Everyone has a favorite pie so what better way to learn about statistics than by taking a survey of people's favorite pies.  The activity my partner and I designed is appropriate for grades third through sixth and the activities are endless.  For the survey, each student will be assigned a certain number of people to survey, but the collection of data is only the first step in the math lesson.

Our activity uses a pictograph as well as a pie chart.  By showing the collection of data on the pictograph, the students get a good view of the numbers related to the pies.  The pictograph is single digit, but can be changed to accommodate older students.  The students will create a pictograph on the whiteboard by taping pictures of their favorite pies above their choice; if I like apple, I will put my pie above the apple.  This will get the students interacting with the chart and seeing how their own pie contributes to the chart.  Once the chart is complete, the class will change it into a pie chart, because, after all we are dealing with pies.  The pie chart will be drawn on several colors of poster board and the class will each have a set of five colors, each representing the different pies.  The students will then construct the pies like puzzles and then discuss how each piece makes up a portion of the whole.  Not a direct fraction lesson, but possibly an introduction.

This lesson is a very good way to keep the students interacting with the material, and they are able to discover their contribution to the data.  Charts and graphs are a great tool for beginning fractions, and the activity possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

The following link will allow you to view a visual representation of our data.