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Mathematics K–6 · Years 1–2

Tally, table, picture graph: a class survey

Statistics and probability

PracticalLow risk

The idea

Answers to a question can be collected with tally marks, organised in a table and shown in a picture graph where one picture stands for one answer.

What you need

  • a survey question with four choices (for example how did you get to school today: walk, car, bus, bike)
  • a tally sheet and a table with a row for each choice
  • 30 identical sticky notes or picture cards
  • a large sheet of paper with a baseline drawn

How to do it

  1. Ask every child the question once. Make one tally mark for each answer, bundling the fifth mark across the four.
  2. Count the tally marks and write the totals in the table. Check that the totals add up to the number of children asked.
  3. Each child places one sticky note in the column for their answer, starting on the baseline and touching the note below.
  4. Read the graph: which column is tallest, which is shortest, how many more chose the most common answer than the least common.
  5. Ask a new question and repeat, then compare the two graphs.

What you should see

The tally totals and the sticky-note columns agree, and both add up to the number of children asked. The tallest column is the most common answer and the difference between two columns is found by matching notes one to one. When a note is placed with a gap, the column looks taller than its count and the class corrects it.

What changes

This activity lists no variables to change, measure and keep the same.

Common misconceptions

Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.

  • A column with bigger pictures shows more people.
  • The first column on the left is always the biggest.

Safety card

Low riskLearners carry it out

Hazards

  • none beyond ordinary classroom materials

Controls

  • none needed

Note

No chemicals or heat are used, so the NSW Department of Education Chemical Safety in Schools package is not needed; ordinary classroom supervision under the school's usual risk management.

Curriculum references

The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.

  • Mathematics K-10 Syllabus (2022), NSW Education Standards AuthorityMA1-DATA-01MA1-DATA-02MAO-WM-01
  • Australian Curriculum v9AC9M1ST01AC9M1ST02AC9M2ST01AC9M2ST02

Sources

The pages the author read to write this activity.

  1. curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/mathematics/mathematics-k-10-2022/outcomes
  2. vocabulary.curriculum.edu.au/MRAC/2024/04/LA/MAT/b8282bbd-0271-4bce-9ae2-52f6b23a456c
  3. www.mathematicshub.edu.au/planning-tool/1/statistics/acquire-record-and-represent-data
  4. resolve.edu.au/v84-sequences/statistics-planning-playgrounds

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