Data concept:
Band:
Suggested year level:
Relevant content description:
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Data representation
F-2
Year 1
Recognise and explore patterns in data and represent data as pictures, symbols and diagrams (ACTDIK002)
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Sort the Street is an activity from nRich. The nRich website is a fantastic resource that has numerous problems and activities to engage students in thinking and discussing mathematical concepts, including data representation and handling.
In this activity, students are given nine pictures of similar houses and asked to sort them in different ways. The activity could be completed "unplugged" by printing and laminating the pictures to make cards, or the students can use the online interactive version to organise the houses. Screenshots of various arrangements could be made as a record of student thinking.
If the students are working with physical cards, it is easier for them to work collaboratively on the task. This will encourage discussion about the various attributes and may broaden the students' thinking about different possibilities.
Students who can easily sort the houses using one attribute could be encouraged to sort on more than one attribute, such as firstly by door colour, then by height or number of windows. Hoops could be used to create Venn type arrangements or the cards can be arranged in columns and rows. The discussion around different ways of showing relationships leads into thinking about how data can be represented in diagrams.
The interactive activity on nRich requires Flash, so an alternative for using iPads would be to use a concept mapping tool such as Popplet. Students can use this tool to create a number of "popples" containing images that they can sort in different ways. Popplet is a useful tool for sorting and organising data represented as pictures, symbols or words.
As well as using the house cards, many classrooms have sets of attribute blocks or "counters" that can be used for creating patterns and sorting according to attributes. Students can be given a number of shaped counters and asked to arrange the counters into groups. They can then take a photo of their arrangement using the camera in their iPad and use an app such as Shadow Puppet EDU to add an oral explanation about their arrangement.
In this activity, students are given nine pictures of similar houses and asked to sort them in different ways. The activity could be completed "unplugged" by printing and laminating the pictures to make cards, or the students can use the online interactive version to organise the houses. Screenshots of various arrangements could be made as a record of student thinking.
If the students are working with physical cards, it is easier for them to work collaboratively on the task. This will encourage discussion about the various attributes and may broaden the students' thinking about different possibilities.
Students who can easily sort the houses using one attribute could be encouraged to sort on more than one attribute, such as firstly by door colour, then by height or number of windows. Hoops could be used to create Venn type arrangements or the cards can be arranged in columns and rows. The discussion around different ways of showing relationships leads into thinking about how data can be represented in diagrams.
The interactive activity on nRich requires Flash, so an alternative for using iPads would be to use a concept mapping tool such as Popplet. Students can use this tool to create a number of "popples" containing images that they can sort in different ways. Popplet is a useful tool for sorting and organising data represented as pictures, symbols or words.
As well as using the house cards, many classrooms have sets of attribute blocks or "counters" that can be used for creating patterns and sorting according to attributes. Students can be given a number of shaped counters and asked to arrange the counters into groups. They can then take a photo of their arrangement using the camera in their iPad and use an app such as Shadow Puppet EDU to add an oral explanation about their arrangement.