Part of the Big Ideas

Data must be represented in order to be interpreted, and how data are gathered and organized depends on the question.

With scaffolding and thoughtful guidance, young children can follow the steps involved in a simple data analysis process.  When they have experience answering different types of questions, they begin to see that data becomes most helpful when it is visually depicted, and that these depictions will differ depending on the question at hand.

© Erikson Institute’s Early Math Collaborative. Reprinted from Big Ideas of Early Mathematics: What Teachers of Young Children Need to Know (2014), Pearson Education.

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