<p>When words appear in songs and nursery rhymes, students will count and record how often they occur. To indicate how frequently the words appear, students will use tally marks. Students are going to:&nbsp;<br>- compile information from observations regarding nursery rhymes and songs.&nbsp;<br>- address questions following data comparison.&nbsp;<br>- explain the data shown in tables and graphs.&nbsp;<br>- analyze the information and conclude numerical relationships.</p>

<p>- How can information be presented and arranged to shed light on the relationship between different quantities?&nbsp;<br>- How can predictions be made using data analysis and probability?&nbsp;<br>- What impact does the type of data have on the display option?&nbsp;<br>- What does it mean to evaluate or estimate a numerical quantity?&nbsp;<br>- Why is a tool or strategy suitable for a particular task?&nbsp;<br>- Why does "what" we measure affect "how" we measure?</p>

<p>- Bar Graph: A graph is a pictorial device used to show a numerical relationship. A bar graph uses the length of solid bars to represent numbers and compare data.&nbsp;<br>- Data: Information, especially numerical information, usually organized for analysis.&nbsp;<br>- Frequency: The number of times something occurs in an interval.&nbsp;<br>- Survey: A collection of information.&nbsp;<br>- Tally Chart: A table that uses tally marks to record data.&nbsp;<br>- Tally Mark: A mark used to keep track of items when counting.</p>

<p>- words to nursery rhymes written on chart paper (M-1-6-2_Nursery)&nbsp;<br>- markers&nbsp;<br>- Blank Horizontal Bar Graph (M-1-6-1_Blank Horizontal Bar Graph)&nbsp;<br>- a blank tally chart or frequency table (M-1-6-1_Blank Tally Chart)</p>

<p>- Small-group activity: Have students write their first names on construction paper. Ask them to count how often the letters a, e, i, o, and u occur in the list of names. Instruct students to collaborate to create a bar graph depicting the frequency of the letters. To evaluate students' comprehension, use a checklist.</p>

<p>Explicit instruction, modeling, scaffolding, and active engagement&nbsp;<br>W: Explain to the class that they will be creating a graph that shows how frequently a nursery rhyme's words occur.&nbsp;<br>H: Write a nursery rhyme's lyrics on the board. Point out words that appear more than once, and then ask the class to predict words based on the rhyme schemes. Using various colored markers, circle words that repeat.&nbsp;<br>E: Allow students to come up with a better, more effective method for determining word repetition frequency. As you go through the rhyme, have students record the tally marks on the tally charts you create for each word.&nbsp;<br>R: Ask students to make a bar graph showing the words in order of frequency using the tally data.&nbsp;<br>E: Keep an eye on students while they work on their graphs. Inform them that the data is still the same even though they are changing the word order.&nbsp;<br>T: Choose a reading passage from a book, then assign students to make bar graphs and frequency charts based on the passage. Prepare the data ahead of time so that students can complete the graphing without needing to collect it, should they require a less complicated assignment.&nbsp;<br>O: The goal of this lesson is for students to examine data and determine the most effective way to display it.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>"We'll keep our attention on graphical data representation today. We'll look at how frequently words appear in nursery rhymes. We'll use bar graphs and tally marks to record and present the data we gather. Does anyone know of a good nursery rhyme?"&nbsp;</strong>(See M-1-6-2_Nursery for the words to some nursery rhymes.)<br><br><strong>"Is everyone familiar with the nursery rhyme 'Mary Had a Little Lamb?' Please review it as I write it."</strong>&nbsp;On the chart paper, write the nursery rhyme. Put the words on display. Engage your students in a rendition of the nursery rhyme. To identify words that are repeated in the nursery rhyme, ask volunteers to point them out. Ask students to record any patterns they hear. When they hear patterns, ask them if they believe they can predict anything. Using markers of various colors, encircle the words. (Students could use their copies of the nursery rhyme and circle the words with different colored markers while the teacher does it on chart paper to make this activity more engaging.)<br><br>Ask students to look for the rhyme's circled words.<strong> "Which terms come up most frequently? Are there any words that never repeat? Is it simple or difficult to determine how frequently the words appear?"&nbsp;</strong>Make a point of pointing out that the rhyme scheme makes it easier for us to anticipate that the words lamb and little would have the most circles. Ask students to recite the rhyme while focusing on the pattern.<br><br>Make sure the students understand that they must read the rhyme over and over again to determine how frequently the words repeat. Point out that this is a waste of time.<strong>&nbsp;"How might you record the frequency of words in a nursery rhyme in a more effective manner?"</strong>&nbsp;Encourage students to come up with ideas. Show them that tables and charts are useful tools for keeping track of an event's frequency.<br><br><strong>"Let's make a tally chart first. We'll list nursery rhyme words in the left column. We'll record each time the word appears in the right column by using tally marks."&nbsp;</strong>Choose a word from the nursery rhyme that appears frequently together (Mary, had, a,&nbsp;little, lamb). Write each nursery rhyme word on a separate row of the tally chart. Read the children's rhyme aloud in class. Ask students to add a tally mark to the tally chart for each time a word appears. Ask students to explain how they can evaluate the rhyme using the tally chart.&nbsp;<strong>"What is the song's word count? Which word appears most frequently? Which words appear the fewest times?"&nbsp;</strong>Give students some time to express their ideas.<br><br><strong>"Graphing the frequency of the words in the nursery rhyme will allow us to expand on this activity."</strong>&nbsp;Give students some alone time to complete the M-1-6-1_Blank Tally Chart and M-1-6-1_Blank Horizontal Bar Graph bar graphs using the data from the tally charts. Don't forget to add labels and a title. After finishing their graphs, students should compare their work and discuss the displayed data.<strong>&nbsp;"In what format is the data easiest to analyze?"</strong>&nbsp;Consider expanding the assignment by having students collaborate with a partner to make a second bar graph that displays the frequency of the words in descending order of frequency. Encourage students to talk about the ideas they had while making this graph.<br><br>As partners work to complete the second bar graph, take the time to observe them. Describe how the data is still the same even though the order has changed. After reviewing the updated graph, ask students to identify the words that are used most and least frequently. Allow students to compare the two graphs. To determine whether students truly comprehend the idea of recording frequency, pay attention to their explanations.<br><br><strong>Extension:</strong><br><br>You can modify the lesson to fit your students' needs throughout the year by using the activity that follows.<br><br><strong>Routine: </strong>Have students choose several pages from a class reader and then count how many times a specific word appears on each page. For instance, students may search for the terms and or the. Make a tally chart with the various pages listed on the board. Add up the number of times the term appears on every page in the list.<br><br><strong>Small Groups: </strong>Students who require more learning opportunities can undertake data collection and graph creation tasks in small groups. They should select a topic whose frequency is simple to count, such as the quantity of money in each student's pocket, the number of letters in each student's street name, or the quantity of each kind of coin in a handful of change (real or fake). Instead of letting the data collection and sorting steps slow down the process, the practice would try to complete it as quickly as possible.<br><br><strong>Expansion 1: </strong>Ask students to come up with ideas for additional data that can be frequently&nbsp;measured. Assign them to collaborate with a partner to generate a bar graph using their data. Instruct students to present their information in either descending or ascending order. Ask them to talk about how such a display influences the things they notice. The idea is to get students thinking about how to present data in the most effective way possible.<br><br>It is encouraged for the students to examine the data and identify trends. This aids in their analysis and comparison of data. By using the information from the tally charts to create a bar graph, students expand on the first exercise. Students organize the data to support their analysis of it.<br><br><strong>Expansion 2: </strong>Ask students to compare the data discovered by two different class readers. Pose questions like:<br><br><strong>"How were the graphs the same?"</strong><br><strong>"How were the graphs different?"</strong><br><strong>"How many times was one word used more than another?"</strong></p>