Hands-On Lessons & Activities With Math Frequency Tables

Frequency tables are used to interpret mathematical amounts. They typically organize data values according to an increasing order of magnitude with their correspondent frequencies. Tally marks are used to tabulate the sums of objects or events. The total of the sums divided by the number of categories of data values will give you the mean or average value of the data. Activities with frequency tables can grow more complex as children advance in their math education.

Elementary School Level

Create a frequency chart on the blackboard with the colors of M&Ms running down the first column. Give each student a bag of M&Ms and direct him to sort the candies by color. Ask the students how many M&Ms they have per color. Use tally marks in the second column of the table to count the M&Ms per color for the class. Use numbers in the third column to write the totals. Query the students on the color that showed up the most frequently for all of the bags. Allow the children to eat the candy as a reward.

Elementary School Level

Use a frequency table to help students understand that line plots are used to interpret amounts and not categories, enabling them to better represent mathematical data. Ask the class for suggestions on a survey question, such as "How many pets do you have?" Select 15 students to survey for answers to the query. Ask the class to record the information on a frequency chart. Create a line plot on the blackboard or tape numbers to the floor. Instruct the surveyed students to stand next to the number that corresponds to the number of pets they have, so that they form a human line plot. Ask the class to calculate the range, mode and median of the survey data. Remove students from either side of the human line until you arrive at the middle person, pointing out that this student represents the median.

Middle School Level

Divide students into small groups. Gather paper, colored markers, a protractor and a compass. Have a book on hand that enables the students to identify different species of birds, such as the "Reader's Digest Book of North American Birds." Take the students to a bird feeder on the school grounds. If the school doesn't have a bird feeder, use a photograph of a swarm of different birds. Have the students record the number of birds for each species, such as cardinals, robins and bluebirds, on a frequency table. Ask them to calculate the total number of birds viewed, and then derive the percentage of that total for each bird species. Instruct them to translate their numbers into the degrees of a circle by using proportional fractions. Have them use their protractors to create circle graphs from their frequency table data.

High School Level

Pose a real-world problem for students to solve using frequency tables and statistics. Explain that Ms. X is opening a new shoe store and is limited by funds. She needs information to decide on stock. Have the students devise a survey, compose the questions and gather information (such as average shoe size, popular types of shoes or brands and price range) that is representative of her customer base. Ask the students to use a frequency table to tabulate data from the survey, and then present the numbers in a visual graph.