Understand the idea.
Plan before collecting
Turn a broad interest into a statistical question that allows different answers. Specify the people, the quantity and the time period. For reading time, ask each participant about the same part of the day and record every answer in minutes.
Plan the recording method before collecting data. Use the same wording and units for everyone, and collect only needed information. Keep a missing response separate from zero: zero minutes means the student reported no reading, while a blank tells us no amount.
Check, display and conclude
Check the records before drawing a graph. Look for mixed units, missing answers and possible recording errors. Confirm a doubtful value where possible; do not replace a genuine observation just because it makes the data look untidy or changes your conclusion.
Choose a display suited to the variable, then answer the original question using numbers and features such as mode, range or clusters. State a limitation, such as observing only one day. Repeating the same method can show whether the pattern continues.
See the method in action.
Make the question measurable
Improve Do we read enough? into a question a Year 6 group can investigate.
Worked solution
- 1
Identify the unclear part.
Enough has no stated target, so different students could interpret it differently.
- 2
Choose a quantity and a group.
Minutes spent reading can be recorded for each student in our class and can vary between students.
- 3
Fix a shared time period.
Asking how many minutes students in our class read after school yesterday gives everyone the same period and a clear unit.
For example: How many minutes did students in our class read after school yesterday?
Report without inventing a cause
Practice reading times are Group A: 10, 10, 15, 15, 20; Group B: 15, 20, 20, 25, 30. Write a supported conclusion.
Worked solution
- 1
Describe Group A's records.
Group A's times run from ten to twenty minutes, and ten and fifteen each occur twice, so both are modes.
- 2
Describe Group B's records.
Group B's times run from fifteen to thirty minutes, and twenty occurs twice, so its mode is twenty.
- 3
Compare the recorded patterns.
Group B's endpoints and mode are higher. Its recorded times are generally higher, although the two groups overlap from fifteen to twenty minutes.
- 4
Limit the conclusion to the evidence.
Only five people per group were recorded on one day, so the data does not establish a permanent difference or its cause.
The recorded Group B times are generally higher, but the data covers only five people per group on one day.
Try it yourself.
Check your understanding
A student leaves the reading-time answer blank. Should it automatically be entered as 0 minutes?
Show answer & reasoning
No.
A blank does not say how long the student read. Entering zero would invent a report of no reading, so ask the student or keep the response labelled missing.
Keep practising
6 worksheet questions · 12 marks
Read the questions online
- Write a data question about how students travel to school.2 marks
- For a comparison of plant heights, choose one unit to use throughout and explain why.2 marks
- A reading record contains 12, 15, blank and 18 minutes. What should happen to the blank entry?2 marks
- Choose a suitable display for favourite sport categories.2 marks
- For 3, 4, 4, 5, 8 library visits, give a supported conclusion using the mode and range.2 marks
- A class measured playground shade on one cloudy morning. Give one limit and one next step.2 marks
Read the worked solutions
Equivalent correct methods earn the corresponding marks. Include units where asked.
- Write a data question about how students travel to school.2 marks
State the group and a clear time.
Record a category such as walk, car, bus or bicycle.
For example: Which travel method did students in our class use to arrive at school today? - For a comparison of plant heights, choose one unit to use throughout and explain why.2 marks
Using one unit prevents a metre value being compared directly with a centimetre value.
For example, centimetres. - A reading record contains 12, 15, blank and 18 minutes. What should happen to the blank entry?2 marks
Do not invent a measurement.
Zero would mean the person actually reported no reading.
Keep it as missing or ask for the value. - Choose a suitable display for favourite sport categories.2 marks
Separate categories need distinct labelled entries or bars.
A continuous line would wrongly suggest intermediate sports.
A column graph or frequency table. - For 3, 4, 4, 5, 8 library visits, give a supported conclusion using the mode and range.2 marks
4 occurs twice.
.
The most common value is 4 visits, and the range is 5 visits. - A class measured playground shade on one cloudy morning. Give one limit and one next step.2 marks
Identify what was not covered.
Choose repeat measurements that address that limitation. Other sensible plans are acceptable.
Limit: one morning may not represent other times or weather. Next step: repeat at agreed times on several days.
Curriculum reference & lesson scope
Australian Curriculum v9.0; SA Mathematics Curriculum 2026
Variable types; comparative displays; mode/range/shape; media claims; investigations.
Official curriculum source ↗