Acknowledgements
The assistance of the Key Stage 3 Strategy pilot LEAs in developing these materials is gratefully acknowledged.
Images of Microsoft products are reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Corporation.
The data in the files Pupil resource 7.csv and Teacher resource 8.ppt are reproduced with the permission of the CensusAtSchool Project, RSS Centre for Statistical Education, ( based at NottinghamTrentUniversity.
Logos and information from National Curriculum in Action, National Statistics and the Department for Transport are used with the permission of the organisations concerned.
All company logos and images are used with permission.
Disclaimer
The Department for Education and Skills wishes to make clear that the Department and its agents accept no responsibility for the actual content of any materials suggested as information sources in this document, whether these are in the form of printed publications or on a website.
In these materials icons, logos, software products and websites are used for contextual and practical reasons. Their use should not be interpreted as an endorsement of particular companies or their products.
Contents
About the ICT sample teaching units for Key Stage 34
7.5 Data handling: unit overview5
ICT Framework objectives5
Timing5
Task5
Resources6
Prior learning7
Subject knowledge needed by teachers7
Lesson outlines8
Lesson plans
Lesson 1Evaluating and interrogating an existing data set10
Lesson 2Presenting information in different formats to test hypotheses17
Lesson 3Designing a questionnaire to collect data23
Lesson 4Creating a questionnaire and designing a data handling
file structure to answer a key question30
Lesson 5Entering, checking and testing data36
Lesson 6Drawing conclusions and selecting data to support them41
Resources
Teacher resource 1Visits to the UK by overseas residents, 1978 to 199947
Teacher resource 2Numerical and percentage tables and graphs of the
data in Teacher resource 148
Teacher resource 3Some question types and possible responses50
Teacher resource 4National travel survey, Trips to school per child per year51
Teacher resource 5Sample questions for a questionnaire52
Teacher resource 6Questionnaire: Survey of means of travel to school53
Teacher resource 7Data with errors and inconsistencies54
Teacher resource 8Data collected from CensusAtSchool55
Teacher resource 9Data from CensusAtSchool56
Teacher resource 10Teacher statements57
Pupil resource 1Question cards58
Pupil resource 2Visits to the UK by overseas residents, 1978 to 199959
Pupil resource 3Visits to the UK by overseas residents, 1978 to 1999
(question sheet)60
Pupil resource 4Evaluating a data file structure61
Pupil resource 5Data with errors62
Pupil resource 6Cards for ‘Statements’ game63
HD vocabulary cards64
About the ICT sample teaching units for Key Stage 3
This unit is one of a series illustrating how objectives from the Framework for teaching ICT capability: Years 7, 8 and 9 can be taught.
There is no requirement to use the units. They contain sample lesson plans that you can amend to suit your local circumstances and the needs of your pupils. For example, you may decide to use different activities to teach objectives or to teach the unit to a different year group. Microsoft Word versions of the lesson plans are being published on the Key Stage 3 website at so that if you wish you can download the plans to modify them.
The units contain plans for lessons of 60 minutes. Each activity in the lessons has a guide time. This will help you to fit activities into lessons that are longer or shorter than 60 minutes. For example, the activities in one of the unit’s lessons could be taught over two of the school’s lessons, with extra starter and plenary activities added.
The ICT Framework recommends that schools offer one hour each week, or 38 hours per year, for dedicated ICT lessons. The sample teaching units for a year, if taught without amendment, need less teaching time than 38 hours. This leaves time for lessons of your own design at suitable points. For example, you could revisit objectives to consolidate learning, use the time for informal assessment, or insert an extra skills-based lesson to teach particular aspects of more complex software.
The sample lesson plans are intentionally very detailed to give busy teachers a full picture of how each lesson might be taught. Teachers’ own plans would probably be much less comprehensive.
Apart from sample teaching unit 7.1, which is an introductory unit to be used before any of the others, the order in which the units for Year 7 are taught is not important.
About this sample teaching unit
Unit 7.5 is a unit about data handling for Year 7. It allows you to review pupils’ learning from Key Stage 2 and to introduce them to some of the ICT Framework objectives in the theme ‘Finding things out’.
Since handling data is one of the National Curriculum attainment targets in mathematics, you should consult the mathematics department about what aspects of data handling have been taught in Year 7 mathematics lessons, including the use of ICT. The handling data section of the supplement of examples in the Framework for teaching mathematics: Years 7, 8 and 9, included on the CD-ROM accompanying this unit, illustrates the kind of work that pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 will do in their mathematics lessons.
Data handling: unit overview
ICT Framework objectives
FINDING THINGS OUT
Using data and information sources
- Identify the purpose of an information source and whether it is likely to be biased.
- Identify what information is relevant to a task.
- Understand how someone using an information source could be misled by missing or inaccurate information.
Searching and selecting
- Narrow down a search to achieve more relevant results.
Organising and investigating
- In an investigation:
-design and use an appropriate data handling structure to answer questions and draw conclusions;
-design a questionnaire or data collection sheet to provide relevant data;
-check data efficiently for errors;
-investigate relationships between variables;
-use software to represent data in simple graphs, charts or tables, justifying the choice of representation;
-derive new information from data;
-check whether conclusions are plausible;
-review and amend the structure and its data to answer further questions.
Timing
This unit is expected to take six lessons of 60 minutes. Each activity has a guide time so that you can alter the number and duration of lessons to suit your own timetable.
Task
In this unit pupils will consider how to collect relevant data to answer a question. They will design a file to handle the data and will check their entries for accuracy. Finally, they will use the database functions in a spreadsheet package, such as Microsoft Excel, to interrogate their data and consider the plausibility of the conclusions they have drawn.
The lessons are designed for pupils working at levels 4 and 5, with extension work for pupils working at higher levels. Adaptations and extra material are suggested for less experienced pupils or for pupils working at lower levels.
Resources
- Computer with large screen display
- Whiteboard or flipchart
- Software, such as Microsoft Office, for data handling, wordprocessing and slide presentations
- Printer
- A display of the data handling
cycle as in the Key Stage 3
Strategy Numeracy across the
curriculum pack (This is available
as a poster in the Strategy’s pack
Interacting with mathematics in
Key Stage 3: Year 8 handling
data, which contains six copies
for each school.) - Teacher resources on the CD-ROM for the unit:
-HD maths.pdffile of the ‘Handling data’ section of the supplement of examples in the mathematics Framework, for reference
-HD vocab cards.docFlash cards of the key vocabulary used in this unit
-Teacher resource 1.xlsA simple table of travel statistics, Visits to the UK by overseas residents, 1978 to 1999
-Teacher resource 2.xls Numeric and percentage tables and graphs of the data in Teacher resource 1.xls
-Teacher resource 3.doc Question types
-Teacher resource 4.xls National travel survey, Trips to school per child per year
-Teacher resource 5.ppt Sample questions for a questionnaire
-Teacher resource 6.doc Blank questionnaire grid
-Teacher resource 7.doc Data with list of errors and inconsistencies
-Teacher resource 8.csv Data file for sorting and searching
-Teacher resource 9.ppt Data from CensusAtSchool
-Teacher resource 10.doc Teacher statements
- Pupil resources on the CD-ROM for the unit:
-Pupil resource 1.doc Question cards
-Pupil resource 2.xls A simple table of travel statistics, Visits to the UK by overseas residents, 1978 to 1999 (this is identical to Teacher resource 1.xls)
-Pupil resource 3.doc Question sheet for Pupil resource 2
-Pupil resource 4.doc List of key questions
-Pupil resource 5.xls Data with errors
-Pupil resource 6.docCards for ‘Statements’ game
Prior learning
Pupils should already know how to:
- log on to the network;
- load and save work in a shared area, using the file name conventions of the school;
- use the knowledge, skills and understanding set out in the ‘Finding things out’ section of the Key Stage 2 programme of study, including:
-gathering information from a variety of sources: for example, people and databases;
-entering and storing information in a variety of forms;
-retrieving information that has been stored;
- use the knowledge, skills and understanding set out in the ‘Developing ideas and making things happen’ section of the Key Stage 2 programme of study for ICT, including:
-using tables to develop their ideas;
-selecting from and adding to information they have retrieved for particular purposes;
- use the knowledge, skills and understanding set out in the ‘Reviewing, modifying and evaluating work as it progresses’ section of the Key Stage 2 programme of study for ICT, including:
-reviewing what they have done to help them develop their ideas;
-talking about what they might change in future work.
It would be useful to ask teachers in the mathematics department to indicate which aspects of data handling have been taught in Year 7 mathematics lessons, including the use of ICT, and what types of graphs and charts pupils are familiar with.
Subject knowledge needed by teachers
To teach this unit, teachers will need to know how to:
- load and save work in a shared area;
- use a large screen display, such as an interactive whiteboard;
- use presentation, wordprocessing and spreadsheet software;
- use the Internet to find information and download it;
- use data handling software and create data files;
- sort and make selective searches of data in a data file, and produce a range of graphs and charts from data files;
- explain the differences between different forms of data, including alphanumeric and numeric data.
Lesson outlines
LESSON 1
Evaluating and interrogating an existing data set
1Starter: Checking pupils’ knowledge and understanding
2Considering critically the information in an existing data set
3Interrogating an existing data set
4Generating graphs
5Plenary: Considering everyday uses of graphical data
Homework: Considering the clarity of information represented graphically
LESSON 2
Presenting information in different formats to test hypotheses
1Starter: Review of previous learning
2Proposing and testing hypotheses
3Using percentages to derive new information
4Plenary: Presenting conclusions
Homework: Collecting data
LESSON 3
Designing a questionnaire to collect data
1Starter: Introducing questions to be answered
2Considering what data are required
3Framing the questions for a questionnaire
4Considering answers to questions on a questionnaire
5Plenary: Comparing local and national data
Homework: Collecting data
LESSON 4
Creating a questionnaire and designing a data handling file structure to answer a key question
1Starter: Designing a questionnaire
2Completing a questionnaire
3Plenary: Designing and creating a data handling file structure
Homework: Evaluating individual database designs
LESSON 5
Entering, checking and testing data
1Starter: Checking data for errors
2Entering and testing data
3Creating graphs and charts for initial data analysis
4Sorting data and using selective searching
5Plenary: Recognising the need to collect extra data to draw conclusions
Homework: Improving data collection to avoid pitfalls
LESSON 6
Drawing conclusions and selecting data to support them
1Starter: Ways of checking the plausibility of conclusions
2Drawing conclusions
3Providing evidence to support conclusions and checking for plausibility
4Plenary: Relating conclusions to original questions
Homework: Extending the investigation or preparing for the next unit
1
Evaluating and interrogating an existing data set
ICT Framework objectives
FINDING THINGS OUT
Using data and information sources
- Identify the purpose of an information source and whether it is likely to be biased.
- Understand how someone using an information source could be misled by missing or inaccurate information.
Organising and investigating
- In an investigation:
-use software to represent data in simple graphs, charts or tables, justifying the choice of representation;
-derive new information from data.
Key vocabulary
From Year 6:accurate, bar chart, data, download, Internet, pie chart, table
From Year 7:database, field, information source, numeric data, origin, reliable, uniform resource locator (URL), value
From Year 8:bias, interrogate
Preparation and planning
- Clarify from pupils‘ records the type of data handling activities they have experienced in Key Stage 2. Modify your questions in the starter activity of the lesson to take account of these experiences.
- Copy and cut up a sufficient quantity of Pupil resource 1.doc for pupils to have one card (A, B or C) per pair. Shuffle the cards to ensure that roughly equal numbers of each card are distributed.
- Make sure that the file Pupil resource 2.xls is available in the shared area.
- Copy Pupil resource 3.doc in sufficient numbers for pupils to have one copy between two.
- Check that the website is available. In particular, check that the access sequence described on page 14 still works – the website may have been updated since these notes were written.
- Create a wall display of key vocabulary for the unit, which can be added to each week. If you wish, you could create a complete set of vocabulary cards from the file HD vocab cards.doc.
- If necessary, prepare a wall display showing pupils how to use the network system, log on, save to own area and use the printer.
- If necessary, prepare guidance to help pupils with the software they will be using in the lesson.
- Display the lesson’s objectives in a prominent position, phrased in a way that pupils can understand.
Resources
- Computer with large screen display
- Whiteboard or flipchart
- Software for data handling and wordprocessing
- Teacher resources:
-Teacher resource 1.xlsA simple table of travel statistics, Visits to the UK by overseas residents, 1978 to 1999
- Pupil resources:
-Pupil resource 1.docQuestion cards
-Pupil resource 2.xlsA simple table of travel statistics, Visits to the UK by overseas residents, 1978 to 1999
-Pupil resource 3.docQuestion sheet for Pupil resource 2
Lesson outline 60 minutes
1Starter: Checking pupils’ Whole-class discussion10 minutes
knowledge and
understanding
2Considering critically the Demonstration10 minutes
information in an existingWhole-class questioning
data set
3Interrogating an existing Questioning of pairs20 minutes data set Demonstration
Whole-class discussion
4Generating graphs Individual work15 minutes Demonstration
5Plenary: ConsideringWhole-class discussion5 minutes
everyday uses of graphical Summary of lesson
data
Homework: Considering Individual work
the clarity of information
represented graphically
Activities
1 Starter: Checking pupils’ knowledge and understanding
Explain that in this lesson pupils will learn how to use graphs and percentages to derive new information from a collection of data. They will find out how to decide whether data are reliable or biased in any way, and whether people could be misled by the data. Refer pupils to the displayed objectives for the lesson.
Ask pupils to tell you briefly about previous occasions where they have used a database. Ask these questions.
- What did you use the database for?
- What did you find out?
- Why was a database useful on that occasion?
Use pupils’ answers to check their levels of understanding and the range of vocabulary they use.
2 Considering critically the information in an existing data set
Load Teacher resource 1.xls, which is a simple table of travel statistics, Visits to the UK by overseas residents, 1978 to 1999. Show the table on the large display. Do not reveal or discuss the source of the data at this stage.
Explain that you are using the database functions in a spreadsheet package and that pupils are looking at an example of a single table of data that can be interrogated, just like a flat file database.
Explain briefly the meaning of each of the fields (categories), pointing out that the numbers are very large and have been recorded in thousands. Ask pupils if they can see now that the spreadsheet software and data are being used as a database.
Check pupils’ understanding by choosing one or two values and asking them to tell you how many actual visits each number represents (for example, in 1978, under ‘Holiday visits’, 5876 represents 5 876 000 visits). It may be useful to check pupils’ understanding of the actual values represented by asking them to read the numbers, in words, so that ‘5876’ holiday visits in 1978 would be read as ‘five million, eight hundred and seventy-six thousand’.
Ask the class these questions.
- Why are the numeric data (numbers) entered in a short form?
For example, large numbers can often be rounded to a suitable multiple of 10, 100, 1000, … where the result would be sufficiently accurate for the purpose. Entering the data in a shortened form makes the numbers easier to read and easier to compare. In the same way, numbers or measurements might be limited to whole numbers or to a particular number of decimal places. For example, the weather forecaster gives temperature readings to whole degrees.
- Give me some examples of what general information the data in this table provide.
For example, every year there are more holiday visits than business visits.