Goal: Use math to find out what everyone in the group has in common
Grades: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Group size: 4 or more Time: 10 to 20 minutes
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Materials: Large piece of paper Several markers Prerequisites: Reading and writing |
Brainstorm about 10 questions with the group and record them on large paper. Help children word their questions so everyone understands how to answer.
2. Answer the questions 
Each child responds by writing Y or N below each question: Y goes on the left and N goes on the right.
Children count the responses to make sure everyone has answered.
An even total (such as 8 or 10) is easier to work with than an odd total. If needed, add your response to make the total even.
In pairs, children look over the questions to find one that:
- all or most answered yes
- all or most answered no
- half or about half answered yes
As needed, help children decide what counts as “about half.” Explain that half is two equal groups. “About half” is as close as possible to two equal groups.
Ask for volunteers to tell something they found out, using words such as everyone, no one, half, or almost half.
Variations
Stand Up, Sit Down (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Start with all children sitting down. Then call out a question. Those with yes answers stand; others remain seated. Are half standing? more than half? less than half?
Three Fourths (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Children find questions that about 3/4 of the group answered yes. Then they find one that about 1/4 answered yes.
Children use percents instead of fractions. They find questions that about 100%, 75%, and 50% of the group answered yes.
Books and Other Resources
Children Just Like Me (Grades 3, 4)
Kindersley, Barnabas and Anabel. NY: DK Publishing, 1995.A Life Like Mine: How Childre Live Around the World (Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
DK and UNICEF. New York: DK Publishing, 2002.
Fractions
Fractions
provide a way to make sense of survey results: 10 out of 20 means exactly half
answered yes; 11 out of 20 means about half; 19 out of 20 means almost everyone.
Finding “about half” can be challenging, especially when the total is an odd number. One approach is to compare the Y’s and N’s. “Exactly half” means the same number of Y’s and N’s—they match up. With an odd number, “about half” means one extra Y or N.
ConnectionsAdvertisers and politicians use surveys to try to change people’s purchasing and voting habits. Sometimes they word their questions to get certain answers. When children look critically at their own survey questions, they can see how slight wording changes can result in very different answers. For instance, the answer to “How many people do you live with?” may be different from “How many people in your family?”
©2008 TERC, Cambridge, MA. All rights reserved.
