SUGGESTIONS FOR INTERPRETING EVERYDAY TABLES AND CHARTS
National 2 Mathematics: Personal Mathematics
Suggestions for interpreting everyday tables and charts
Information texts / Suggested approaches and activities / Learning intentions / National 2 unitShop catalogues
Practitioners could provide a selection of catalogues for the classroom for frequent use, including supermarket price booklets and large store catalogues. / Shopping on a budget
One approach could be to allocate a given amount that each learner or group can spend. Learners may look through catalogues and decide what to buy, remembering to keep within the budget. Practitioners may specify the number of items to be bought or create a context where gifts are being bought for a specified number of people for Christmas or birthday presents. A table to record items to be purchased and prices may be useful. / I can read prices in a catalogue.
I can compare prices.
I can add up the cost of a few items using M, P or C.
I can keep within a budget.
I can work out change. / –Personal Mathematics
–Number and Number Processes
–Money
Take-awaymenus
A selection of take-away menus is useful to simulate real-life take-away ordering.
Café price lists may also be used to give a slightly different context. / Planning a meal with friends
Learners could work in pairs or small groups to plan a take-away order. It may be useful to give a limit to what each person can order, eg a main meal and a dessert, or to set a maximum price per person.
Learners must work out the total cost of the order and decide which coins and notes to pay with. They might also consider which notes would be best to use if they do not have the exact amount of money. Practitioners may want to extend learning by asking how much each person will pay if the bill is shared equally. / I can read prices on a menu.
I can compare prices.
I can calculate the total cost of an order using M, P or C.
I can think about how best to pay when I do not have the exact money.
I can share a cost between two or three people. / –Personal Mathematics
–Number and Number Processes
–Money
Entry Prices
Tourism attraction price tables can be used to cost trips. Below are a few useful websites.
See Planning aday trip in Chapter 3 / Planning a day trip
Learners could select a destination for a day trip and then research how much the outing would cost. Guidance on the make-up of the group would be necessary so that it includes adults, children and concessions.
Learners could compare the costs of different trips and decide which trip is the best value for money.
Opening and closing timetables are also useful as they provide real-life contexts for learners to explore. / I can use tables to find out costs.
I can find out total costs.
I can compare costs.
I can read times from a timetable.
I can use a timetable to plan ahead. / –Personal Mathematics
–Number and Number Processes
–Money
–Time
Opening and closingtimes
Some tourist attraction sites have good examples of seasonal timetables, e.g. / Planning an outing
The seasonal opening hours table from the Loch Katrine website can be used as a resource to discuss seasons, months and opening times, and to plan imaginary trips. Learners could work in teams to answer questions on visiting Loch Katrine in different seasons.
Other similar resources can be found on the internet. / I can find a website.
I can talk about seasons, months and times on a timetable.
I can answers questions by using a timetable.
I can use a timetable to plan ahead. / –Personal Mathematics
–Number and Number Processes
–Money
–Time
National 2 Mathematics: Personal Mathematics
Suggestions for communicating information in tables and charts
Context / Suggested approaches and activities / Learning intentions / National 2 unitUsing frequency tables to investigate how many people regularly spend their day at our place of learning.
(The context may be planning a celebration and finding out how many people to plan for. Practitioners may have a different scenario that is more appropriate to their own learners’ experience.) / Learners will need to think about the different categories of people who spend their day at their place of learning. The list may include:
Learners
practitioners
management
office staff
building staff
other professionals.
Before sourcing the numbers, practitioners could support learners in estimating how many people there are in each category by giving them three numbers to choose from, as some may find estimating difficult.
Practitioners may need to support learners in thinking about how they might source numbers for each category.
A table can be used to record findings in the different categories.
Learners can read and compare the number of people in each category.
Finally, learners will need to calculate a total using a method that they are confident in for the number range of this problem.
Learners could use a table template on Microsoft Word for this investigation or they might fill in a copy by hand. /
- I can identify categories for completing a frequency table.
- I can source information.
- I can complete a table by filling in numbers correctly.
- I can talk about and compare the numbers in the table.
- I can use the numbers from a table to complete an investigation.
- I can use addition number skills to solve a problem.
Number Skills
The above idea may be developed for other surveys or investigations. Use tally, frequency tables, pictographs or bar charts to display results.
Choose the survey population to suit the number range that learners are confident with. Possibly include peopleat home in the survey.
Other ideas include:
- In which month are most people in your class, year or learning place born?
- Who is your favourite X-Factor star?
- Who is your favourite sporting hero?
- What is your favourite Christmas food?
PERSONAL MATHEMATICS (NATIONAL 2, MATHEMATICS)1
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