Sorting and Ordering Information: a skill companion
A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: sorting and ordering the numbers you collect, filling a table, drawing a bar chart, and seeing the pattern. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you are already teaching.
What a skill companion is
Sorting and ordering data is not a topic of its own. It grows inside the science units a class teaches all year, such as Changing Materials, Making Sounds and Earth and the Sky. So this pack is not a full term of lessons. It is a provided data table, a make-a-bar-chart grid and cut-out number cards to order, a map of where they fit, a short stand-alone mini-lesson and an answer sheet.
Start here: five minutes
- Read the pairing map on the next page: it shows which scaffold fits which science lesson.
- Print the data table and the bar-chart grid, one each per child, whenever a lesson collects some numbers.
- Cut out the number cards once. They are reused all year, in any topic.
- Open the free interactive unit on your board when you want a worked example of the skill.
- Run the one-page mini-lesson first if you want to teach the skill before folding it into a topic.
No maths or science background needed
This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each scaffold explains itself in plain words, and the answer sheet gives the right order of the cards and model responses for every Year 2 topic, so you can walk in and use it.
Slot the skill into your science lessons
The same skill of sorting and ordering data fits into every science unit. This map shows the data children collect in each Year 2 topic, how to order or show it, and which scaffold to reach for. You do not run these as extra lessons; you fold them into the science you teach.
| When you teach | Data you collect | How to order or show it | Scaffold to slot in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changing Materials (AC9S2U03) | How far each material stretches | Order from shortest to longest stretch | Number cards + data table |
| Making Sounds (AC9S2U02) | How high or low each sound is | Order the sounds low to high | Data table |
| Earth and the Sky (AC9S2U01) | The shadow length each hour | Show the hours in a bar chart | Bar-chart grid |
| Any science topic | Any set of numbers | Order them, then show them | Number cards first, then table and chart |
How the scaffolds build the skill
The number cards make ordering a hands-on task: children lay them out from the smallest number to the biggest. The data table gives the numbers a tidy home. The bar-chart grid turns those numbers into bars, so the tallest and shortest jump out and the pattern is easy to see. Used together across the year, they make sorting and ordering data a habit.
Our data table
Write each thing you tested and its number in the table. A number needs a unit, like cm for how far, so everyone knows what it means.
| Thing | How many (number + unit) |
|---|---|
Now put them in order
Write the things again from the smallest number to the biggest.
Teacher note: if a child orders by the word instead of the number, point back to the number in the second column.
Make a bar chart
Colour each bar up to its number so the pattern jumps out. The taller the bar, the bigger the number. Then the tallest and shortest are easy to see with your eyes.
Teacher note: keep every bar starting from the same base line, so the heights can be compared fairly. Children colour the bars by hand.
Put them in order
Cut out the cards and lay them in a line, from the smallest number to the biggest. Each card shows a ball and how high it bounced. Ordering the numbers is the same skill you use to sort any data in science.
Teacher note: the answer sheet lists the cards in the right order, smallest to biggest. Blank cards let children add their own thing and its number.
Put it in order
Use this stand-alone lesson to teach the skill on its own, before you fold it into a science topic. It runs the three scaffolds in this pack in one short block, so children meet the whole skill in one go and then reuse the sheets all year.
We are learning to
- order data by its number, from smallest to biggest,
- fill a table with each thing and its number,
- show the pattern in a bar chart.
Success criteria
- I can order numbers from smallest to biggest.
- I can read the tallest bar and the shortest bar.
You need
- the number cards (scaffold 3), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
- the data table and the bar-chart grid (scaffolds 1 and 2), one each per child,
- a small set of numbers to use, such as bounce heights or shoe lengths,
- the free interactive unit on your board, if you have one (optional).
Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)
| 5 min | Order ourselves A few children come to the front and line up by height, shortest to tallest, while the rest of the class directs them. Ask: “How do we decide who stands where?” |
| 10 min | Order the cards Each table cuts out the number cards and lays them in a line, from the smallest number to the biggest. Gather the class to check one set together. |
| 10 min | Table and chart Give out the data table and the bar-chart grid. Children fill the table with a small set of numbers, then colour each bar up to its number. |
| 5 min | Share the pattern A few children hold up their charts for the class. Ask: “What do the bars show? Which is the tallest, and which is the shortest?” |
Running it shorter? Stop after Order the cards, and pick up Table and chart inside your next science lesson, where children order and show real data they collected.
Watch for these ideas
- Ordering by the label, not the number. A child may line the cards up by the word; point them back to the number on each card.
- Uneven bar heights. Bars should all start from the same base line, so a bar for 6 is clearly shorter than a bar for 14.
- Forgetting the unit. A number like 14 means little on its own; it is 14 cm. Ask children to write the unit in the table heading.
Make it easier, make it bigger
- Easier: order just four cards, or fill a table that already has three of the numbers written in.
- Bigger: measure a real set of numbers, like each child’s shoe length, then order and chart the class data.
Answers and look-fors
The next sheet has the cards in the right order, what a good table and chart look like in each Year 2 topic, and a quick three-level guide.
Answers and look-fors
Order these cards: the right order
Smallest to biggest: Cotton 3 cm, Foam 6 cm, Marble 9 cm, Tennis 14 cm, Golf 20 cm, Beach 22 cm, Rubber 27 cm, Super 35 cm.
The blank cards children write are ordered the same way: read the number on each one, then lay them out from the smallest to the biggest.
Data table and bar chart: what good looks like
Responses will vary with the data a class collects, and that is fine. The point is a set of numbers put in order and shown so the pattern is clear. Here is what that looks like in each Year 2 topic.
| Topic | What the order or chart shows |
|---|---|
| Changing Materials | The stretches ordered shortest to longest show which material stretches most. |
| Making Sounds | Ordered low to high, the pattern of pitch is clear. |
| Earth and the Sky | The bar chart shows the shadow shortest in the middle of the day. |
A quick three-level guide
| Move | Working towards | At standard | Beyond |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order by number | puts a few cards in order with help, sometimes by the word | orders all the cards from the smallest number to the biggest | orders the cards and explains how they knew the order |
| Fill a table | writes some numbers in the table with help | fills the table with each thing and its number and unit | sets the table out neatly and checks every unit is written |
| Show it in a chart | colours some bars, not always to the right height | colours each bar up to its number and reads the tallest and shortest | reads the pattern the bars show and says what it means |
A child at standard orders numbers from smallest to biggest, fills the table with the unit, and reads the tallest and shortest bar. The skill grows all year, so keep the scaffolds coming back in every science topic.