Virginia SOL 3.PS.1.b
The Standard
Determine the data needed to answer a formulated question and collect or acquire existing data (limited to 30 or fewer data points for no more than eight categories) using various methods (e.g., polls, observations, tallies).
Virginia Standards of Learning for Mathematics · The student will apply the data cycle (formulate questions; collect or acquire data; organize and represent data; and analyze data and communicate results) with a focus on pictographs and bar graphs.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students decide what information would answer a given question and identify who or what can provide it. They choose a poll, observation, tally, or existing list, then record each result in clear categories.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a question about classmates’ preferences, a student names the exact response to gather and the group to ask. The student collects each response once, uses categories that do not overlap, and checks that the total matches the number surveyed.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may collect interesting facts that do not answer the question. They may use overlapping categories, count one response twice, or omit a response. Some record predictions as if they were results.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: For “Which fruit is preferred by these 10 students?”, name the needed data, then tally: apple, banana, apple, grapes, orange, apple, banana, grapes, apple, orange.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Set out colored linking cubes. Each student chooses a favorite color, then teams collect and tally the class choices.
Ask, “What data would show whether indoor or outdoor recess is preferred, and how could we collect it fairly?”
Play Data Detective. Teams match question cards to data source cards, then explain why each source would answer the question.
Use a cafeteria menu poll to decide which of five fruit choices the class would recommend ordering next month.
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Printable 3.PS.1.b Worksheet
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