Science Fenns K-5Grades K to 5
A wooden classroom table with a paper table of numbers and a colorful bar graph beside a jar of pennies.

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Tables and Graphs

Put what you found in order so the pattern shows.

Lesson 4 of 41

Try this first

Before we start

Today’s story

Tables and Graphs

Mia has a pile of numbers in her head. Three birds. Five. Seven. Nine. It is hard to see what they mean.

She writes them in a table. Day on one side and birds on the other. Then she draws a bar for each day. The pattern jumps out.

Tables and graphs put numbers in order. The steps show how.

See it

Five steps. Every time.

    Hands on

    Jump and graph

    25 minutes · Do this with a grown-up nearby

    You need

    • Paper
    • Pencil
    • Ruler
    • Colored pencils
    • Tape measure

    Do this

    1. Make a table with names in one column and jump length in cm in the next.
    2. Have three friends each jump three times.
    3. Measure each jump from the line to the heels.
    4. Write each number in the table.
    5. Draw a bar graph, one bar for each person's best jump.
    6. Add a title and labels.
    7. Write one sentence that tells what you see.
    Write or draw: Your table, your bar graph and one sentence.

    Watch for: Look for the longest and shortest jump and any number that seems off.

    Safety: Jump on a flat, dry floor with no obstacles and no shoes that slip.

    Same every time

    Three rules

    Rule 1Put a title and labels on everything.

    Without them, nobody knows what the numbers mean.

    Rule 2Use even steps on the sides.

    Equal spaces keep the picture honest.

    Rule 3Look for the pattern and the odd one.

    An odd number may be a mistake or a surprise.

    Grandpa Fenn’s notebook

    Say it like a scientist

    table
    Rows and columns that show your measurements.
    bar graph
    A graph that uses bars to compare amounts.
    pattern
    Something that repeats or changes in a way you can predict.

    Poppy’s quiz

    Six questions

    Tap an answer. Green means right. You will see why.

    Talk about it

    Say it out loud

    • What pattern did you find? How do you know?
    • What do people count or graph at a farm, a ball game or a store?
    Did you know

    A line graph of temperature over a year makes a curve like a hill, going up in summer and down in winter.

    Someone who does this

    A weather forecaster reads graphs and tables of temperature and rain to plan a forecast.

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