Data & Measurements

Hello friends!

Today we'll dive into data. I'm going to talk about categorical data and numerical data.

• Categorical data is data that isn't numbers but categories. An example of categorical data might be if you ask your kindergarten or first grade students what their favorite color is: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, etc.--If one student answered "purple"--purple would fall into a category (colors), purple is not a number. 
• Numerical data is centered around numbers, data collected from numerical variables.For example, how tall are all of the students in your classroom? You can have them measure themselves in inches or centimeters, both are numbers (numerical data). 

Both categorical data and numerical data can be taught as early as first grade. My children began to learn how to measure in the first grade. They began to learn how to measure with a ruler but you can teach your students to measure using a finger, a button, a paper clip, a cheerio, marshmallows, etc. For example, how many marshamallows long is the paper?

In the first grade it's important to introduce measurement but why we measure and how to measure accurately comes with age and practice, so patience is key when teaching data measurement to young children.

Activity:
*You could have your first graders practice measuring for a week using different objects, including a ruler.*
On the last day of the data measurement unit you can have your students:
1) Color a picture of an animal (normal paper size).

2) Pass out (x) number of cheerios (m&m's, mini marshmallows, skittles, etc.) to each student. The number is based on how many on average it will take to measure the perimeter of the animal plus 5-10 more.

3) After the students finish coloring, instruct them to measure the perimeter of their animal with their measuring tool (teacher's choice) and record the number at the bottom of the page.
Total Number: ___

4) Have them tally their results on the board.
Giraffe Perimeter:
8   9   10   11   12   13   14

5) Discuss how the number with the most tallies is probably the most accurate but double check it with the class, pointing out things that may have led to different data results. For example: misshaped cheerios (smaller or bigger ones).

6) After discussing the results as a class, instruct the students that they can eat their measuring tools (cheerios) if they want.

Let me know how it goes if you try this activity.

Carpe diem,

Cass

* Links to other helpful websites about measurement:
1) Article about measurement for prekindergarten-kindergarten teachers/or parents -
Measuring Experiences for Young Children