Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 1

Lesson Video

This page supports the lesson note with a companion video and a short classroom-ready summary.

For class groups and homework, share this lesson page so learners also get the summary, objectives, and full lesson context.

Performance objectives

• Collect and organise data.
• Sort objects by colour, shape, or size.
• Show data on a pictograph.
• Answer questions using the pictograph.

Lesson summary

This week, we will become 'data detectives'! We will explore the exciting world of Data Handling. Data Handling is a way of collecting information, organising it so it makes sense, and then using it to answer questions. For a Grade 1 learner in South Africa, this is a skill they use every day without even realising it. When they share sweets and see who has the most, they are handling data. When they talk about which soccer team (like Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates) has more fans in the class, they are thinking about data. This topic helps build a strong foundation for critical thinking, problem-solving, and making sense of the world around them.

Lesson notes

What is Data Handling? Data handling is a process with simple steps. Think of it like baking a cake. You need to follow the steps in order!

Step 1: Ask a Question Everything starts with a question we want to answer.

For example: "What is the most popular fruit in our class?" Step 2: Collect Data (Information) This is the fun part where we gather our information. We can ask each learner in the class what their favourite fruit is. Let's say we ask 12 learners and get these answers: Apple, Banana, Apple, Orange, Banana, Apple, Apple, Orange, Banana, Apple, Grapes, Banana Step 3: Sort and Organise the Data Now our data is messy. We need to sort it. We can make groups for each fruit and count how many learners chose it. We can use tally marks to make it easier.

Apple: ||||| (5 learners)

Banana: |||| (4 learners)

Orange: || (2 learners)

Grapes: | (1 learner)

Step 4: Represent the Data We need to show our results in a way that is easy to read. In Grade 1, the best way to do this is with a pictograph. A pictograph uses pictures to show the data. What is a Pictograph? A pictograph has a title, categories (labels at the bottom), and pictures stacked in columns. The most important rule is one-to-one correspondence, which means one picture = one vote or one item.