Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 5

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

• Represent data using bar graphs, pictographs, and pie charts.
• Interpret information from these graphs.
• Describe the chance of events using words like certain, likely, unlikely, and impossible.

Lesson summary

Data handling and probability are essential skills in mathematics and are relevant to everyday life in South Africa. Understanding how to collect, organize, represent, and interpret data allows us to make informed decisions and understand the world around us. For example, understanding weather forecasts (probability) helps us plan our day, and understanding data on road accidents can highlight the importance of road safety. In this week's focus, we'll be looking at creating and interpreting bar graphs, pictographs, and pie charts. We will also be introduced to the language of chance.

Lesson notes

Data Collection and Organisation Before we can represent data, we need to collect it. This can be done through surveys, observations, or experiments. Once we have the data, we need to organise it in a table to make it easier to work with.

Example: Let's say we want to find out which is the most popular fruit amongst Grade 5 learners in a class of

3

0. We can conduct a survey, asking each learner their favourite fruit from a list of: Apple, Banana, Orange, Mango.

Our results might look like this: Apple: 8 Banana: 12 Orange: 5 Mango: 5 This is now organised data.

Representing Data: Bar Graphs A bar graph uses bars of different lengths to represent different quantities. The length of each bar corresponds to the frequency of each category.

Key Features of a Bar Graph: Title: Explains what the graph is about.

Axes: The horizontal (x-axis) and vertical (y-axis). The x-axis usually shows the categories (e.g., fruit types), and the y-axis shows the frequency (e.g., number of learners).

Labels: Each axis and each bar must be clearly labelled.

Scale: The y-axis must have a clear scale (e.g., counting in 1s, 2s, 5s, etc.).

Consistent Bar Width: All bars should have the same width.

Example (continuing from above): To create a bar graph for the fruit data: Draw the axes. Draw a horizontal line (x-axis) and a vertical line (y-axis).

Label the x-axis with the fruit types: Apple, Banana, Orange, Mango. Label the y-axis with "Number of Learners". Choose a suitable scale. Since the highest number is 12, we can count in 2s up to

1

4. Draw the bars. For each fruit, draw a bar that goes up to the correct number of learners. For example, the bar for "Apple" should go up to

8. Give the graph a title: "Favourite Fruits of Grade 5 Learners".

Representing Data: Pictographs A pictograph uses pictures or symbols to represent data. Each picture represents a certain quantity.

Key Features of a Pictograph: Title: Explains what the graph is about.

Key: Explains what each picture represents. For example, one apple = 2 learners.

Rows or Columns: The categories are listed in rows or columns.

Pictures: The correct number of pictures are drawn for each category.

Example (continuing from above): To create a pictograph for the fruit data (let's say one fruit picture represents 2 learners): Draw a table.

Create a table with two columns: "Fruit" and "Number of Learners (Represented by Fruit Pictures)". Label the Fruit column with Apple, Banana, Orange, Mango. Draw the pictures.

Apple: 8 learners / 2 learners per fruit = 4 fruit pictures Banana: 12 learners / 2 learners per fruit = 6 fruit pictures Orange: 5 learners / 2 learners per fruit = 2 and a half fruit pictures (you'll need to draw half a picture).

Mango: 5 learners / 2 learners per fruit = 2 and a half fruit pictures.

Include a Key: State "Each fruit picture represents 2 learners." Give the graph a title: "Favourite Fruits of Grade 5 Learners".

Representing Data: Pie Charts A pie chart is a circular chart divided into slices. Each slice represents a proportion of the whole. Pie charts are useful for showing percentages or fractions.

Key Features of a Pie Chart: Title: Explains what the graph is about.

Slices: Each slice represents a category.

Labels: Each slice must be clearly labelled with the category and its percentage or fraction of the whole. Simplified example (using estimated percentages, as Grade 5s are not yet performing these calculations): Let's allocate the fruit data into approximate percentages: Apple: 27% (approx)

Banana: 40% (approx)

Orange: 17% (approx)

Mango: 17% (approx)

To create a pie chart: Draw a circle. Divide the circle into slices representing each fruit. The size of the slice should correspond to the percentage. Banana (40%) would have the biggest slice, followed by Apple (27%). Orange and Mango would have similar, smaller slices (17% each). Label each slice with the fruit name and the percentage.

Give the chart a title: "Favourite Fruits of Grade 5 Learners". Important

Note: Accurately calculating the angles for each slice of a pie chart requires knowledge of degrees and percentages, which is beyond the Grade 5 CAPS curriculum.

Therefore, for Grade 5, focus on understanding the concept of a pie chart and interpreting pre-made pie charts.

Probability: Language of Chance Probability is the chance of something happening. We can use words to describe how likely something is to happen.

Certain: It will definitely happen. (e.g., The sun will rise tomorrow.)

Likely: It is probable that it will happen. (e.g., It is likely to rain in Cape Town in winter.)

Unlikely: It is improbable that it will happen. (e.g., It is unlikely to snow in Durban in summer.)

Impossible: It will definitely not happen. (e.g., A pig will fly.)

Equally Likely: There is an equal chance of it happening or not happening.