Teacher Cheat Sheet — Session 3: Running Our First Survey

Data Science for Young Minds · Grade 2 · Ages 7–8

~50 min Ages 7–8 Session 3 of 8 ND-Friendly

Session Agenda

Time	Block	What's Happening
0–5	Hook	Teacher models full survey exchange in front of class — asks a student with the script.
5–13	Lesson	What is a survey? How do we ask? How do we record? Check marks vs. tally marks intro.
13–20	Practice	Whole-class practice: teacher asks the class the survey question, students record each response together on the board.
20–38	Survey!	Each student asks 5 classmates the teacher-chosen question. Records on clipboard.
38–45	Worksheet	Students transfer data to worksheet, count totals, write one sentence about what they found.
45–50	Brain Break + Close	Count results together as a class. Preview tally charts in Session 4.

Teacher choice: Pick the survey question before class. Suggested: "What is your favorite season — Summer, Fall, Winter, or Spring?" Write it large on the board with answer choices visible all session.

Materials Needed

Clipboards (1 per student) Recording sheets (from worksheet — print Part 2) Pencils Survey question written large on board Answer choices posted visibly Picture-answer cards (optional — for non-verbal response)

Suggested question: "What is your favorite season?" with picture icons for each season posted on the board.

Key Vocabulary

Survey — a set of questions you ask a group of people to collect data

Ask — say a question out loud to someone

Record — write down the answer right away so you don't forget

Tally — a mark (|) used to count responses one at a time

Response— the answer someone gives to your question

Discussion Questions + Teacher Notes

"Before we start — what do you think a survey is?"
→ Activate prior knowledge. Some students may have seen surveys at doctor's offices, in cereal boxes, or on school voting slips. All examples are valid.
"How should we ask the question — should we change the words each time?"
→ No! Same words every time so the question is fair. Point out: if you say it differently to different people, some might answer a different question. Consistency = fair data.
"What should we do right after someone answers?"
→ Write it down immediately — before talking to the next person. Memory is not reliable data. This is why scientists carry notebooks.
"What if someone doesn't want to answer?"
→ That's okay! Just say "no problem" and move to someone else. Don't record anything. This is an important social skill AND a data integrity lesson (don't guess).
"After we count up our results — what might we do with this data?"
→ We can see which season is most popular, which is least popular. We can make a chart. We can tell the class what we found. Preview Sessions 4 and 5.

Survey Activity — Setup Guide

Teacher models the full exchange first. Then whole-class practice. Then students survey 5 peers.

Model Script (teacher says to a student volunteer):

"Hi! I'm doing a survey. My question is: What is your favorite season — Summer, Fall, Winter, or Spring? [point to options on board] Which one do you choose?"
→ Student answers → Teacher marks check next to that option on their recording sheet.
"Thank you!" → moves to next person.

Whole-class practice: teacher asks the class all at once, students all record together on board
Distribute clipboards + recording sheets
Students survey 5 different classmates (or 2–3 if socially anxious)
Return to seats — count up check marks per answer choice

Socially anxious students: allow them to survey the teacher, a classroom aide, or the same 2–3 trusted friends. The skill being practiced is recording, not the breadth of the survey.

Opening Hook

Before any explanation, do the full model exchange with a student volunteer in front of the class. No setup, no introduction — just do it.

Then ask: "What did you just see me do?" Let students name it. Guide to: I asked a question, I listened, I wrote down the answer.

→ Experience before definition. They see a survey before they learn the word.

Brain Break

Count Our Results!
After the survey, call out each answer choice. Students raise their hand if they got at least one response for that choice. Count hands.

"How many people got at least one Summer vote? Let's count hands — 1, 2, 3…"

Extension:"Stand up and clap the number of responses you recorded for your most popular answer!"

ND-Friendly Tips

Demonstrate the full interaction — Don't just describe it. Act it out twice with two different student volunteers before releasing everyone.
Give a script card — Print or write the survey question + script on a small card students can carry on their clipboard.
Allow reduced survey size — 2–3 people is fine. The recording skill is what matters, not the sample size.
Picture-answer cards — Students who struggle with speaking can show an answer card with pictures of seasons. Point + check = valid data.
Clipboard = focus tool — Having something to hold and look at helps students who are managing social anxiety during the survey walk.