Give your students ownership of their learning with Let’s Investigate: My Class – a student-driven investigation booklet that introduces data collection and interpretation through meaningful, real-world questions. Aligned to the Year 3 Mathematics curriculum and focusing on Statistics and Probability, this inquiry-based resource empowers learners to generate their own survey questions, collect data from their classmates, and explore how to represent and reflect on the results.

In this investigation, students create a simple survey question with three options – such as “What is your favourite flavour of ice cream: chocolate, strawberry or vanilla?” – and use that question to collect data from 15 of their classmates. They tally their results, transfer them into visual displays like bar graphs or picture graphs, and then analyse the findings by identifying the most and least popular answers. Through this process, students explore key data concepts such as frequency, comparison, and interpretation while developing critical thinking and communication skills.

Let’s Investigate: My Class places students at the centre of the learning process. It supports curriculum outcomes by encouraging them to move through every stage of the data cycle – formulating questions, gathering real data, organising it visually and interpreting what they’ve discovered. The activity fosters student agency and builds mathematical vocabulary in a highly contextualised and engaging way. With opportunities for peer interaction, reflection and discussion, it is perfect for developing a strong understanding of statistics in a hands-on and personal format.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Formulate a survey question and define answer categories
• ✅ Collect, tally and organise real data from classmates
• ✅ Represent data using bar graphs or picture graphs
• ✅ Compare results and describe findings using probability language
• ✅ Reflect on trends and consider the reliability of the data collected

What’s Included:

• Investigation booklet with step-by-step student instructions
• Question planning and recording templates
• Tally and frequency charts
• Bar and picture graph templates for visual representation
• Analysis and reflection questions to deepen understanding

Materials Needed:

• Printed investigation booklet
• Pencils or pens
• Clipboards or hard surfaces for data collection
• Optional: coloured pencils for graphing

How to Use:

1. Introduce the investigation by reviewing key vocabulary such as “tally,” “graph” and “compare.”
2. Students create a simple multiple-choice question with three options and record it in their booklet.
3. They ask 15 classmates and use tally marks to record each response.
4. Students use the included templates to represent their results as a graph.
5. Guide them through analysis questions, prompting discussion and reflection on the most and least popular choices.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Incorporate as part of a data and graphing unit to link real-world applications with maths skills
• 💡 Use for maths rotations or as a mini-project that students complete over several lessons
• 💡 Include in student portfolios as evidence of independent inquiry and understanding
• 💡 Present findings to the class as part of a speaking and listening task
• 💡 Combine all student data into a class-wide graph for group discussion

Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Model how to create a good survey question with balanced options
• 💛 Encourage students to think critically about their results – are they fair or biased?
• 💛 Provide sentence starters for data interpretation (“Most people chose…”, “This might be because…”) to support writing and discussion
• 💛 Laminate graphing pages for reuse with whiteboard markers
• 💛 Display student graphs as part of a class data wall or maths showcase

Let’s Investigate: My Class empowers students to become curious questioners and thoughtful analysts – building key maths skills through data they’ve collected, explored and made sense of themselves.