Spring Fun with Ms Shellby is the perfect game to play with your class when teaching the concept of data collection! This cheerful, garden-themed PowerPoint invites students to explore data in a fun and interactive way.

To preview this interactive PowerPoint game, watch the video below.

In this interactive adventure, students join Ms Shellby the turtle as she explores her spring garden. At each stop, students count the different objects she finds—like flowers, butterflies and bugs—and use their results to complete pictographs. This hands-on approach gives learners the chance to visualise data and interpret real-world representations using symbols and tallies.

Data Collection with Ms Shellby: Pictographs PowerPoint is ideal for introducing data representation through pictographs. With built-in visuals and interactive slides, it helps students engage with data sets while reinforcing key concepts like counting, comparison and symbol meaning.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Collect and organise data using tally marks and visuals
• ✅ Represent data using pictographs with one-to-one and scaled symbols
• ✅ Interpret and compare data in visual formats

What’s Included:

• Interactive PowerPoint game with spring-themed data collection activities
• Multiple questions prompting students to gather and organise visual data
• Pictograph templates and animated responses for student interaction

Materials Needed:

• Interactive whiteboard or display screen
• Optional: student whiteboards, tally charts or recording sheets

How to Use:

1. Open the PowerPoint in slideshow mode to activate interactive animations.
2. Follow Ms Shellby through the slides as she explores her garden.
3. At each stop, count the objects and guide students to tally or record the data.
4. Use the on-screen pictograph templates to demonstrate how to transfer tally data into visual representations.
5. Pause between questions for discussion and student reasoning.
6. Use at the start of a data unit or to reinforce concepts through playful revision.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Introduce pictographs in a way that is concrete, visual and story-driven
• 💡 Use during a whole-class mini-lesson and then follow up with individual recording sheets
• 💡 Create your own classroom data set and have students make matching pictographs
• 💡 Pair students to work collaboratively through the slides and compare results
• 💡 Encourage discussion around symbol meaning and scaled representations

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Reinforce vocabulary such as tally, data, pictograph and scale throughout the activity
• 💛 Extend learning by asking students to write their own questions about the pictographs
• 💛 Provide real objects for a hands-on pre-lesson or post-game sorting task

Data Collection with Ms Shellby: Pictographs PowerPoint brings early data concepts to life through charming visuals, interactivity and classroom discussion – perfect for making maths meaningful and memorable.

Available in a PowerPoint version.