Virginia SOL 5.PS.1.a
The Standard
Formulate questions that require the collection or acquisition of data.
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 line plots (dot plots) and stem-and-leaf plots.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students write clear questions that require information from several people, objects, events, or records. They identify the group being studied and the data needed to answer each question.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student writes a clear question that can be answered with data from a defined group. The student can name what data are needed and whether to collect them or use an existing source.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may write a question with one fixed answer, such as asking today’s date. They may leave out the group, measurement, or category, making data collection unclear. Some write opinion questions without defining answer choices.
How to Assess It
- Give this exit ticket: “Write one question about our class that requires data from several students. Name the data you would collect.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups classroom objects and sticky notes, then have them write a question that requires measuring or counting the objects.
Ask students to revise “Do fifth graders exercise?” so the group, time period, and measurable data are clear.
Play Question Sort with cards labeled data question or fixed-answer question, then award points for accurate explanations.
Use a school lunch menu and ask students to write a question that could be answered by collecting one week of cafeteria data.
Free download
Printable 5.PS.1.a Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 5.PS.1.a, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
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Related Standards
- 8.PS.3.a
Formulate questions that require the collection or acquisition of data with a focus on scatterplots.
- 7.PS.2.a
Formulate questions that require the collection or acquisition of data with a focus on histograms.
- 3.PS.1.a
The 3rd Grade version of this standard.
- 4.PS.1.a
The 4th Grade version of this standard.
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