November 19

What’s a Venn Diagram?

Simply put, a Venn Diagram is a tool to help us sort things. A man named John Venn (a logician) invented them a long time ago.

Have a look below at the diagram.

We made some of our own Venn Diagrams using hula hoops and various objects we found around the class. Can you guess how we sorted the following items in the pictures?

Students were then asked to find additional items to place in the Venn Diagram and this is what it looked like after they added new items found in the classroom. You will notice a few items placed outside the Venn Diagram. That is because they don’t belong in any of the categories within the Diagram.

Students have been working in their teams to sort numbers as well. Have a look at the action. Click on individual pictures to enlarge them:

Recently, Mrs. Sullivan created a Venn Diagram with fiction and nonfiction books. She was having trouble with what kind of book to put in the middle (that would have both fiction and nonfiction qualities). Jacob B offered a fantastic suggestion of putting a book in the middle that has fictional characters BUT is based on a real-life situation. So, he grabbed an I Survived book that is based on the story of the Titanic. Thanks for the great thinking, Jacob B!

What kind of items could you sort into a Venn Diagram?


Posted November 19, 2017 by MrsS in category 2017-2018, Math, Teacher Talk

3 thoughts on “What’s a Venn Diagram?

  1. Silvana

    Hi Mrs. S, I think that Venn diagrams are useful to sort things. If i was to make a Venn diagram i would use colours and sizes for example: sorting laundry or sorting christmas ornaments.

    Reply
  2. Quinn

    Hi Mrs.S,
    I couldn’t find how you sorted the items but the activity looked fun.
    I like doing Venn Diagrams because you get to see what are the same and what are different. You could of rolled dice and sort the dice by if there even or odd.
    -Quinn

    Reply
    1. MrsS (Post author)

      Quinn,
      Thanks for commenting! I’ll give you a hint about how we sorted the items (look at the colour and how the objects might FEEL if you were to touch them). Can you figure it out now?
      Mrs. S

      Reply

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