High Attainers Guidance – Representing Data

Year 8
#MathsEveryoneCan
High Attainers Guidance –Year 8 – Representing Data

How these materials work

For each block in the KS3 curriculum, we are providing activities to
challenge higher-attaining students to think more deeply about the
underlying mathematics. These mostly address two or three of the small
steps at a time, and can be used either alongside the main teaching of the
steps or at the end of the block as appropriate for your students. In many Small steps
cases, the activities could be used with many students, not just high covered in
attainers, by providing appropriate scaffolding. this activity
A notes page is provided for each activity, giving ideas and prompts for how
to use them in the classroom.

In this block…
The main concepts explored in this block are the introduction the of Student version
bivariate data, extend understanding of representations of discrete and
continuous data. The activities in this guidance provide opportunities for
students to deepen understanding and explore the use of graphical
representations of data in everyday contexts, as well as interleaving writing
expressions with two-way tables. Students are given the opportunity to
develop their understanding through boundary examples, application of
thinking, investigation and discussion.

Teacher notes
 • Draw and Interpret Scatter Graphs
• Understand and Describe Linear Correlation
• Draw and Use a Line of Best Fit (1) and (2)
• Identify non-linear relationships
Representing Data Activity 1– Outlier or Mistake?
What variables from the table are represented on each axis? Justify your answer. What do
you notice about the axes?
Height Foot Length Arm Span Head Circumference 190
173 28 175 54
162 27 159 58 180
179 29 178 58 170
174 25 174 60
160
165 19 168 53
154 22 157 59 150
159 23 155 50
140
167 28 170 59
150 21 129 53 130
180 26 163 56
120
148 23 145 51
120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190

Draw a scatter graph for other combinations of two variables.

• Are lines of best fit appropriate?
• Does your scatter graph show any outliers?
• How do you know if they are an outlier or a mistake?
 • Draw and Interpret Scatter Graphs
• Understand and Describe Linear Correlation
• Draw and Use a Line of Best Fit (1) and (2)
• Identify non-linear relationships
Representing Data Activity 1– Outlier or Mistake? - Notes
This activity strengthens links between tables of results to graphical representations. In this
activity the focus is placed on students decision making and justification of their decisions.
To prompt students you could ask “Why does the scatter graph not start at zero?” “What
unit of measure do you think is being used?” You may also wish to prompt students to
discuss their choice of axes for their scatter graphs and why their scales are appropriate.

Extend students to discuss outliers and mistakes on their graph as well as the graph given.
Prompt them to discuss why they think it is an outlier or mistake. “Can they think of any
examples of variables where a mistake is more or less obvious?”.

Students could also research examples of spurious correlations.

 • Identify different types of data
• Read and interpret ungrouped frequency tables
• Read and interpret grouped frequency tables
• Represent grouped discrete data
• Represent continuous data grouped into equal class widths
Representing Data Activity 2 – Research Project
Using internet research, investigate how different charts and tables are used to
represent data in different contexts.

Some possible areas of research could be:

• Climate Change
• Population
• Sporting Statistics

Can you find any misleading representations and identify any errors in the
representation of the data sets? How can you tell if a representation is misleading?
 • Identify different types of data
• Read and interpret ungrouped frequency tables
• Read and interpret grouped frequency tables
• Represent grouped discrete data
• Represent continuous data grouped into equal class widths
Representing Data Activity 2 – Research Project - Notes
This activity encourages students to think in depth about different representations of
data through investigating data that is of interest to them and is regularly visible
through media.

To enable students to start the task you may wish to model some example searches
and demonstrate both positive and misleading representations of data. Encourage
students to research topics which hold their interest.

As an open ended task the variety of responses from students can be discussed as a
class and students can extend their own thinking through researching misleading data
representations.
 • Represent data in two-way tables
Representing Data Activity 3 – Algebra two-way table
Using the information cards to complete the two-way table.
1
18 more boys Half of all the of the German
5 The number of
than girls study students study students are boys is 5𝑥.
Spanish German. boys.

The total
𝑥 number of There are 30
40% of all boys number of
girls study more girls than
study French French students
Spanish. boys in year 9.
is 3𝑥 − 3

Boys Girls Total

French
German
Spanish
Total

What else can you work out in your table?

Investigate the minimum pieces of information you need to be given in order to fill in 2 by 2 and
2 by 3 two-way tables fully.
 • Represent data in two-way tables
Representing Data Activity 3 – Algebra two-way table - Notes
Students in this activity link writing algebraic expressions and completing a two-way table from
information cards.

Prompt students to explore which information cards provide a directs links to boxes in the table
and which require other boxes in the table to filled in first. You could encourage students to
discuss which card they view as most important and ask them to justify their answer.

You may wish to prompt students to identify equations from the two-way table in order to work
towards a numerical solution. Discussions could focus on if there is more than equation that
helps them to calculate the value of 𝑥. Possible questions could be “Can we use any row to
form an equation to calculate 𝑥?” “Can we use any column to form an equation?”.