Sorting & Tally Charts
Before you can graph data, you have to collect it and count it. Learn how to sort things into groups, keep count with tally marks, and organize everything in a tally chart — the first step in working with any kind of data.
Sorting into Groups
To sort means to put things into groups that belong together. Every sort follows a rule — a way of deciding which group each thing goes in. The same collection can be sorted many different ways, depending on the rule you pick.
Here are 12 shapes. Pick a sorting rule and watch how the groups change.
Tally Marks
Tally marks are a fast way to keep count while you collect data. Draw one line for each thing you count. When you get to five, draw the fifth line across the other four to close the group. Then start a new group.
Groups of five make tallies easy to count later: count the bundles by fives, then add the leftover lines. Try it — add marks and watch how they bundle.
Tally Charts
A tally chart puts sorting and tallying together. It has one row for each group, a column for the tally marks, and a column for the total — the tally written as a number. (A chart like this is also called a frequency table, because it shows how frequently, or how often, each group shows up.)
A class recorded the weather every school day for a month. Here's their tally chart:
| Weather | Tally | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Sunny | 11 | |
| Cloudy | 6 | |
| Rainy | 4 |
Once the data is in a tally chart, it's easy to answer questions about it:
Practice
Three ways to practice — sort, count tallies, and build a tally chart of your own.
Sort It!
Drag each shape into the group where it belongs — or tap a shape, then tap its group. Follow the rule!
Tally Count
Count by fives, then add the leftovers.
Make a Tally Chart
Count each kind of picture and make its tally with the + and − buttons. Tap a picture to cross it off so you don't count it twice.