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Year 1: Ourselves |
| ICT focus | Representing Information |
| Main activity | Create a graph or pictogram on how we look |
| Suggested resources | Pick a Picture, Starting Graph, Picturepoint, Counter |
Starting Graph is in the RM Window Box, and is widely used in schools.
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Starting Graph has sets of graphics for eye colour and hair colour. For example, a child may click on the graphic which most closely shows the colour of his/her own eyes. Pupils may see the growth of a pictogram, and a chart recording numbers. There is also a report option which allows the pupils to answer questions on the data and print out their answers. |
Points to remember when using Starting Graph
- There are two modes for using the software:
Green - Edit Mode. This allows changes to be made to the fields and the report questions.
Yellow - Touch mode allows pupils to touch the icons to record their data
Advantages of using Starting Graph:
- Easy to input data (click on the icon)
- Possible to change colours on the graphs to match,for example, eye colour
- Works well with an interactive whiteboard as children can come up to the board and tap to input data
- There are a variety of graphs available
- Easy to copy graph into another program
The limitation of the software is that, when working with pictograms, there is a maximum of 13 for each category. If this is a problem, ask children to work in groups.
Points to remember when introducing graphing software:
- It is important to introduce the children to correct vocabulary such as bar, axis, category.
- Before collecting data, discuss what data is to be collected. Ask, "What are we trying to find out?"
- After data has been collected, discuss what the graphs show. How did we interpret the graphs, and what have we found out?
