Decide how to collect: ask people, measure, or look it up. Then use only the rows a question is about, and make every entry a number before adding.
data setall the information collected
entryone answer in the table
missing dataan entry left blank
surveyasking people a question to collect data
Watch for: Using every row when the question is about only some. Adding an entry written as a word without changing it to a number. Counting a blank entry as zero instead of as missing.
At home: Keep a week's list of how many minutes each person reads, then ask questions about only the weekdays.
Sample sheet and answer key
Luna's Space Adventure
Grade 4 · Choosing and cleaning data · NJ.4.DL.A.2
NameDate
Astronaut Luna is exploring a far-off corner of space. Solve each problem to help Luna's mission go smoothly!
Use only the rows you need
Each question is about part of the data. Find those rows first.
Name
Grade
Pet
Books read
Jay
4
fish
9
Ben
3
dog
1
Dev
4
cat
2
Iris
3
dog
3
Ava
3
fish
3
How many grade 4 students are in the table?
How many grade 4 students chose a dog?
How many books did the grade 4 students read in all?
Clean the data
Some entries were typed in different ways. Make every entry a number before you add.
Name
Books read
Hugo
six
Ema
4
Ava
9 books
Finn
7
Ben
Dev
2
Write Hugo's entry as a number.
How many entries are missing?
How many books in all, leaving out the missing entry?
Plan the data
Circle the best way to collect data for each question.
Which sport do the students in our class like best?measuresurveylook it up
How many minutes does each friend read at home?measuresurveylook it up
How much rain fell in our town each month last year?surveymeasurelook it up
Grade 4 · Sheet
Luna's Space Adventure
Grade 4 · Choosing and cleaning data · NJ.4.DL.A.2
Answer key
Astronaut Luna is exploring a far-off corner of space. Solve each problem to help Luna's mission go smoothly!
Use only the rows you need
Each question is about part of the data. Find those rows first.
Name
Grade
Pet
Books read
Jay
4
fish
9
Ben
3
dog
1
Dev
4
cat
2
Iris
3
dog
3
Ava
3
fish
3
How many grade 4 students are in the table?2
How many grade 4 students chose a dog?0
How many books did the grade 4 students read in all?11
Clean the data
Some entries were typed in different ways. Make every entry a number before you add.
Name
Books read
Hugo
six
Ema
4
Ava
9 books
Finn
7
Ben
Dev
2
Write Hugo's entry as a number.6
How many entries are missing?1
How many books in all, leaving out the missing entry?28
Plan the data
Circle the best way to collect data for each question.
Which sport do the students in our class like best?measuresurveylook it up
How many minutes does each friend read at home?measuresurveylook it up
How much rain fell in our town each month last year?surveymeasurelook it up
Answer key
Something wrong with this sheet? A wrong answer, a hard-to-read picture? Report it
New problems every time, three levels (gentle, core and stretch), themes to pick from, a second page if you want one. Each sheet comes with an answer key and a one-page guide for grown-ups.
