Year 3/4 Bulletin
Armadale Primary School
Term 4 Week 4Maths
Maths Focus Area: Interpreting and representing data
Learning intention: To compare and interpret two sets of data.
Problem: How Big Are Classes 5, 6 and 7?
How Big Are Classes 5, 6 and 7? | NRICH
The activity enabled the students to compare different ways of showing the same data. It encouraged them to think about what the data was telling them and how the titles and labels helped them understand the two graphs to solve problems.
The Lesson:
Whole Shared Activity: We began by sharing the story of the problem, revealing the two different graph representations on our screens. We invited the class to look at the two charts (a bar graph and a pictograph) and consider what they notice, and what they wonder.
The Story: Four pupils from Class 4, Ben, Ali, Katie and Charlene, decided to make graphs of the sizes of the seven classes in the school. Ben and Ali found out how many children there were in Classes 1, 2 and 3. Katie and Charlene found about Classes 5, 6 and 7. Of course they all knew the number of children in Class 4. Ben and Ali drew a bar chart. Katie and Charlene drew a pictogram but forgot to add a key to show the value of each picture.
Key questions
What is a reasonable number to try?
What can you find out about Class 4 from the bar graph?
Can you work out the number that each figure stands for from the two graphs for Class 4?
Individual Task: The Problem After sharing their ideas, we drew attention to the missing key on the pictogram and finally their challenge… ‘What should the key say?’
The students had to use the data given in each graph to then calculate/determine the value of each picture used in the pictograph. They were also asked to prove and justify the reasonableness of their answers. They worked systematically, discovering multiple possible solutions.
Once they had determined their key, it was then possible for them to calculate the number of students in classes 5, 6 and 7.
The Year 3/4 Team
Brigitte, Rosanna, Rachel & Vanessa
Email:
rosanna.caruso@education.vic.gov.au
brigitte.memmolo@education.vic.gov.au