Illuminations: Eat Your Veggies

Eat Your Veggies

Tally Time

Students tally data about food preferences and learn the convention of displaying a set of five tallies. Students also answer pose and answer questions about the data.

Learning Objectives
 
Students will:
  • collect and tally real-world data and display that data in a tally chart
  • classify data according to a given attribute
  • pose questions about the data that can be answered from the graphs

Materials
 
Paper
Crayons
Computer with Internet access
Food Pyramid Overhead
Class Notes
Tally Sheet Format

Instructional Plan

Distribute a copy of the Food Pyramid to each student, or copy this image to a transparency sheet and display it on the overhead projector.

Food Pyramid Overhead Food Pyramid Overhead

The image represents the current Food Pyramid, as developed by the United States Department of Agriculture:

 

 

Following are explanations of each of the colors in the Food Pyramid:

Orange = Grains
Green = Vegetables
Red = Fruits
Yellow = Oils
Blue = Milk
Purple = Meat and Beans

To begin a discussion of healthy foods, show the class the Kids Health web site. Go to the Food Guide Pyramid game, then call on volunteers to click on the name of any food group and answer the questions that are shown at that destination. Repeat until all the food groups have been explored.

To introduce the tally chart, invite the students to place, one at a time, a tally in the correct row to describe how they feel about eating carrots.

 
I like carrots  
I do not like carots  

 

When all the students have recorded their opinion, call on a volunteer to count the number of tallies in each row and record the number at the end of the row. Ask the students whether they have ever seen a way to record that would make the counting easier. If they have not, introduce the five-bar notation. Record the fifth entry by making a diagonal mark across the first four lines:

 

 

Call on a volunteer to redraw the tallies using the grouping notation. Encourage discussion of the tally chart by using the Questions for Students below.

Then ask the students to look at a second row from the bottom of the Food Pyramid. Assign them to pairs and ask them to list as many vegetables as they can. As they are working, draw a tally chart with several rows on the board.

When the students are ready, ask them to name the vegetables they listed. As each new vegetable is named, write its name in the far left column of the tally chart. Place a tally after the name of each vegetable as it is mentioned. When all the pairs have reported, ask the students how many times each item was listed, then record that numeral at the end of the row. Now ask the students to determine which four entries received the most mentions. Give each student a copy of the Tally Chart Format. Ask the students to make a tally chart for those four choices.

Tally Chart Tally Chart Activity Sheet

Allow students to check one another's work and to discuss the tally charts that they create.

Questions for Students
 

How did we display our data? How did we make it easier to count the tallies in the tally graph? Why did that notation make it easier?

[We displayed our data using tally marks. After every four tallies, we placed a diagonal mark to indicate the fifth tally. This notation was helpful because we could quickly count the number of tally marks.]

Can you name the categories that we collected data about for the second tally chart? How did we show what we found out?

[Answers will depend upon student responses.]

What questions can you answer from looking at the tally graph?

[You can tell how many there are of each category, and which category had more items than another.]

Assessment Options
 
  1. At this stage of the unit, it is important to know whether students can do the following:

    • Collect real-world data
    • Classify data according to a given attribute
    • Create a tally chart to record data
    • Pose questions about the data set that can be answered from the representation
  2. Collecting notes on the Class Notes enables you to document the learning of individual students and to use that information for planning and providing feedback to students, parents, and others. Students’ work completed in this lesson provides evidence of student understanding and achievement.

Teacher Reflection
 
  • Were all students able to contribute to the creation of the tally chart?
  • Were all students able to answer questions from the tally chart?
  • Is there anything I should change in the next lesson?

NCTM Standards and Expectations
 
Data Analysis & Probability 3-5
  1. Design investigations to address a question and consider how data-collection methods affect the nature of the data set.
  2. Collect data using observations, surveys, and experiments.
This lesson prepared by Grace M. Burton.
  
1 period   

NCTM Resources

Navigating through Data Analysis and Probability in Grades 3‑5

Web Sites
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Thinkfinity Verizon Foundation
More and Better Mathematics for All Students
© 2000 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a public voice of mathematics education, providing vision, leadership, and professional development to support teachers in ensuring mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students. The views expressed or implied, unless otherwise noted, should not be interpreted as official positions of the Council.