Disguise Depot

poem by Diana Murray , illustrated by Tohby Riddle

Outcomes

Learning intentions:

I am learning to represent data visually so that I can explain how analytical figures help our understanding of verbal texts.

 

Success criteria:

  • I can create a digital presentation to sell a business
  • I can create a digital table and line graph
  • I can explain how charts, maps and tables help with the comprehension of verbal texts

 

After reading the poem as a class, explain that the owner of the Disguise Depot is looking to sell their business and has hired the students to put together a presentation for potential buyers. Tell students the buyers will want to know:

- What the business is selling.

- How it stands out from similar businesses.

- Its location (invented).

- How much it earned each quarter for the last year (Jan, April, July, Oct) and how much it earned yearly for at least the last ten years. These will be invented sales figures.

- Customer feedback (invented).

 

Remind students that all their information should correlate with the poem Disguise Depot.

 

The presentation can be done on PowerPoint or a similar program. Students can find pictures from the internet to enhance each slide. They should include a map to show the location. The quarterly sales figures should be done in a table. The yearly sales figures should be done as a line chart.

 

(Extension:  Capable students can also create a pie chart for their quarterly sales over the past year and/or a bar chart for the types of products sold in the past year – wigs, hats etc.)

 

If you have a digital subscription, complete the interactive activity Analysing Visual Data. Students can also use this resource for their reflection at the end of this activity.

 

Handy hints:

  1. To insert a picture (including their map) into PowerPoint, students can view the video or read the instructions on Microsoft’s webpage Insert a Picture in PowerPoint.
  2. To create a table in PowerPoint, students can view the video or read the instructions on Microsoft’s webpage Add a Table.
  3. To copy and paste a table from Excel into PowerPoint, students can view the video or read the instructions on Microsoft’s webpage Insert Excel Data.
  4. For information on how to create a line chart in PowerPoint, students can view the video or read the instructions on Microsoft’s webpage Insert a Line Chart.
  5. Customer feedback should be positive (this is a sales pitch, after all) and include a five-star rating. For example: My disguise was so good, I said hello to my reflection, thinking it was a stranger! Five stars.

 

Students accompany their slideshow with an oral presentation to either the class or small groups, pretending they are presenting to potential buyers.

 

Once complete, students write a reflection on how using a table, map and line chart in their sales presentation helped interest potential buyers. An example:

“Having visual data in my presentation meant buyers could easily see how well the business was doing. The table gave them a quick visual for the quarterly figures. The line chart made it obvious that profits were growing each year. The map showed buyers exactly where the business was located.”