Sorting instruments into a pictogram

Say: “Our school music box at Ysgol y Felin is full of instruments. There are 4 ways to play an instrument. Let us play them all, but with no sound at all. Silent music!”

Do: point to each word on the board and act it out silently. Pupils copy you. Hit: tap a pretend drum with two sticks. Shake: shake pretend maracas. Blow: hold a pretend recorder to your lips and wiggle your fingers. Pluck: pull one pretend string with one finger, like a harp.

Show: hold up the cards one at a time. Say: “Show me how you play it, silently!” Ask: “Is a triangle hit, shake, blow or pluck?” (hit) “A trumpet?” (blow) “A guitar?” (pluck)

Say: “Did you know the harp is the national instrument of Wales? In Welsh it is the telyn.”

Say: “Today we sort the instruments using one rule. The rule is: how do you play it? Every card goes in one circle only.”

Do: pairs cut out the cards if they are not cut already. Pairs put each card on the right circle in Task 1. Each card is 1 instrument, even the maracas and the cymbals, which come in pairs.

Say: “When you are happy, write the name of each card in its circle. Copy the word from the card. Keep the cards in their piles; we will count them next.” Pupils with no scissors colour the dot on each card in the group colour, then write the names.

Ask: “Which circle did you put the xylophone in? Why?” (hit, you hit the bars with a beater)

Say: “Now we count each group with a tally. One card, one line.”

Show: on the board draw 4 lines, then draw the fifth line across them like a gate. Say: “The fifth line goes across. A gate means 5. It makes counting quick.”

Do: pupils take the hit pile and draw 1 line for each card, then shake, blow and pluck. Then they count the lines and write the number in the box.

Ask: “How many hit instruments?” (6) “Shake?” (4) “Blow?” (3) “Pluck?” (2) Say: “The music box has 15 instruments. Add your numbers. Do you get 15? If not, a card is missing or counted twice.”

Say: “A pictogram is a chart made of pictures. In our pictogram, 1 music note means 1 instrument.”

Show: draw a quick music note on the board: a filled oval and a straight stick. Say: “Keep it quick and small so it fits in one box.”

Say: “Start at the bottom of the hit column. Draw 1 note in each box, one on top of the other, with no gaps. Hit has 6, so draw 6 notes. Then do shake, blow and pluck.”

Ask: “Why must every note sit in its own box, starting at the bottom?” (so the columns line up and we can compare them)

Say: “Task 4. Use your pictogram to answer my questions.” Read each one and wait:

“Which group has the most instruments? Circle it.” (hit) · “Which group has the fewest? Circle it.” (pluck) · “How many more hit instruments than blow instruments? Write the number.” (3) · “How many instruments altogether? Write the number.” (15)

For “how many more”, show pupils how to put a finger on the top blow note and look across at the hit column: count the notes above it (3).

Say: “Task 5. Look at the pile of cards and look at your pictogram. Is the pictogram easier to read than the pile of cards? Tick yes or no. Then circle why.” Read the 3 reasons aloud: “I can see the tallest column.” · “I do not need to count again.” · “The notes are in lines.”

Say: “Computers sort data in the same way. We tell the computer one rule, like how do you play it? It puts each thing in a group, counts each group and can draw a chart like your pictogram. If the rule is not clear, the computer gets muddled, just like us.”

Ask: “What was our sorting rule?” (how you play it) · “What does 1 note mean?” (1 instrument) · 2 or 3 pupils share their reason from Task 5.

Extension, Task 6: pupils who finish early sort the same cards a different way: wood or metal. Say: “Be fair: some instruments have both wood and metal, and some are plastic. Put those in both or not sure.” There is more than one right answer if pupils can explain their choice.

Say: “Da iawn, everyone! (Well done!)”