Which graph matches the picture?

Which graph matches the picture?

Pencil and paperOnline interactive
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about different ways of showing information.

Question

geese and swans on a lake
a)  i)  Look at this picture. 
         Which of these tally charts shows the number of geese and swans in the picture?
         Choose one.  

    • Number of geese and swans
       
      option 1

    • Number of geese and swans

      option 2

Why did you choose this?

Question

116010155-cows-sheep-700w.jpg
b)  i)  Look at this picture. 
         Which of these pictographs shows the number of cows and sheep in the picture? Choose one. 

    • Number of cows and sheep
       
      graph of cows and sheep

    • Number of cows and sheep
      graph of cows and sheep

ii) Why did you choose this?

Question

bumblebees and honey bees on a flower
c)  i)  Look at this picture.
         Which of these bar graphs shows the number of bumblebees and honey bees in the picture?

    • Number of bumblebees and honey bees
       
      bees-1.png

    • Number of bumblebees and honey bees
       
      bees.png

Why did you choose this?
Task administration: 
This task can be completed online or with pencil and paper.
If students do the task on paper they could work in pairs to compare their ideas and interpretations of the graphs and decide together which graph best represents the data in the picture. 
 
Copyright: 
All images copyright to J.Fisher | PhotoKete are used with permission.
geese and swans on a lake
 
116010155-cows-sheep-700w.jpg
 
bumblebees and honey bees on a flower
Levels:
1, 2
Curriculum info: 
Maths, Number and Algebra, Patterns and relationships, Science, Investigating in science, Living World
Key Competencies: 
Thinking
Keywords: 
graphs, pictographs, tally charts, bar graphs, graph interpretation
Description of task: 
Task: Decide which of two graphs e.g., tally chart, pictograph, bar graph is represented by a picture and explain how the graph/s are interpreted.
Curriculum Links: 
Science capabilities
The capabilities focus is brought about by the conversations students have and the questions they ask.
 
Capability: Interpret Representations
Scientists represent their ideas in a variety of ways, including models, graphs, charts, diagrams, and written texts. This resource provides opportunities for students to: compare two different representations e.g., a picture and a graph; compare different types of graphs, e.g., tally charts, pictographs and bar graphs and; provide an acccurate explanation of how to read the representations/graphs. 
 
 
Science capabilities: 
Interpret representations
Answers/responses: 
Questions Correct responses
a) Which tally chart shows the number of geese and swans in the picture? 
correct answer
Why did you choose this?
Any answer that clearly explains how the student has interpreted the graph, e.g., 
  • The tally chart shows that there are 8 geese (5 + 3 tally marks) and 2 swans (2 tally marks) in the first chart  (the same number as the picture) whereas there are 9 geese (5 + 4 tally marks) and 2 swans (2 tally marks) in the second chart. 
b) Which of these pictographs shows the number of cows and sheep in the picture? 
correct answer
Why did you choose this?
Any answer that clearly explains how the student has interpreted the graph, e.g.
  • The second pictograph shows there are 7 cows and 2 sheep, the same number as the picture, whereas the first pictograph shows 6 cows and 2 sheep. 
c) Which of these bar graphs shows the number of bumblebees and honey bees in the picture? 
correct answer
Why did you choose this? 
Any answer that clearly explains how the student has interpreted the graph, e.g.
  • The first bar graph shows there are 4 honey bees and 3 bumblebees, the same number as in the picture, whereas the second bar graph shows there are 5 honey bees and 3 bumblebees.  
 Based on a sample of 47 Year 1 and 2 students completing the assessment online.
Teaching and learning: 
The key ideas in this resource are about:
  • noticing the similarities in two different types of representations, e.g., a picture and a graph
  • noticing the differences between different types of graphs, e.g., tally charts, pictographs and bar graphs 
  • giving a clear explanation of how to interpret graphs.
Diagnostic and formative information: 
Questions Student responses
a) Which tally chart shows the number of geese and swans in the picture?
Three quarters of the students were able to identify the correct tally chart.
 
Why did you choose this?
Most of the students attempted to explain how they had interpreted the tally chart, e.g.,
  • because 5 and 3 makes 8
  • This shows 8 and that's how many geese there are
  • becaues there are 2 swans and 8 geese
  • because there was 8 not 9 geese​
  • because there are 10 (altogether).
However a quarter of the students gave a response that did not explain how it connected to the graph, e.g.,
  • counted
  • because I saw that many geese and swans
  • [They were the] same.
b) Which of these pictographs shows the number of cows and sheep in the picture? Nearly all of the students were able to identify the correct pictograph. 
Why did you choose this?
Most of the students attempted to explain how they had interpreted the pictograph, e.g.
  • because. There. Is. 7+2 =9
  • because there is 6 in one and 7 in the one
  • It shows 7 cows.
  • because ther is 2 and 7
  • Because there was seven cows and two sheep.
c) Which of these bar graphs shows the number of bumblebees and honey bees in the picture?  Nearly all of the students were able to identify the correct bar graph. 
Why did you choose this?
Most of the students attempted to explain how they had interpreted the bar graph, e.g.
  • Because there is 3+4=7
  • Because 3 and 4 in one and 3 and 5 in one
  • ​Because there are 4 honeybees and 3 bumblebees.
However some students gave a response that did not clearly explain how it connected to the graph, e.g.,
  • I saw that number of bumblebees and honey bees
  • It has the right number of honey bees
  • Counted.
 
Next steps: 
Capability: Interpret representations
It is important when interpreting representations that students think about how data is presented and ask questions such as what does this representation tell us? In this resource students compared two different representations, e.g., a picture and a graph and compared different types of graphs, e.g., tally charts, pictographs and bar graphs. 
 
To help students to accurately interpret representations provide them with opportunities to share and discuss their ideas. Things they could look for:
  • decide what the graph is telling them
  • decide what parts of the graph to attend to, e.g., reading from the top of the bar to the y-axis
  • compare different representations that contain the same information, e.g., a pictographs, bar graphs, tally charts
They could also discuss who might use each type of representation, e.g., 
  • tally charts for people who are doing an investigation
  • pictographs for someone who wants to illustrate some data and 
  • bar graphs for scientific reports. 
 
 
 
Other  Science resources about graphs at Level 1/2: