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The levels indicated are those from the latest mathematics curriculum. The way these levels in this document relate to progression through the 13 years of formal schooling in New Zealand (from the beginning of elementary school through to the end of high school) is depicted in this diagram.
| Activity Title | Focus | Skills based activities | Structured Investigation | Open Investigation | Qs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Are you getting enough Zzz? | Describe distribution | Are you getting enough Zzz? Activity | bedtime | ||
| Armspans | Comparing samples, inference | Armspans Activity | armspan | ||
| A Tall Tale | Sample size, variation | A Tall Tale Activity | height | ||
| Big Foot | Box plots | Big Foot Activity | foot length | ||
| To Tag or Not To Tag? | Sample variation | To Tag or Not To Tag? Year 12 | lunchtime | ||
| Txt msgs | Txt msgs Activity | text messages | |||
| Ready, Steady, Go! | Comparing samples | Ready, Steady, Go! Activity | reaction | ||
| Are you a Masterpiece? | Relational data & graphs | Skills Based | Level 3-4 Level 4-6 |
Level 5+ | 1, 5, 7 |
| The case of the missing cake | Relational data & graphs | Skills Based | Level 3-4 Level 4 |
Level 5+ | 1, 2, 5, 6 |
| Sugar Guzzlers | Using correct average | Skills Based | Level 4-5 | Level 5+ | 1, 2, 4, 22 |
| Time Flies | Samples and comparing datasets | Under development | Level 3-5 | Level 4-5 | 1, 2, 16, 17, 18 |
| Speedster | Analysing data | Skills Based | Level 3-4 | Level 4-5 | 1, 2, 15 |
| Stockings | Under development | Reworking | Reworking | 24 | |
| Nosey Parker | I notice … I wonder … |
Key Concept | – | – | – |
| Bear Hugs 1 | Summary data | – | – | Level 3-5 | 7 |
| Bear Hugs 2 | Relational data | – | – | Level 3-5 | 2, 7 |
| Bear Hugs 3 | Comparing data | – | – | Level 3-5 | 1, 2, 7 |
| Party Planning | Conclusion writing | Skills Based | Trialling | Trialling | 10, 21 |
| Chocolicious | Misleading statistics | – | Level 3 – 5 | – | |
| Rumbling Tum | Good sampling technique | Under Discussion | – | Level 3+ | 14 |
| 8 Glasses per Day? | Sample size, variation and data distribution | Level 3+ | 22 | ||
Skills based Activities:
- Developed to assist in the teaching of various aspects of the Statistical Enquiry Cycle
- The skill based activities have been designed with the preconception that the class has little or no prior knowledge of the statistical tool explored.
- These activities can be completed within a one-lesson timeframe. They be good starter lesson before commencing on some of the investigation activites.
Investigations:
- Built around the investigative cycle as this is the way statisticians investigate problems.
- Each begins with a whole class discussion to engage the students in the context and to discuss the problem.
- The students then move into small groups to complete the remainder of the investigation.
- At the end of the lesson the students reflect on the stories they have discovered in the data.
- Each activity has a student’s worksheet and teacher’s notes.
- The teacher’s notes are linked to a glossary and have examples of the types of analysis to expect from students at each level.
There are two types of investigations:
- Structured investigations provide a more directed guide for students to explore the stories in the data. There are spaces for students to do their work directly onto the worksheet. The data is given in the worksheets however teachers may choose to delete the data and instruct students to collect their own, either through a survey of their peers or by using the random sampler online at CensusAtSchool. The structured investigations tend to be for levels 3-4. These activities will take between one and three sessions, depending upon the depth that you want the students to work at and the ability level of the class.
- Open investigations give students more freedom to explore the data. Some of these could be extended to cover a week of lessons using the suggestions in the teacher’s notes. Data can either be collected from the class or school, sampled from the CensusAtSchool data set online or given to students as an excel worksheet. The excel worksheet can either be printed out for classrooms with no computer access or it can be explored using computers. Students work in their own books using the worksheet as a guide to help them explore the data.
Other activities:
Reaction times (boys vs girls) worksheet (for Year 13 students)
How Year 8 students travel to school (Student Work, Carncot School, PowerPoint file)
Breakfast eaten by Year 8 students in the Manawatu and Wanganui regions (Student Work, Carncot School, PowerPoint file)
CensusAtSchool International activities:
A series of downloadable worksheets containing a variety of classroom activities.
Software Tutorials
Excel is available for free from the Ministry of Education, and Fathom and TinkerPlots have trial versions available from their vendor.
