from the whole group, you look for a pattern in their answers. You can also ask the same question of different groups (i.e. boys and girls or children and adults) and see how each group answers.

A poll can be used to help a community make a decision and take action. It can also be used to understand the similarities and differences among individuals and groups of people.

Polls are a helpful tool for any research project. Use this Poll tool and lesson plans with whatever subject you are studying. It can also be used to make collaborative decisions in the classroom about academic activities and among friends about social issues.

Skills:

Learn what a poll is and how it works.

Learn how to use polls to gather information and make decisions.

Practice choosing poll subjects.

Learn how to formulate good poll questions and answer choices.

Practice basic survey skills of data collection, analysis and presentation.

Learn how to use a bar graph to represent votes and opinions.

Learn how to represent poll results using ratios and percentages.

Learn how to help peers understand an idea or an opinion.

Learn from classmates.

Learn how to present poll results and make collaborative decisions based on those results.

Practice using new functions and features of the XO Laptop.