Understand the idea.
Ask people or watch carefully
Start with what you want to find out. A survey asks people for an answer. To find a fruit choice, ask each child: Which one fruit would you choose: apple, pear or banana?
An observation records what you see happen. To count vehicles passing the gate, watch the gate and record each car, bus or bicycle as it passes. Asking about favourite vehicles would collect different information.
Keep the question fair
Give everyone the same question and choices. Saying that one fruit is the best may push people towards it. Let each child choose for themselves, then record one answer beside their name so nobody is missed or counted twice.
Choose who should answer before you begin. If your question is about the class, give every child in the class a chance to answer. A few friends' choices may be different from the rest of the class.
| Child | Choice |
|---|---|
| Ari | Apple |
| Bo | Pear |
| Cleo | Apple |
| Dara | Banana |
| Eli | Pear |
| Finn | Apple |
See the method in action.
Plan a fruit survey
Which question is fairer: Is apple the best fruit? Or: Which one fruit do you choose: apple, pear or banana?
Worked solution
- 1
Decide what the survey needs to find out.
We need each child's own fruit choice, so the question should let them choose freely.
- 2
Check the first question.
Calling apple the best suggests the answer before the child has chosen.
- 3
Choose the second question for everyone.
It offers apple, pear and banana without praising one choice; every child gets the same choices.
Ask the second question and give everyone the same choices.
Choose an observation
We want to know how many bicycles pass the gate in five minutes. Should we ask which bicycles children like, or watch the gate?
Worked solution
- 1
Find what needs counting.
The question asks about bicycles passing the gate, rather than which bicycles children like.
- 2
Watch the gate for five minutes.
An observation lets us see the passing bicycles during the time in the question.
- 3
Record each passing bicycle once.
One record for each bicycle as it passes gives the count we need without adding favourite-bike answers.
Observe the gate and record the bicycles.
Try it yourself.
Check your understanding
To find the number of rainy days this week, would you survey or observe?
Show answer & reasoning
Observe.
Observe the weather each day and mark which days are rainy. Then count the rainy-day records. Asking people what weather they prefer would not tell us how many rainy days occurred.
Keep practising
6 worksheet questions
Read the questions online
- Choose a method: survey or observe. You want to know each child’s favourite game.
- Choose a method: survey or observe. You want to count birds landing on a fence.
- Ari is recorded twice in a six-child fruit survey. Explain the problem.
- How many school days were recorded in the weather table?
Weather observed over five school days. Day Weather Monday Sunny Tuesday Cloudy Wednesday Sunny Thursday Rainy Friday Sunny - Which is fairer: Is red the best colour? Or: Which colour do you choose: red, blue or yellow? Explain.
- Plan a survey about three playground games. Write your question and one rule for recording the answers.
Read the worked solutions
- Choose a method: survey or observe. You want to know each child’s favourite game.
Ask each child which game they prefer.
Survey. - Choose a method: survey or observe. You want to count birds landing on a fence.
Watch the fence and record each bird in the chosen time.
Observe. - Ari is recorded twice in a six-child fruit survey. Explain the problem.
Each child should give one choice.
Check the original records and remove the repeated response.
One child has two responses, so the choices are not counted fairly. - How many school days were recorded in the weather table?
Weather observed over five school days. Day Weather Monday Sunny Tuesday Cloudy Wednesday Sunny Thursday Rainy Friday Sunny There is one row for each day from Monday to Friday.
5 days. - Which is fairer: Is red the best colour? Or: Which colour do you choose: red, blue or yellow? Explain.
It gives choices without calling one the best.
The second question. - Plan a survey about three playground games. Write your question and one rule for recording the answers.
Use the same question and choices.
Record each person once.
For example: Which one game do you choose: tag, skipping or ball games? Record one answer from every child.
Curriculum reference & lesson scope
Australian Curriculum v9; SA Curriculum Mathematics 2026
Surveys/observations; lists/tables; creating displays; comparing representations and conclusions.
Official curriculum source ↗