Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 3

Lesson Video

This page supports the lesson note with a companion video and a short classroom-ready summary.

For class groups and homework, share this lesson page so learners also get the summary, objectives, and full lesson context.

Performance objectives

• Collect and organize data using tally marks and tables.
• Show data using pictographs and bar graphs.
• Answer questions by reading graphs and tables.
• Find patterns in data.
• Solve word problems using data.

Lesson summary

Data handling is a crucial skill for Grade 3 learners because it helps them make sense of the world around them. In South Africa, we are constantly bombarded with information, from weather forecasts on the radio to the scores of our favourite sports teams. Understanding how to collect, organize, and interpret data allows children to make informed decisions, identify patterns, and solve problems in their everyday lives. For example, they can track their favourite soccer team's wins and losses, understand the popularity of different fruits at tuck shop, or compare the rainfall in different months to plan their garden.

Lesson notes

Data handling involves collecting information (data), organizing it, representing it visually, and then interpreting what the visual representation tells us.

Let's break down each step with examples: a)

Collecting Data: We can collect data by asking questions, observing, or conducting surveys. A common way to record data initially is using tally marks.

Tally Marks: These are a quick way to count things. Each vertical line represents one item, and every group of five is marked with a diagonal line across the four vertical lines.

Example: Imagine we asked 10 learners their favourite fruit and recorded the results: Apple, Banana, Apple, Orange, Banana, Apple, Apple, Banana, Orange, Banana. Using tally marks, we would represent this as: Apple: |||| Banana: |||| Orange: || b)

Organizing Data (Tables): Once we've collected data, we need to organize it into a table. A table has rows and columns that help us see the information clearly.

Example:* From the tally marks above, we can create a table: | Fruit | Tally Marks | Number of Learners | | ------- | ----------- | ------------------ | | Apple | |||| | 4 | | Banana | |||| | 4 | | Orange | || | 2 | c)

Representing Data (Graphs): Graphs make it easy to see and compare data. We'll focus on pictographs and bar graphs.

Pictograph: Uses pictures or symbols to represent data. A key tells us how many each picture stands for.

Example: Using the fruit data, let's create a pictograph.

Let's use a fruit icon: 🍎 to represent 1 learner. | Fruit | Pictograph | | ------- | ------------------------------ | | Apple | 🍎🍎🍎🍎 | | Banana | 🍎🍎🍎🍎 | | Orange | 🍎🍎 | Bar Graph: Uses bars of different lengths to represent data. The length of each bar shows the quantity for that category. We need to label the axes (the horizontal and vertical lines) and give the graph a title.

Example: Using the same fruit data, a bar graph would look like this: (A bar graph would be described here, with labelled axes. On the horizontal axis, we'd have the fruits (Apple, Banana, Orange). On the vertical axis, we'd have the number of learners (0 to 5). The bars would extend to the correct height for each fruit: Apple and Banana to 4, and Orange to

2. The graph would have a title like "Favourite Fruits of Grade 3 Learners".) d)

Interpreting Data: This means reading the graph or table and understanding what it tells us.

We can answer questions like: Which is the most popular? Which is the least popular? How many more learners like apples than oranges?

Example:* Looking at the fruit data, we can say: Apple and Banana are equally the most popular fruits. Orange is the least popular fruit. 2 more learners like Apples than Oranges (4-2=2). e) Exam Preparation Focus During exam preparation, learners should practice drawing graphs accurately, reading them carefully and answering questions that require comparing data between categories or making simple calculations based on data represented. Guided Practice (With Solutions)

Question 1: Grade 3 learners were asked about their favourite colour.

Here are the results: Red: |||| || Blue: |||| | Green: ||| a) Create a table to show this data. b) Which colour is the most popular? c) How many learners chose green as their favourite colour?

Solution: a)

Table: | Colour | Tally Marks | Number of Learners | | ------ | ----------- | ------------------ | | Red | |||| || | 7 | | Blue | |||| | | 6 | | Green | ||| | 3 | b) Red is the most popular colour. c) 3 learners chose green.

Question 2: The following pictograph shows the number of rainy days in four different months. Each umbrella (☔) represents 2 rainy days. | Month | Pictograph | | ------- | -------------------- | | March | ☔☔☔ | | April | ☔☔☔☔ | | May | ☔☔ | | June | ☔☔☔☔☔ | a) How many rainy days were there in April? b) Which month had the most rainy days? c) What is the difference in rainy days between June and May?

Solution: a) April had 8 rainy days (4 umbrellas x 2 days/umbrella). b) June had the most rainy days. c) The difference is 6 rainy days (June has 10 days, May has 4 days: 10-4=6).

Question 3: The bar graph (described below) shows the number of books read by four learners. (Describe a bar graph.

Horizontal axis: Learner names - Thando, Aisha, Sipho, Zola.

Vertical axis: Number of books read - scale 0 to

1

0. Thando's bar goes up to 8, Aisha's to 5, Sipho's to 10, Zola's to 3.) a) How many books did Sipho read? b) Who read the fewest books? c) How many books did Thando and Aisha read altogether?

Solution: a) Sipho read 10 books. b) Zola read the fewest books. c) Thando and Aisha read 13 books altogether (8 + 5 = 13). Independent Practice (Questions Only) A class of Grade 3 learners voted for their favourite pet.

The results were: Dog: 12, Cat: 9, Bird: 5, Fish:

4. Create a table to show this data. Draw a bar graph to represent the data from question

1. Remember to label the axes and give the graph a title. What is the difference between the number of learners who chose dogs and cats?