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Science and Technology K–6 · Years 1–2

A week of weather as symbols and a picture graph

Digital Technologies, representation of data, and Earth and Space (NSW 2017); Digital Technologies, Data representation; Science understanding, Earth and space sciences (ACARA v9)

PracticalLow risk

The idea

Observations become data when they are recorded with agreed symbols, and a picture graph shows the pattern in one look.

What you need

  • The class's own weather symbols (sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, stormy) drawn on cards and as a digital sticker set on a tablet
  • A one-week chart with a morning prediction column and an afternoon actual column
  • A picture-graph grid: one column per symbol, one square per day

How to do it

  1. Each morning predict the day's weather with a symbol. Each afternoon record what it was with a symbol, on paper and on the tablet.
  2. On Friday count how many days had each symbol and colour that many squares in the graph column.
  3. Count how many predictions matched the actual weather.
  4. Show the graph to another class and ask them to say the week's most common weather without any words from you.
  5. Rebuild the graph on the tablet with the digital stickers and compare with the paper one.

What you should see

The two graphs agree square for square; the tallest column names the week's most common weather, and another class can check that it reads the week's most common weather from the symbols alone. The number of predictions that matched, out of five, is the class's own figure. The learner knows it worked when the column totals add up to five school days.

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 graph needs numbers written on it to be read.
  • Symbols mean the same thing to everyone without agreeing them first.

Safety card

Low riskLearners carry it out

Hazards

  • None

Controls

  • None needed

Note

No chemicals or heat. Record the activity on the school's risk assessment (Primary School RiskAssess, Ecosolve Australia, riskassess.com.au).

Curriculum references

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

  • Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2017), NESA. Current syllabus; NESA's timeline is 2026 plan and prepare, 2027 start teaching the 2024 syllabus. Code read from the official syllabus document on 2026-09-22.ST1-11DI-TST1-10ES-SST1-1WS-S
  • Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024), NESA. Implementation from 2027, so this code describes the future syllabus. Code read from the outcomes page on 2026-09-22.ST1-DAT-01ST1-SCI-01
  • Australian Curriculum v9AC9TDI2K02AC9S1U02AC9S1I03AC9S1I04AC9S1I06

Sources

The pages the author read to write this activity.

  1. www.scootle.edu.au/ec/search?accContentId=AC9TDI2K02
  2. www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/curriculum/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2017
  3. www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/teach-and-assess/classroom-resources/lesson-ideas/weather-data-representation
  4. primaryconnections.org.au/teaching-sequences/year-1/any-day-outdoors

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