Representing Data: a skill companion
A small set of reusable sheets that grow one inquiry skill: organising readings in a table, choosing the graph or model that suits them, and describing the pattern, trend or relationship it shows. Print the scaffolds once and slot them into the science lessons you are already teaching.
What a skill companion is
Inquiry skills are not a topic of their own. They grow inside the science units a class teaches all year, such as Features and Behaviours for Survival; Weathering, Erosion and Deposition; Light, Shadows and Reflection; and Particles in Solids, Liquids and Gases. So this pack is not a full term of lessons. It is three reusable scaffolds, a map of where they fit, and a short stand-alone lesson for teaching the skill on its own first.
Start here: five minutes
- Read the pairing map on the next page: it shows which scaffold fits which science lesson.
- Print the data organiser whenever a lesson collects readings, and the draw-it sheet once per child.
- Cut out the representation cards once. They are reused all year whenever a class chooses a graph.
- 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 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 finished graphs, model descriptions, the card key, a model description for every Year 5 topic, and a quick three-level guide. The step up from Year 4 is the choice: children pick the representation that suits the data (a column graph for categories, a line graph for change over time, a model for how something is arranged) and say what trend or relationship it shows.
Slot the skill into your science lessons
The same skill fits into every science unit. This map shows data children collect in each Year 5 topic, the representation that suits it, the pattern or trend to describe, 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 | Representation | Pattern or trend | Scaffold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Features and Behaviours for Survival (AC9S5U01) | A toothpick hunt on grass: how many of each colour were found | Table, then a column graph | Colours like grass and soil were found least | Draw-it sheet, Part B |
| Weathering, Erosion and Deposition (AC9S5U02) | How far sediment travelled at three slopes | Table, a column graph, and a diagram of the tray | The steeper the slope, the further the sediment went | Organiser, then the cards |
| Light, Shadows and Reflection (AC9S5U03) | A stick’s shadow measured through the day | Table, line graph, and a paper-strip model | Long, short, long: shortest when the Sun is highest | The mini-lesson |
| Particles in Solids, Liquids and Gases (AC9S5U04) | Warm water cooling in a cup, read every 2 minutes; particle diagrams | Table and line graph; a particle model | Falls fast at first, then more slowly | Draw-it sheet, Part A |
| Any science topic | The class’s own readings | Chosen with the organiser | Described with the sentence starters | Organiser first, every time |
The three moves, and the picture that backs each one
When you want a worked example on the board, open the interactive unit and use the picture that matches the move children are working on.
- Organise readings in a table, then turn them into a graph or a model: “Put the shadow lengths in a table, then draw the graph” and “Build a physical model of the shadow, step by step”.
- Check the representation for a value that breaks the trend: “Find the shadow length that does not fit”.
- Describe the trend honestly: “Which statements describe the shadow trend correctly?”.
How the scaffolds build the skill
The data organiser sets up a table for any investigation and helps choose what comes next. The draw-it sheet turns two tables into a line graph and a column graph and asks for a description of each, with sentence starters. The representation cards practise choosing: twelve kinds of data to place under Table, Column graph, Line graph, or Model or diagram.
Organise it, then choose
A table gives every reading a home, beside the thing it belongs to. From a tidy table you can choose the graph or model that shows the pattern best.
Our table
| What we changed: ____________________ | What we measured, and its unit: ______________ |
|---|---|
What comes next? Tick one.
| Is the first column a set of separate things, such as colours, surfaces or animals? | Column graph □ |
| Is the first column a time, or something that goes up in steps, such as minutes or weeks? | Line graph □ |
| Do we want to show how something is arranged, or how it works? | Model or diagram □ |
Because ...
Describe it
Teacher note: a description at standard names a trend or pattern with numbers from the table, and says what it might mean.
Draw it, describe it
A. Warm water cooling in a cup
| Minutes | °C |
|---|---|
| 0 | 60 |
| 2 | 49 |
| 4 | 41 |
| 6 | 35 |
| 8 | 31 |
| 10 | 28 |
Plot each reading as a dot, then join the dots in order.
Describe the trend. Does it cool by the same amount every 2 minutes?
B. A toothpick hunt on grass
15 toothpicks of each colour were scattered on the grass. A team had 2 minutes to find them.
| Colour | Found |
|---|---|
| green | 3 |
| red | 14 |
| brown | 5 |
| blue | 13 |
| yellow | 12 |
Describe the pattern. Why might some colours have been found less often?
Which representation?
Cut out the cards. Lay down the four grey heading cards, then place each data card under the representation that would show it best. Be ready to say why.
Teacher note: three cards go under each heading. The key, with reasons, is on the answer sheet.
A day of shadows on one sheet
Use this stand-alone lesson to teach the skill on its own, before you fold it into a science topic. A torch moved over a peg acts out the Sun crossing the sky; children cut a paper strip to each shadow and lay the strips in order, which makes a physical model of the data. The same readings then go into a table and a line graph.
We are learning to
- organise readings in a table,
- show the same data as a physical model and a line graph,
- describe the trend the representation shows.
Success criteria
- I can explain why a line graph suits readings taken in time order.
- I can describe a trend in words, using numbers from the table.
You need
- for each group, a torch, a peg or a short pencil stood upright in modelling clay on a sheet of paper, strips of paper, scissors, glue and a ruler,
- the data organiser and the draw-it sheet (scaffolds 1 and 2), one each per child,
- the representation cards from scaffold 3, one set per table,
- the free interactive unit on your board, if you have one (optional).
Lesson flow (about 30 minutes)
| 5 min | Act out the day Dim the lights. Move a torch over the peg in an arc, low on one side (morning), high above (midday), low on the other side (afternoon). Ask: “What happens to the shadow as the torch climbs, then sinks?” |
| 10 min | Build the model Groups hold the torch at five positions along the arc, cut a paper strip to each shadow, and glue the strips in order, side by side. Show the board (see the box). Ask: “Your strips make a shape. What does the shape tell you without any numbers?” |
| 10 min | Table and graph Children measure each strip, fill the table in the data organiser, choose the representation, and describe the trend with the sentence starters. Ask: “Would a column graph or a line graph show this better? Why?” |
| 5 min | Which representation? Tables sort the representation cards under the four headings. Ask: “Which card could go under two headings? What decides it?” |
Running it shorter? Stop after the model, and draw the graph at the start of your next science lesson.
Watch for these ideas
- A graph with no scale or labels, so nobody can read the numbers back.
- Joining points with a line when the first column is separate categories, such as colours.
- Describing a graph by its look (‘it goes down’) without saying what changed and by how much.
Make it easier, make it bigger
- Easier: give children the axes already labelled and scaled, and three positions instead of five.
- Bigger: add a reading that does not fit, and explain on the graph how you would check it.
Answers and look-fors
The next sheet has the finished graphs, model descriptions, the card key, a model description for each Year 5 topic, and a quick three-level guide.
Answers and look-fors
Draw it, describe it
A. The water cooled from 60 °C to 28 °C in 10 minutes. It did not cool by the same amount each time: 11 °C in the first 2 minutes, then 8, 6 and 4, and only 3 °C in the last 2 minutes. The line falls steeply, then flattens.
B. Red (14), blue (13) and yellow (12) were found most; brown (5) and green (3) least. Green and brown are like the colours of grass and soil, so they were harder to see: this is how camouflage helps animals survive.
Representation cards
| Card | Data | Best shown as | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | The temperature of a cup of water every minute as it cools. | Line graph | to show how something changes over time |
| B | Every reading from today’s test, before we look for a pattern. | Table | to organise every value before looking for a pattern |
| C | How the particles are arranged in ice, water and steam. | Model or diagram | to show how something is arranged or how it works |
| D | The number of each kind of bird seen in the school yard. | Column graph | to compare amounts for separate categories |
| E | How many slaters chose the damp side of a tray, and how many the dry side. | Column graph | to compare amounts for separate categories |
| F | The length of a stick’s shadow every hour from 8 am to 4 pm. | Line graph | to show how something changes over time |
| G | The names, heights and ages of the five plants we grew. | Table | to organise every value before looking for a pattern |
| H | Three readings for each trial, and their middle value. | Table | to organise every value before looking for a pattern |
| I | How a river carries sand down a slope and drops it at the bottom. | Model or diagram | to show how something is arranged or how it works |
| J | Which floor a toy car rolled furthest on: carpet, tiles or wood. | Column graph | to compare amounts for separate categories |
| K | The height of a sunflower, measured every week for ten weeks. | Line graph | to show how something changes over time |
| L | How light bounces off the two mirrors inside a periscope. | Model or diagram | to show how something is arranged or how it works |
A child who argues for a second choice with a good reason (a table first for every set of numbers, say) is reasoning well.
Organiser: what a good description sounds like
| Topic | Representation | A description at standard |
|---|---|---|
| Features and Behaviours for Survival | Column graph | Red, blue and yellow toothpicks were found most and green and brown least, because colours like grass and soil are hard to see: camouflage. |
| Weathering, Erosion and Deposition | Column graph, and a diagram of the tray | The steeper the slope, the further the sediment travelled: about 12 cm at the gentle slope and 34 cm at the steep one. |
| Light, Shadows and Reflection | Line graph, and a paper-strip model | The shadow was longest early and late in the day and shortest near midday, when the Sun was highest. |
| Particles in Solids, Liquids and Gases | Line graph, and particle diagrams | The water cooled quickly at first and then more slowly; a diagram shows its particles slowing as it cools. |
A quick three-level guide
| Move | Working towards | At standard | Beyond |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organise the data | lists readings in no order, or without units | builds a table with headings, units and every reading in order | adds a column that helps, such as the middle of three trials |
| Choose and draw the representation | draws a graph with no scale or labels | chooses a column graph, line graph or model that suits the data, with a scale and labels | explains why another representation would hide the pattern |
| Describe patterns and trends | describes the look of the graph only | describes the trend with numbers from the table | links the trend to a relationship and a reason from the science |
A child at standard organises readings in a table, chooses a representation that suits them, and describes the trend with numbers. The skill grows all year, so keep the scaffolds coming back in every science topic.