Sorting and grouping information
Computer Science · Early Years · The School
Choose a rule and sort
Sort the shoes in your class. With laces here. Without laces there. Or sort toy animals by how many legs they have. Your rule has to be clear. Everyone should sort them the same way. Big ones is a bad rule. People do not agree on what big means. More than four legs is a good rule.
Draw what you found
A pictogram uses one picture for each thing you count. Five apple pictures means five people chose apples. Line the pictures up in neat rows. Then you can compare the heights at a glance. Neat lines are not about being tidy. A wobbly pictogram gives you the wrong answer.
Ask the data a question
Now it is drawn. Which one was most popular? Which one was least? How many more chose apples than bananas? We collect data to ANSWER something. Always finish by saying the answer out loud, in a sentence. That is what turns counting into information.
Ask your class for their favourite fruit. Draw one picture per person, in columns. Now ASK your pictogram three things. Which was most popular? That is the tallest column. How many chose apples? Count that column. How many MORE chose apples than pears? Count both, then take one away from the other. The pictogram was not the answer. It was the tool that let you answer three questions fast.