Sorting and grouping information
Computer Science · Early Years · The School
Choose a rule and sort
Sort the class's shoes: with laces, without laces. Or sort toy animals by number of legs. The rule must be clear enough that everyone would sort the same way — "big ones" is a bad rule because people disagree; "more than four legs" is a good one.
Draw what you found
A pictogram uses one picture for each thing counted: five apple pictures means five people chose apples. Line the pictures up neatly in rows so you can compare heights at a glance. Neat lines are not tidiness — a wobbly pictogram tells you the wrong answer.
Ask the data a question
Once it is drawn: which was most popular? Which was least? How many more chose apples than bananas? Data is collected to ANSWER something. Always finish by saying the answer out loud in a sentence — that is what turns counting into information.
Collect favourite fruits from your class and draw one picture per person in columns. Now ASK it three things. Which was most popular — the tallest column. How many chose apples — count that column. How many MORE chose apples than pears — count both and subtract. The pictogram was not the answer; it was the tool that let you answer three questions quickly.