Foundations of Mathematical Thinking · Senior Infants

Active learning ideas

Making Simple Graphs and Charts

Active learning works for this topic because young children build understanding through movement and tangible materials. Representing data becomes meaningful when students physically arrange objects and see their own questions answered by the graph they create.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Junior Cycle - Statistics and Probability - SP.2

• 15–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 20 min · Whole Class

Inquiry Circle: The Human Bar Graph

Ask a question like 'What is your favorite fruit?' Students stand in lines (columns) based on their choice. They then look at the lines to see which is the longest and shortest, discussing what this tells them about the class's favorites.

Can you colour in a square for each person who likes apples?

Facilitation Tip

During the Human Bar Graph, have students stand shoulder-to-shoulder at the starting line before building their columns to prevent uneven baselines.

What to look for

Provide students with a collection of small objects (e.g., buttons of different colours). Ask them to sort the objects into groups and then create a bar chart by drawing one square for each object in its corresponding category. Observe if they correctly assign one square per object and group by category.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Stations Rotation
• 30 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Data Collectors

Set up stations where students collect data (e.g., counting the number of blue vs. red cars in a picture, or sorting a bag of colored bears). At each station, they must represent their count by stacking blocks or placing stickers on a simple grid.

Which food got the most votes , how do you know from our chart?

Facilitation Tip

At the Data Collectors station, provide clipboards with identical sticky notes so each child uses the same-size mark for every vote.

What to look for

Display a pre-made bar chart showing the results of a class survey (e.g., favourite playground equipment). Ask students: 'Which piece of equipment got the most votes? How can you tell from the chart?' and 'How many more children chose the slide than the swings? How did you figure that out?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 15 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Reading the Chart

Show a simple pictogram of 'Our Pets.' Pairs are given a specific question (e.g., 'How many more dogs are there than cats?') to solve together using the chart, then they explain their counting strategy to the class.

How many more children like bananas than oranges?

Facilitation Tip

In Think-Pair-Share, give each pair a single chart to examine together before sharing ideas with the class.

What to look for

Give each student a small worksheet with a simple line plot showing the number of pets owned by different children. Ask them to write down: 'What is the most common number of pets a child in this group has?' and 'How many children have exactly two pets?'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach this topic by starting with real objects students can touch and move. Avoid worksheets early on; children need to see how a graph represents a real collection. Use language like 'this block stands for one vote' to connect symbols to quantities. Keep comparisons concrete: 'Look at these two towers—count the blocks to see which has more.'

Successful learning looks like students aligning objects carefully, comparing quantities by counting, and using the graph to answer simple questions about 'more' or 'most'. They should explain their reasoning with clear references to the visual display.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Collaborative Investigation: The Human Bar Graph, watch for students standing unevenly or spacing themselves apart.

  Mark a clear starting line on the floor with tape. Have students line up with toes touching the line before they begin to build their columns.

• During Station Rotation: Data Collectors, watch for students using differently sized marks or pictures to represent the same value.

  Give each student identical sticky notes and show them how to place one note per vote, keeping the size and shape the same for every category.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Stations Rotation
• Think-Pair-Share