Build: A Data Detective Report
Python Programming 2 Grades 9–12 2-day lesson 24 deliverables Teach students to plan, build and check a Python data report that answers two questions from a CSV file. Students pick School Lunch Survey, Park Bird Count, Game Sales or their own data and plan the columns, the math, the text bars and where bias could hide. They build it with csv.reader, save the results to a file and check it against a partner's hand count.
● Instant download · Lifetime access · Editable & print-ready
Print + digitalPDF, PowerPoint, Word & Google
Answer keysA key for every page
Built-in assessmentExit tickets + project rubric
45-minute daysEvery day planned and timed
A short coding level practices this lesson in CodeGrove, our code lab that runs in the browser. Students write the program, run it and check it, with no account and nothing to install. Use it with the lesson or as practice later.
Open the levelWhat does this lesson cover?
Students may start coding a data project before they know what they want to find out, and then trust numbers nobody has checked. This lesson makes them plan two questions first and compare the program's results with a hand count of five rows.
The build runs online in CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, on both days, so students need a computer or tablet. Students pick one of 4 builds: Game Sales, My Own Data, Park Bird Count or School Lunch Survey. The Data Detective Build level practices building a data report: reading a CSV file with csv.reader and next(), a dictionary count or total, an average, text bars with # marks and a results file written with "w". On the last day, students send the turn-in Form with their CodeGrove link. CodeGrove is free, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs.
Data Detective Build
Students build their data report in CodeGrove, check it against a hand count and turn it in with the turn-in Form. Students pick one of 4 builds: Game Sales, My Own Data, Park Bird Count or School Lunch Survey.
Everything that's included
00 Start Here
- READ FIRST: every file in the lesson and when you use it
- Teacher Guide and Pacing: the plan for each day, what to print and how to grade
- Skills map: which standards each day teaches
01 Present
- One editable PowerPoint deck for both days, 11 slides, with speaker notes
- Slide script: the speaker notes, printed
- Bell ringers: a short warm-up for each day
02 Student Handouts
- Guided notes: one packet for both days, in PDF and editable Word. Students fill in the blanks during the slides, with the word bank on the page
- Vocab slip: the lesson's words and what they mean, on one page
03 Labs
- Data Detective Build: students build their data report in CodeGrove, check it against a hand count and turn it in with the turn-in Form. Students pick one of 4 builds: Game Sales, My Own Data, Park Bird Count or School Lunch Survey
04 Activities
- Plan Your Data Report: students pick one data set and plan a report: two questions it can answer, the column and the math for each, the bars, the lines of results.txt and one place bias could hide
- Partner Check Log: a partner copies the first five rows of the student's data file and works out question 1 for them by hand
05 Assessment
- Exit tickets: quick questions that show who needs more help
- Project rubric: what the whole project is graded on, row by row
06 Answer Keys
- 3 answer key files: a key for each day (its bell ringer, notes and exit ticket) and the activity and lab keys
Digital: Google Forms™ + Google Slides™
- 3 Google Forms™ of the exit tickets and the turn-in Form, ready to copy into your Drive
- The multiple choice grades itself, and you grade the written answers
- A Google Slides™ copy of the deck, with the same slides and speaker notes, for Google Classroom™
Online: CodeGrove
- In CodeGrove: the Data Detective Build on both days, on a computer or tablet for each student
- Free to use, with no accounts, sign-ins or installs
Why teachers love this lesson
Planning comes before codingStudents write two questions, the column and math for each, the bars and the lines of results.txt on paper first.
A hand count checks the programA partner counts five rows by hand, and students compare the program's numbers on those same rows, then fix and recheck.
Print and digitalEvery page is a print-ready PDF, and the Google Forms™ and Google Slides™ let you teach the same lesson in Google Classroom™.
Real online labsStudents write and run real Python in CodeGrove, our in-browser code lab, on a computer or tablet, with no accounts or installs.
A key for every pageEvery day has its own answer key, and every written question has a sample answer and what to look for.
Every day fits a 45-minute classEach day's plan is timed activity by activity against real reading and writing speeds.
What Teachers Say
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How do I get the files after I buy?
Instant download right after checkout: PowerPoint and Word files you can edit, print-ready PDFs, and links that copy the Google Forms™ and Google Slides™ into your Drive.
Can I buy the whole unit or course instead?
Yes. This lesson is part of the Unit 5 bundle and the complete Python Programming 2 course. Both cost less than buying the lessons one at a time.
Is this AP Computer Science?
No. It is a full-year, non-AP second course in Python for grades 9 to 12. For AP, see our AP Computer Science A and AP CSP courses.
What should students know before this lesson?
Students know how to read and write files, read CSV files, count, find averages and print text bars.
Do students need computers?
Yes, on the CodeGrove days. Each student needs a computer or tablet that's online, and CodeGrove needs no account or install. The bell ringers, notes, exit tickets and quiz are on paper.
What formats are the files in?
Every page is a print-ready PDF. The slides are an editable PowerPoint and the guided notes an editable Word file. The exit tickets and the turn-in Form also come as Google Forms™, and the deck as Google Slides™.
Which standards does it cover?
Written for Florida's Intermediate Programming course (9007220). The skills map in the lesson shows which standards each day teaches.