Data & Statistics

You might wonder how third graders can learn data & statistics. It sounds like they are fancy high school topics, but it’s much simpler than that. Students learn to collect, interpret, and display data. They’ll do this using things like tables, frequency tables, bar graphs, and pictographs. At this level they’ll be asked to compare and contrast the data as well. New third grade math terms will be an important part of their studies. Looking at a bar graph of favorite ice cream flavors, they might be asked a question like, “How many more students chose vanilla than chocolate?” Or, “Which flavor had the most votes?” They might also look at a graph that changes over time. For example, they might use a graph of temperature by month and come up with their own questions. “Which month was surprisingly warm?” Or, “In which months would you be able to go swimming?”

Third grade math data & statistics also involves probability. Students continue to use vocabulary like certain, possible, and impossible to determine how likely or how fair events are. They’ll also be asked to determine possible outcomes, as well as likely or unlikely outcomes of an event. Here are a few questions they might be asked to answer related to flipping a coin: “What possible outcomes are there when you flip a coin?”, “How likely are you to get heads?”, “How likely are you to get tails?”, “Is there an equal chance?” and “Is it fair?”