Year 1 Science · AC9S1I04

Sorting Data and Representing Patterns

Data and information become clearer when they are sorted, ordered and represented in tables, displays or physical models

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Learning goalsSay it simply

Data and information become clearer when they are sorted, ordered and represented in tables, displays or physical models.

Learning routine: Collect → Sort → Order → Represent → Describe pattern

Success looks like

  • Sort data
  • Order information
  • Use tables
  • Use physical models
  • Describe patterns
Key conceptTeach from the board

A table can reveal a pattern

objectrollsslidesspins

Sorting observations helps students see which objects behave in similar ways.

Worked example

Data: ball rolls, block slides, tube rolls. Sorted pattern: round objects rolled more easily; flat-faced objects were more likely to slide.

Choose a representation that shows the pattern

tableline of cardsgrouped objectspicture model

Use the display to say what pattern you noticed.

Explain your thinking: Say what each part of the model represents, then explain why the answer or conclusion follows.

Clean visual examplesOne-page board

Clean one-page examples

AC9S1I04 - Sorting Data and Representing Patterns
Example 1

Worked example Data: ball rolls, block slides, tube rolls. Sorted pattern: round objects rolled more easily; flat-faced objects were more likely to slide.

Example 2

Sort the evidence Sort object cards by how they moved: roll, slide, spin or bounce. Model: roll | slide | spin

Example 3

Order by measurement Order informal measurements from shortest to longest. Model: 3 blocks, 5 blocks, 8 blocks

Example 4

Represent pattern Use a provided table to show which season activities belong to. Model: season / activity

Curriculum examplesCurriculum examples

These curriculum examples extend the central model into varied contexts. They are learning contexts, not extra definitions to memorise.

E1

using pictographs featuring drawings or digital photographs and tables of measurements to document patterns of growth of plants

Try and explain: A table records a plant as three blocks tall on Monday and five on Friday. What change does it show?

Answer and teaching point

An increase of two blocks, provided the same-sized blocks and measurement method were used.

E2

using digital photography to show how pushes and pulls affect the shape of an object and sorting images into before and after columns of a table

Try and explain: Two photographs show a round lump of playdough and the same lump flattened after pressing. Place them in before and after columns.

Answer and teaching point

Round lump: before. Flattened lump: after. The order communicates the shape change caused by pressing.

E3

using drawings or digital photographs to document changes in weather over a series of days or weeks

Try and explain: A five-day record is sunny, rainy, rainy, sunny, cloudy. Which two conditions occur equally often?

Answer and teaching point

Sunny and rainy each occur twice. Cloudy occurs once; count the recorded days in each category.

E4

ordering images of seasonal changes across the year

Try and explain: Dated pictures show buds, flowers, then fruit on one tree. Put them in the observed order. Must every plant follow exactly these dates?

Answer and teaching point

Buds, flowers, fruit for this record. Other plants or conditions can produce different timing, so do not generalise the dates to every plant.

E5

using graphic organisers to sort data into groups, such as plants and animals, or objects around the home that need a push or pull force to work

Try and explain: Sort opening a drawer by its handle and pressing a doorbell into pull and push groups.

Answer and teaching point

Opening the drawer towards you by its handle is a pull. Pressing the doorbell is a push. State the action because some objects can be moved in more than one way.

Organise observations so a pattern is visible

Sort or order information and represent a simple pattern.

Worked example

A car travels 4 blocks on a rug and 9 blocks on a board, using the same blocks to measure. Organise the results.

Recorded observations
SurfaceDistance in equal blocks
Rug4
Board9
  1. Make a table with headings ‘surface’ and ‘distance in blocks’.
  2. Put 4 beside rug and 9 beside board. Match every result to the correct surface.
  3. Draw one symbol for each block travelled, or compare the table entries. In these trials, the car travelled farther on the board.

Watch for this mistake: Do not change a result to make a tidier pattern. Labels must show which observation each number describes.

Try it, then explain

  1. Order plant heights of 3, 7 and 5 equal blocks from shortest to tallest.

    Hint

    Compare the counts using the same unit.

    Answer and explanation

    3 blocks, 5 blocks, 7 blocks.

  2. Why does a results table need headings?

    Hint

    Imagine reading the numbers without labels.

    Answer and explanation

    Headings explain what each number or category represents.

Questions and answersWith answers

Key idea: Data and information become clearer when they are sorted, ordered and represented in tables, displays or physical models.

Remember

  • Sort data
  • Order information
  • Use tables
  • Use physical models
  • Describe patterns

Quick questions

  • What does it mean to sort data?
  • Name one way to represent information.
  • Why should a sorting rule be clear?
  • What pattern could a table show?

Return to the concept model if an answer is uncertain. Use the model to explain, not just to guess.

Practice and reviewReady for practice
  • Sorting without a rule — State the sorting rule before placing items.
  • Display but no pattern statement — After representing, say what the display shows.
  • Mixing categories — Use one sorting feature at a time.
Curriculum alignmentStart here

Data and information become clearer when they are sorted, ordered and represented in tables, displays or physical models.

Learning routine: Collect → Sort → Order → Represent → Describe pattern

Success looks like

  • Sort data
  • Order information
  • Use tables
  • Use physical models
  • Describe patterns
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