Data Displays and Graphing for Children!
Hello everyone! I am here once again to talk about another math and science experience for children! Today’s topic is about data displays and graphing! Data displays are a very important math topic for children, they involve multiple aspects of mathematics and use math language that is also important for children to build on their math skills.
Data displays can be done with children anywhere from toddlers to school age children. There is a multi step process to work with, to ensure that children are not overwhelmed or confused when they are making their own data displays. Before children even begin graphing, they should build on their counting skills as well as sorting/classifying using a variety of hands-on materials. For graphing, beginning with a yes/no question is the best option. Then moving to two options for the children, and eventually asking open-ended questions or offering multiple options. Ensure that the topics you use are something that the children would be interested in (i.e. favourite food or favourite animal). The graphs can start with picture graphs, or graphs created using physical materials (i.e. blocks or legos). Eventually, as the children get old they will be able to use bar graphs, tally marks and pie graphs as well as any other graph. Math language is important as it helps the children understand what they are learning about, and they can understand what goes into more complex math topics as well as what different math concepts evolve into (i.e. addition and subtraction problems will turn into multiplication and division problems in the older grades).
Data displays are beneficial for children in a variety of ways. They are great for problem solving, decision making, and using logical thinking and reasoning to explain their choices. They support organizational skills, as graphs are a very organized way to show data. They also encourage inquiry and communication, this can be a great experience through having the children ask other children their opinions on topics and use their answers to create their own data displays. Children are learning great social skills through the entire process, and are encouraged to ask lots of questions throughout the process as well. I also created two data displays, that are posted in this blog. One for preschool age children, and one for school age children. These will hopefully help give a visual understanding of data displays for everyone. Have fun, and happy graphing!
