Activity
Thanksgiving Travel Trends math activity: Desmos line graph
Create a line chart and use the chart to determine the travel trends over a unique 5 year span.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving has long been one of the busiest travel days in the U.S., with air travel volumes historically increasing year by year. According to TSA data:
- 2019: 2.3 million people traveled by air on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
- 2020: 60% decline in air travel, with significantly fewer passengers flying.
- 2021 and 2022: 2.3 million people traveling on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
- 2023: Air travel reached a new high, with a record-breaking 2.9 million passengers flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, surpassing previous records.
Share the Thanksgiving Travel Trends Data document with your student.
Thanksgiving Travel Trends Data document
Assignment: Create a Word document
Create and save a Word document called Thanksgiving Travel Trends. The student will add items to this document before turning the document in to his/her TSVI or classroom teacher.
Create a Line Graph using Desmos
First step: What must be done before you can create the line graph? (Determine the number of travelers for 2020.)
The student should show his math equation in the Thanksgiving Travel Trends document. (Hint: The student should use an equation editor such as JAWS Braille Math Editor or Microsoft Word’s Equation Editor, to write the steps for solving the equation.)
Example: Determine the number for 2020 by finding 60% of 2.3 million travelers.
2,300,000 x .60 = 1,380,000
2,300,000 – 1,380,000 = 920,000
There were 920,000 air travelers in 2020.
Resources for creating accessible equations
JAWS Braille Math Editor:
Microsoft Word’s equation editor:
Second step: Use Desmos Graphs to create a ling graph.
Visual example (for TSVI use) of the Thanksgiving Travel Trend line graph:
Link to the Thanksgiving Travel Trend Desmos line graph example
The line graph should include these things:
- Title
- Labeled x and y
- Data
- Adjusted graph settings (The line graph should take up the majority of the space on the graph, which requires setting the range of the x-axis and y-axis
Teacher hint 1: When adding numbers into the Desmos data table, you cannot have numbers in the millions. Instead, use 2.3 and indicate that this is in millions in the y label. Round to the nearest number.
Teacher hint 2: The default for Desmos line graphs is x-axis: -10 to 10 and y-axis: -7 to -7. Since the Thanksgiving Travel Trends begins with a year (2019), the points from the table are off the screen and not visible on the graph. Once all the data points are entered into the expression area, go to the Settings (wrench icon) and change the spread of the x-axis to 2018 through 2024 and y-axis to 0 through 5.
The student should copy the line graph URL link from Desmos and paste it into the Thanksgiving Travel Trend document.
If desired, have the student emboss the completed line graph before determining the trend.
Resource for creating a line graph
- Using a data table to create a line graph in Desmos (Step-by-step instructions and video tutorial on how to create a line graph)
Determine the Thanksgiving travel trend
- Using the data from the line graph, ask students to describe the trend.
- Thought provoking question: Why was there a significant decline in air travel in 2020?
- Write a sentence that describes where the data came from, the trend, and a reason for the drop in numbers.
(Example for teachers: The TSA data reveals some significant trends with a pattern that reflects the general growth of air travel, impact of COVID, the post-pandemic recovery and finally the culminating in 2023’s record numbers.)
The student should write the sentence describing the trend in the Thanksgiving Travel Trends document and share this completed document with his/her teacher.
Editor’s Note: The goal of this activity is to apply tech skills to complete a math assignment. To complete the activity independently or with limited prompts, the student should be familiar with an equation editor and with Desmos.
Resources
- Using a data table to create a line graph in Desmos (Video tutorial and step-by-step instructions using a screen reader)
- Thanksgiving Travel Trends activity: Math and Desmos line graph (Part 2: Apply the instructions from this post to the Thanksgiving Travel Trends activity!)
- Thanksgiving Car Travel Trends activity: Desmos line graph (Part 3: Independent practice)
- Thanksgiving Travel Trends activity: Desmos line graphs part 4 (Creating line graphs from tables in Word and creating line graphs with three lines)
By Diane Brauner
Back to Paths to Technology’s Home page
