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Grade 4: What's the Story?

Data Science for Young Minds — Ages 9-10

8 Sessions Once a Week Hands-On + Digital Real-World Data Free

Welcome!

In Grade 3, you learned to ask questions and collect data. Now it is time to make that data speak. Grade 4 teaches you to read graphs like a pro, find the average, spot trends over time, and understand the difference between what data shows and what it means.

This year you will work with real-world data — weather records, sports statistics, school data, and more. You will also begin using simple digital tools alongside your hands-on skills.

Reading Like a Pro

Go beyond making graphs — learn to read and interpret bar charts, line graphs, and pie charts with confidence.

Finding the Average

Learn what "typical" means in data. The mean (average) becomes your new superpower.

Spotting Trends

Is it going up? Going down? Staying flat? Learn to see the direction data is moving.

Real-World Data

Work with actual weather data, sports records, and school statistics — not made-up numbers.

Course Sessions

Available

Reading Graphs Like a Pro

Master reading bar charts, line graphs, and pie charts. Learn what each part tells you and how to extract information quickly.

Activity: Graph reading race — who can answer 10 questions about 5 graphs the fastest and most accurately?

Take-home: Find 3 graphs in newspapers, magazines, or websites. Write what each one tells you.

4 lessonsActivity included

Start Session 1

Available

What Is Typical? The Mean

Learn to calculate the average (mean) and understand what "typical" looks like in a dataset. Discover when the average lies.

Activity: Calculate the class average for 5 different measurements (height, shoe size, number of siblings, etc.).

Take-home: Find the average of something in your life — daily screen time, pages read per day, or hours of sleep.

4 lessonsActivity included

Start Session 2

Available

Trends Over Time

Learn to read line graphs, spot trends (up, down, flat), and make predictions about what might happen next.

Activity: Track daily high temperatures for 2 weeks and create a line graph. What trend do you see?

Take-home: Find a line graph showing something changing over time. Describe the trend in one sentence.

4 lessonsActivity included

Start Session 3

Available

Comparing Datasets

Compare two groups side by side. Which class read more books? Do boys and girls have different favorites? Learn to compare fairly.

Activity: Collect the same data from two different groups and create side-by-side bar charts.

Take-home: Compare two things at home (like morning vs. evening routines) using data.

4 lessonsActivity included

Start Session 4

Available

Does This Cause That?

Ice cream sales and sunburns both go up in summer. Does ice cream cause sunburns? Learn correlation vs. causation.

Activity: Match 5 pairs of correlated data and decide: does one cause the other, or is there a hidden third factor?

Take-home: Find a news headline that confuses correlation with causation. Explain what is wrong.

4 lessonsActivity included

Start Session 5

Available

Working With Real Data

Use actual weather records, sports statistics, or school data. Learn to find, read, and analyze data from the real world.

Activity: Download real weather data for your city and answer 5 questions about it.

Take-home: Find one interesting fact hidden in a real-world dataset.

4 lessonsActivity included

Start Session 6

Available

Introduction to Spreadsheets

Take your first steps with digital tools. Learn to enter data, calculate averages, and create graphs using a simple spreadsheet.

Activity: Enter your class survey data into a spreadsheet and create a chart with one click.

Take-home: Create a spreadsheet tracking something for one week (weather, steps, reading time).

4 lessonsActivity included

Start Session 7

Available

Your Data Report

Write a real data report: question, method, analysis, graphs, and conclusions. Present like a professional data analyst.

Activity: Complete your data report and present it to the class with graphs and evidence.

Take-home: Share your data report with your family and explain your findings.

4 lessonsActivity included

Start Session 8

      Tips for Families
      Point out data in the news. Weather reports, election results, sports scores — Grade 4 is when data in the real world starts clicking.
Let them use real numbers. Grocery receipts, utility bills, and sports stats are more engaging than textbook examples.
Ask "what's the story?" When you see a graph together, ask your child to tell you the story it is showing.
Introduce spreadsheets gently. Session 7 uses simple spreadsheets. Google Sheets is free and works great.
Celebrate the data report. Session 8 produces a real report. Treat it like a science fair project — display it proudly!

    

Ready to Start?

Begin with Session 1 — you will be reading graphs like a pro by the end of the first day.

Start Session 1