Working With Data

• Have children participate in a survey to find the favorite music, pet, movie, or television show for their class. Tally the results and create a classroom graph. Then, if applicable, analyze the data to find the mode and range.

• Create a classroom display of bar graphs found in newspapers and magazines. Hold class discussions about the graphs. Challenge children to estimate the mode and/or range from the information displayed on the graph.

• Distribute photographs or magazine pictures that show multiple items. Have students find and tally the number of people, animals, and buildings found in the photographs.

• As an interdisciplinary activity, have children grow plants from seeds. Record the height of the plant each week for 8–12 weeks. Make a bar graph showing the heights. Have children find the week that the plant grew fastest.

• Have children bring to school a tiny box of raisins. Have them tally the number of raisins in the box. Combine results into a class bar graph that shows the number of raisins in each box. Calculate the mode and range. Then enjoy eating the raisins! (Note: You can repeat this activity with small packets of candy.)