Materials
variety of zoo animals (stuffed or plastic)
cardboard box or storage tub
Instructions
Ahead of time, ask the children what animals they own as pets.
* Make labels for the children's pets with pictures and names of all the different
animals, including a sign for "no pets."
What to Do
1. Set up the large board and put the animal labels along the top.
2. Explain to the children that you are going to find out which sort of pet is most
popular. Give each child a block.
3. Read through the labels with the children and tell them that you want them to
build towers with the blocks. They must each put their block very carefully on
the stack of blocks under the label showing their pet.
4. The children come up one at time and place their blocks on the appropriate
towers.
5. When all of the children have added their blocks to the towers, ask each child
which pet has the largest number of blocks.
6. Ask the children if they know how to prove which stack has the most blocks
and which has the fewest. Hopefully they will come up with a way to compare
or count the stacks of blocks. If not, guide them toward counting the blocks for
each tower.
7. Explain that they have created a graph that compares information by using the
symbols of the tower.
Assessment
Consider the following:
* Can the children tell you what the most popular pet is by looking at the graph?
* Can the children distinguish "higher" and "lower"?
* Ask them how to prove something has more or fewer objects.
