Expected level of development
Australian Curriculum Mathematics V9: AC9M6ST01
Numeracy Progression: Interpreting and representing data: P5
At this level, students interpret and compare datasets using different data displays and visualisations.
Provide students with the opportunity to investigate different types of questions and related datasets. Make explicit the different types of datasets that students use in the data interpretation and comparison. For example, a summary might include:
- Categorical data (data sorted by categories, for example, favourite pet, hair colour, transport used to travel to work, rating scales)
- Nominal data: eye colour, ethnicity, favourite food
- Ordinal data: rating scale, ranking items, ordering a list of items
- Numerical data (price data, height/weight, population data)
- Discrete: product cost, number of students in a class, days in a week
- Continuous: vehicle speeds, temperature
Students use frequency tables to categorise data. They create column graphs and interpret the frequencies by comparing the heights of the columns. Provide numerical data including continuous data that can be represented as a line graph. Use questioning to prompt students to interpret the graphs and make conclusions.
Demonstrate the link to data and its representation as a percentage, and how these are used to create a pie chart.
Provide spatial data in the form of GPS data as longitude and latitude. Students can visualise the data by plotting on paper – or, more efficiently and effectively, using online mapping software – and can look for patterns or trends.
There is an opportunity to integrate scientific and geographic understanding and skills through relevant contexts to acquire, sort and interpret data.
- In Science, students use their digital literacy skills to access information; analyse and represent data; model and interpret concepts and relationships; and communicate science ideas, processes and information.
- In HASS, students use their digital literacy skills when they locate, select, evaluate, communicate and share geographical information using digital tools, and they learn to use spatial technologies.
Teaching and learning summary:
- Create graphs to display information.
- Choose appropriate graphs and justify the usefulness of each type.
- Make comparisons between different visualisations of the same datasets.
The Learning from home activities are designed to be used flexibly by teachers, parents and carers, as well as the students themselves. They can be used in a number of ways including to consolidate and extend learning done at school or for home schooling.
Learning intention
- We are learning to interpret secondary data in order to interpret and compare data.
Why are we learning about this?
- We need to be able to interpret tables and graphs found in digital media to ensure that we are not being misled by data that is presented.
What to do
- Look at this frequency table. Decide on what the data might represent.
- Provide a heading for the left-hand column and add labels for each row of data.
- Count the tally and record the totals.
4. Choose a way to represent the data using a relevant data display.
Answer the following questions.
- How many people were surveyed?
- Who would you have chosen to be participants in this survey?
- What graph have you chosen to present this data and why?
- Could you use another graph to represent the same information? Which of the two is clearer?
- What conclusion can you write about your data?
Success criteria
I can:
- record data in a frequency table
- represent data using a relevant data display
- justify my choice of graph used to represent the data.
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Teaching strategies
A collection of evidence-based teaching strategies applicable to this topic. Note we have not included an exhaustive list and acknowledge that some strategies such as differentiation apply to all topics. The selected teaching strategies are suggested as particularly relevant, however you may decide to include other strategies as well.
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Explicit teaching
Explicit teaching is about making the learning intentions and success criteria clear, with the teacher using examples and working though problems, setting relevant learning tasks and checking student understanding and providing feedback.
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Questioning
A culture of questioning should be encouraged and students should be comfortable to ask for clarification when they do not understand.
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Feedback
It has been shown that good feedback can make a significant difference to a student’s future performance.
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Classroom talks
Classroom talks enable students to develop language, build mathematical thinking skills and create mathematical meaning through collaborative conversations.
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Multiple exposures
Providing students with multiple opportunities within different contexts to practise skills and apply concepts allows them to consolidate and deepen their understanding.
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Teaching resources
A range of resources to support you to build your student's understanding of these concepts, their skills and procedures. The resources incorporate a variety of teaching strategies.
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Osprey migration data
In this lesson, students acquire data related to the migration of the osprey.
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Osprey bird dimensions
In this lesson, students investigate measurement data related to the osprey.
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Osprey position and location
In this lesson, students describe location and position on a Cartesian plane using paired coordinates.
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Osprey ranking threats
In this lesson, students work in groups to rank a list of key threats and collate the data in a class spreadsheet.
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Flight of the osprey infographic
In this lesson, students use data acquired during their learning about the osprey and information sourced online to design and create an infographic.
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Does using less water make a difference?
In this lesson, students carry out a statistical investigation based on their own inquiry question related to sustainable water use.
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Water storage levels across Australia
In this lesson, students interpret and compare real-world data sets and analyse graphs in terms of their range and shape.
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Making informed arguments
In this lesson students create an infographic to communicate their findings from their statistical investigation.
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Visualize a data set (v2)
This dynamic software tool enables students to explore changes on a column graph and the relationship to the data points.
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Rolling two dice
This dynamic software tool enables students to explore the data visualised from the simulation of rolling two dice.
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Distance time graphs
This dynamic software tool enables students to explore the data visualised from four modes of transport: a car, a person running, a person walking and a person cycling.
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Opinion polls
This lesson focuses on collecting opinion data asking questions where participants select an answer from a 5-point scale.
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Turtles: exploring data tracking turtle movements
This lesson uses spatial data recorded as GPS points and free online mapping software to visualise the collected data.
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Saltwater crocs: resourceful or a resource?
This lesson follows an inquiry process where students use the dataset to answer relevant questions about the crocodile population.
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If the world were a village
In this lesson, students consider how data are presented and interpreted. The same dataset in visualised in different ways.
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Paul's basketball challenge
Students interpret a graph that shows the number of baskets Paul scored when he was playing basketball toss with his sister.
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Disaster relief
Students develop their understanding of how data can be analysed and represented to make sense of a data set. Refer to page 162.
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Assessment
By the end of Year 6, students are comparing distributions of discrete and continuous numerical and ordinal categorical datasets as part of their statistical investigations, using digital tools.
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Assessment: statistics – sports data
Use this task to assess how a student uses unorganised data presented in a table to represent the data in graphical form. Teacher assessment guidance is included.
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Assessment: line graph
Use this task to assess how a student interprets a line graph.
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Assessment: column graph
Use this task to assess how a student analyses and interprets a column graph that has errors.
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Interpreting and comparing data
Use this task to assess students’ proficiency in compare distributions of discrete and continuous numerical and ordinal categorical data sets.
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