Graphing: Frequency Tables

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We have moved into our last unit of study:  graphing, so today we worked with Frequency Tables.  We began by defining a frequency table:  a table that shows how often an event occurs.

Next, we build a frequency table using a chart full of data.  The data was about the transportation students used to get to school.  We used this data to answer three questions before building a frequency table:

1. What would be a good title for our frequency table?  Transportation to School
2. What will be in the first column?  Types of transportation
3. What will be in the second column?  Tally marks

Once we had used the data to complete the frequency table, we converted the tally marks into numbers making the data very easy to understand.  Using the data in the frequency table, we were able to answer questions regarding the transportation used by students to get to school.

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Next, I explained that we were going to work with a frequency table to help us explore the following question:

What are the 5 most frequently used letters

 in the English alphabet?

Before we began our exploration, I asked the students to make a prediction.  I had a few share.  Then, I gave each student a table that had the letters of the alphabet on it.

I asked them to fill in a frequency table using the letters that made up their entire name (first, middle, last).  Next, each table combined their data to create a frequency table of the alphabet letters found at their table.  Then, we combined all of the data for each class onto a frequency table created on a spreadsheet.  The spreadsheet had formulas already in place to add the six tables' data together quickly.   Finally, we compared the data totals for each class had to the predictions made.  No one predicted all five of the alphabet letters in the correct order.

Tomorrow, we will continue working with the data by combining the three classes together in order to have a better idea of the frequency.

We finished off the class by working on two pages from the textbook.  The classes worked with making and analyzing frequency tables.