Math activity
Graph Our Day
Make a simple picture graph about your day. Vote on favorite snacks, colors, or animals and show the results with stickers!
Materials and setup
- large paper
- stickers
- markers
- crayons
- ruler
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Make a simple picture graph about your day. Vote on favorite snacks, colors, or animals and show the results with stickers!
Steps
- Choose a fun question: 'What is your favorite fruit? Apple, banana, or grapes?'
- Ask each family member (or stuffed animals!) to vote.
- Place a sticker in a column for each vote on a large paper chart.
- Count each column together.
- Discuss: 'Which fruit got the most votes? Which got the fewest?'
- Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.
Learning objectives
- Participate in data collection through surveys
- Read a simple picture graph with support
- Compare quantities shown in a graph using most and fewest
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Collect data about your day and create a bar graph. Track things like: activities done, foods eaten, or weather each day of the week.
Steps
- Choose data to track: 'How many minutes did we spend on each activity today?'
- Record data in a simple table with activity names and numbers.
- Draw a bar graph on paper with a y-axis (numbers) and x-axis (categories).
- Color in the bars to match the data.
- Write 2 sentences about what the graph shows: 'We spent the most time on...'
- Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.
Learning objectives
- Collect and organize data in a table format
- Create a bar graph with labeled axes
- Interpret data and draw conclusions from a graph
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Conduct a week-long data collection project: track a daily variable, create multiple graph types, calculate range and averages, and present findings.
Steps
- Choose something to track daily for 5-7 days: temperature, minutes of screen time, steps walked, glasses of water, etc.
- Record data each day in a table with date, value, and notes.
- Create a line graph showing how the data changed over time. Label axes with units.
- Calculate: What was the highest value? Lowest? What is the range (highest minus lowest)?
- Calculate the mean (average): add all values and divide by the number of days.
- Write a summary paragraph with at least 3 observations about your data, including predictions for the next week.
- In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.
Learning objectives
- Collect time-series data consistently over multiple days
- Create and interpret line graphs showing change over time
- Calculate range and mean (average) from a data set
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Design and execute a statistical study: formulate a question, collect data through surveys, calculate measures of central tendency, create professional-quality graphs, and write a statistical report.
Steps
- Formulate a research question: 'Do people in our neighborhood prefer cats or dogs? Does preference vary by age?'
- Design a survey with at least 3 questions and collect responses from 15+ people (family, friends, neighbors).
- Organize responses in a data table. Calculate mean, median, and mode for numerical questions.
- Create at least 3 different graph types: bar graph, pie chart, and either a line plot or histogram.
- Calculate percentages for categorical data: 'What percent chose cats? Dogs?'
- Write a two-page statistical report: introduction (your question), methods (how you collected data), results (graphs and calculations), and conclusion (what you learned, limitations of your study, and what you would do differently next time).
Learning objectives
- Design and conduct a multi-question survey study
- Calculate and interpret mean, median, mode, and percentages
- Present statistical findings in a structured written report with multiple graph types
Safety and evidence note
Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.
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