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📊 Week 11: Thanksgiving Data

Lesson Overview
Grade Level Grades 5-6
Duration 45 minutes
Curriculum Year B
STREAM Focus M (Math - Data Science), T (Technology), R (Religion)

Week 11: Thanksgiving Data

🎯 Learning Objectives

STEM Objectives

Students will be able to: 1. Collect and analyze survey data 2. Create data visualizations 3. Tell stories with statistics 4. Use technology for data presentation

Faith Integration Objectives

Students will be able to: 1. Practice gratitude as spiritual discipline 2. See blessings through data lens 3. Share thanksgiving with others

Week 11: Thanksgiving Data

🙏 Faith-Reason Integration

Catholic Teaching Connection

Counting Blessings — When we quantify our blessings, we see God's generosity more clearly. Data science becomes a tool for gratitude, helping us recognize patterns of grace in our lives.

Scripture Connection

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances." — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Saint Connection

St. Ignatius of Loyola — Created the Daily Examen, a practice of reviewing each day to find God's presence. This systematic reflection is like spiritual data collection — noticing patterns of grace!

📚 Materials Needed

  • Survey tools (paper or Google Forms)

  • Computers/tablets for visualization

  • Graphing software or templates

  • Data analysis worksheets

  • Presentation materials

📝 Lesson Procedure (45 minutes)

Opening Prayer (2 min)

"Thank You, Lord, for more blessings than we can count! Help us use data to see Your generosity more clearly. St. Ignatius, teach us to notice God's presence in our daily lives. Amen."

The Examen & Data (8 min)

Spiritual data collection:

St. Ignatius' Daily Examen: 1. Become aware of God's presence 2. Review the day with gratitude 3. Pay attention to emotions 4. Choose one feature to pray about 5. Look forward to tomorrow

Discussion:

  • "How is this like data collection?"

  • "What patterns might you notice?"

  • "Why does Ignatius start with gratitude?"

Data thinking applied:

  • Systematic observation

  • Looking for patterns

  • Recording findings

  • Making meaning from data

  • Informing future decisions

Gratitude Data Collection (12 min)

Design and conduct survey:

Survey topics: 1. What are you most thankful for? (categories) 2. Who are you most thankful for? 3. What moment this week brought joy? 4. What blessing do you often take for granted? 5. Rate your overall gratitude today (1-10)

Survey process:

  • Create quick survey (paper or digital)

  • Everyone completes it

  • Collect responses

  • Compile class data

Data categories to track:

  • People (family, friends, teachers)

  • Things (home, food, possessions)

  • Experiences (events, memories)

  • Opportunities (school, activities)

  • Faith (God, church, sacraments)

Data Analysis (10 min)

Find patterns in gratitude:

Calculate:

  • Most common category of thanks

  • Average gratitude rating

  • Most mentioned specific blessing

  • Interesting outliers

Create visualizations:

  • Pie chart of gratitude categories

  • Bar graph of top blessings

  • Word cloud of responses (if tech available)

Analysis questions:

  • What does our class data reveal?

  • What patterns surprise you?

  • What do we take for granted?

  • How might data inform our prayer?

Data Storytelling (10 min)

Tell the story of gratitude:

Create infographic or presentation:

  • Class gratitude by the numbers

  • Visual representation of blessings

  • Key insights and patterns

  • Connection to faith

Include:

  • At least 2 visualizations

  • Key statistics

  • One faith insight

  • Call to action

Sharing:

  • Brief presentation to class

  • What does our data teach us?

Closing (3 min)

Personal application:

St. Ignatius challenge: "This week, try the Daily Examen. Before sleep, ask: 1. What am I grateful for today? 2. Where did I see God? 3. What challenged me? 4. What do I hope for tomorrow?"

Journal prompt:

  • Create your own gratitude data tracker

  • Commit to tracking for one week

Closing Prayer: "Thank You, God, for more blessings than we can count! Help us notice Your gifts every day. St. Ignatius, teach us the practice of daily gratitude. May we see patterns of grace in our lives and respond with joy. Bless our families this Thanksgiving season! Amen."

📎 Home Connection

"We used data science to explore gratitude today! Ask your child to share the class data visualizations. Try a family gratitude survey or the Daily Examen together. Research shows gratitude improves happiness — the saints knew this long before science!"

✅ Assessment

  • Designed and conducted survey

  • Analyzed data accurately

  • Created meaningful visualizations

  • Connected data to faith insights

Lesson Version: 1.0 — Year B | **