Mathematics
Advanced
50 mins
Teacher/Student led
Learning Goals
Learning Outcomes
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+105 XP
What you need:
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

Data and Chance Investigation: Survey and Show

Run the full data cycle: pose a question about your class, tally the answers, build a bar chart, find the mode, and write a sentence about what the next person is likely to choose.

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    1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

    Key point

    All year we have asked questions, kept tallies, and drawn pictograms and bar charts. Today you do the whole job from start to finish: ask a question, count the answers, show them in a chart, and say what you found.

    Illustration for Getting StartedWhat one question would you most like to ask our class? Something with just a few answers to choose from.

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +5 XP

    2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

    Here is the whole data cycle run once, for the question What is your favourite season? First the tally, then a bar chart made from the same counts. See how each tally count matches the height of its bar, and look for the answer that came out on top.

    Which bar is tallest? That answer is the mode. Now the last step: turn that mode into a chance sentence. Because most of the class chose that answer, the next person is likely to choose it too. Not certain, just likely, because it had the most.

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +10 XP

    3 - Try It Together ~9 mins

    Now we run the cycle live for our own class. First we put our chosen question and its answers up here on the board. Then a quick show of hands for each answer fills the tally row by row on screen. When the tally is full, we read down it together to see which answer came out on top.

    Our class survey

    +15 XP

    4 - Copy the Class Tally Into Your Copy ~2 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    Take your printed tally template. Write our class question at the top, then copy across the tally we just filled in together on the board, one row for each answer. You will use the copied tally in the next step to build the bar chart and find the mode.

    +10 XP

    5 - Class Challenge ~10 mins

    Key point

    Now it is your turn on paper, on your own. You already have the class tally copied onto your template, so you do not need to ask anyone again — the data is done. Use your printed bar-chart canvas and work through these steps in order:

    • Read the counts off your tally, one row at a time.
    • Build a bar chart on the canvas, with a scale that fits the biggest count.
    • Read off the mode — the tallest bar.
    • Add one chance sentence about the next person, using the word likely.

    Can you turn the class tally into a bar chart, read the mode, and write a chance sentence?

    Read the tally counts → build a bar chart → read the mode → add a chance sentence.

    1. Read the counts off the tally you copied, one row at a time, and write each number down.
    2. Build a bar chart on your canvas with a scale that fits the largest count, and set each bar to its tally count.
    3. Read off the mode — the tallest bar — and name what it stands for.
    4. Write one chance sentence about the next person, using the word 'likely'.

    Ways to start:

    • Use the class tally you already copied onto your template — the data is done, so start straight at reading the counts.
    • If you get stuck on the chart, count the tally in each row first and write the number down before drawing the bar.

    Stretch:

    • Could two answers tie for the mode? What would that look like on your chart?

    Record: bar chart drawn on the printed canvas from the copied tally, with the mode and one chance sentence written underneath

    Share back: one pupil reads out the mode and the chance sentence for the class to agree

    Answers & strategies (teacher)
    1. Read the counts off the tally you copied, one row at a time, and write each number down. — A list of counts, one per answer, e.g. sandwich 12, pasta 6, salad 4, wrap 8.
    2. Build a bar chart on your canvas with a scale that fits the largest count, and set each bar to its tally count. — A bar chart where each bar height matches its tally, e.g. bars at 12, 6, 4 and 8 on a scale up to 12.
    3. Read off the mode — the tallest bar — and name what it stands for. — The tallest bar names the mode, e.g. 'Sandwich is the mode because it has the tallest bar.'
    4. Write one chance sentence about the next person, using the word 'likely'. — A sentence such as 'Sandwich is the mode, so the next person is likely to choose a sandwich.'
    +15 XP
    Pupil practice
    Module 9 · Data and Chance Data & Chance
    Lesson 114 · Data and Chance Investigation: Survey and Show
    Download Activity Book page (PDF)
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