In Miss Jeana's classroom this week, we're learning about data analysis.
In one activity the children took inventory with blocks. First they determined how many blocks they had of each color. Which one made a longer set of blocks? Miss Suzanne showed the children at her table how to take data. Vocabulary for this activity: sort, record, tally, compare, shape, color, short, long, longer, longest, bigger, smaller, biggest, smallest, the same, more, fewer, most, fewest.
Suzanne showed them how some of the blocks were rectangles and some were square. There were four different colors. She showed them how to line them up by color. Which color is longer?
Then each child received their own container of materials. It was their turn to experiment. They practiced counting and taking data. They talked about the attributes they were recording.
Some of the children wondered how long it would be if all the blocks were combined.
Some children chose to stack vertically to see if that made a difference. At the end they compared their tally marks and noted that they had different shapes and colors of blocks.
In another activity, the children took data on the different kinds of fasteners they were wearing. Here, at Miss Jan's table, the children learn about the types of fasteners they would be exploring. Vocabulary for this activity: compare, record, tally, snap, velcro, zipper, tie, button, clasp.
They checked their shoes and clothes to see what kind of fasteners they were wearing: velcro, button, zipper, clasp, snap, tie.
Then they explored different fasteners from the dress up area and took data on what they found. At the end of Small Group they used the data to determine if there were more fasteners on their clothes or the play clothes.
Try this at home. Take data on the types of spoons you have in your kitchen, or the types of animals in your toy box. You could also tally different foods at mealtimes and who likes which foods.
