Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute website: This Data Investigation and Interpretation Guide for Teachers provides information and a wide range of data activities.
Students conduct a simple survey to collect, organise and present data. In doing so, they demonstrate their understanding of how to use patterns to represent data symbolically.
A Unit For Years 1 and 2. This unit is part of a PowerPoint presentation suggesting activities you could use to introduce or reinforce the concept of ‘data representation and interpretation’.
In this sequence students learn to choose simple questions for a survey, gather responses and make simple inferences from their data. Consider having students design a survey they can send out to friends, to collect their data.
This data activity engages students in planning a party to meet the needs of the group. Students could plan a party for their family by using Face Time/iPhone to contact family members not directly in their home.
Students will explore the population numbers for key Australian endangered species through an outdoor conservation trail, with the data presented as a column graph. They will then have the opportunity to analyse and interpret the information found and suggest ways in which these endangered species could be protected.
Link: Cool Australia: Roots & Shoots-Endangered Data
Students complete a lighting audit of all the lights that are on in their classroom. With this information, students work together to create a plan for their classroom aimed at reducing energy related to lighting. Students could look at the lighting in their home rather than school.
Link: Cool Australia Website: Switch to Save – Lighting Audit
The Smash Maths website contains a range of online games relating to statistics and data for students.
Have students look for data around their home, including printed materials.
Questions to ask: How is the data represented? What other ways could the data be represented? What does the data tell us? How do you know this?
Pick a shelf and record what’s on it.
Questions to ask: Which item do you have the most/least of? How can you represent the items?
Which item has the largest/smallest mass? Which item is the tallest/shortest? Put the items in order of tallest to shortest.
The students should be using direct comparisons, not scales or tape measures to find the sizes. By year one and two they may start using an informal unit of measure, like a pop stick, match or shells.
The task exemplar document below uses M&Ms; alternatively you may wish to use Lego pieces, bottle tops, bread tags etc.