Introducing a Pet Project

“Which animal is the most popular to have as a pet?” This article introduces fifth-grade teachers and their students to the practices and procedures of data science (detailed within the Next Generation Science Standards’ science and engineering ­practices and performance expectations) while exploring and discovering the answer to the above question. While the topic area may seem simple, it is also engaging and familiar to most students. Even those students who have no pets will become highlighted members of the data collection process. Some of the skills that the students will learn and utilize during this study are (1) inquiry: by asking the “right” questions; (2) how to define details; (3) data collection and data visualization procedures; (4) math calculations; and (5) accurate interpretation of data. By starting with a small set of data, students will learn the above steps of data collection and processing. Then an ever-expanding database of potential pets, and more importantly, of pet owners, will guide them along a pathway of discovering a more accurate determination of the answer to the above posed question: “Which animal is the most popular to have as a pet?” Once the students understand the steps and details involved in data collection and interpretation, they will be able to apply these skills to discover answers to other intriguing questions.