Tally chart activity

In this interactive and engaging activity, students will create a tally chart to collect data and discover the most popular colours in the class. Get ready to observe, count, and tally as you learn more about your classmates’ colour preferences. By the end of this activity, you will not only have a beautiful visual representation of your classes’ favourite colours, but you will also develop your data collection and analysis skills.

Activity
This activity is one of a set of free STEM resources developed to support teaching the primary national curriculum and key topics within maths and science.

In this activity, learners will produce a tally chart of favourite colours in a class. They will split into groups and go around to the other learners in the class, recording their favourite colours in their chart. They will then add up the totals and discuss their results.

This activity could be used as a main lesson to develop knowledge and understanding of recording and displaying data methods or as part of a wider scheme of learning focusing on statistics. It could also be used as a starting point for learning based on the use of colour in Design & Technology.

How long will this activity take?
This activity will take approximately 40-60 minutes to complete.

Why do we use tally charts?
Tally charts are used to collect and organise data visually. They provide a quick and efficient way to record and count occurrences or responses. Tally charts help simplify data collection, making it easier to analyse and interpret information and identify patterns or trends.

The engineering context
Transport engineers use tally charts to record how many vehicles, and of what types, pass through road junctions or along busy roads; this helps them to plan the timings of traffic lights and identify routes where changes are needed.

Engineers need an understanding of colour when producing aesthetically pleasing solutions for clients.

Suggested learning outcomes
By the end of this activity, students will be able to construct a tally chart to record and analyse data about their favourite colours.

Download the free activity sheet!
All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable so that you can tailor them to your students and your schools’ needs.

The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, helpful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

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