
Using tables, graphs, and models
Levels 3 and 4

NZC Achievement Objectives

Te Mātauranga o Aotearoa
Science Literacy: Develop literacy in the language of science and mathematics, and the symbolic systems of science, and use these literacies to read and share own ideas, and those of others.
Te Reo Matatini o te Pūtaiao: Ka pakari haere te mōhio ki te reo matatini o te pūtaiao, o te pāngarau, me ngā pūnaha tohu pūtaiao, ā, ka whakamahia ēnei reo matatini hei pānui, hei whakaatu i ōna ake whakaaro, tae atu ki ō ētahi atu.

Learning Intentions

Integration Ideas
Learning Intentions are from the Ministry of Education
Integration ideas are from the Ministry of Education
Coming Soon!
English (Writing and Presenting): Design and publish a pamphlet, role-play, chart, or video to provide information for the public on an environmental issue.
Mathematics and Statistics (Number and Algebra): Sketch a graph to show the height of a shadow from a nearby building at different times of the day.
Mathematics and Statistics (Statistics): Collect and present environmental data in stem and leaf graphs, dot plots, frequency tables, histograms.
Mathematics and Statistics (Statistics): Collect and display time series data on an environmental phenomenon, such as river heights.

Related Topics
Resources

What a mess! Someone’s left out frozen milk, smeared melted chocolate around, spilt white crystals everywhere and what’s that smell? Investigate the elements of the mess scene and find out exactly what’s happening!
Level
3
Type
Unit
Change detectives
Primary Connections
What a mess! Someone’s left out frozen milk, smeared melted chocolate around, spilt white crystals everywhere and what’s that smell? Investigate the elements of the mess scene and find out exactly what’s happening!

Electricity - where would we be without it? It powers almost everything we use. But how does an electrical circuit work? Why does it need a switch? How is electricity generated, transferred and transformed?
Level
3
Type
Unit
Circuits and Switches
Primary Connections
Electricity - where would we be without it? It powers almost everything we use. But how does an electrical circuit work? Why does it need a switch? How is electricity generated, transferred and transformed?

What effect does salt have on the temperature of ice? This lesson plan and activity will let students experiment for themselves. What outcomes and reasoning will they come up with?
Level
1-4
Type
Activity
Colder Than Ice
Science Kids
What effect does salt have on the temperature of ice? This lesson plan and activity will let students experiment for themselves. What outcomes and reasoning will they come up with?

There is a maze of water and sewage pipes under Wellington’s pavements, beneath manhole covers and bundles of cables. The oldest pipes are lined with bricks. They snake under the streets.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2013 Level 3: ‘The Fish Highway’
Ministry of Education NZ
There is a maze of water and sewage pipes under Wellington’s pavements, beneath manhole covers and bundles of cables. The oldest pipes are lined with bricks. They snake under the streets.

In the past, ecologists wished there was an easy way to record data in difficult alpine environments. Now ecologists use data loggers.
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2013 Level 4: ‘Gather Your Data’
Ministry of Education NZ
In the past, ecologists wished there was an easy way to record data in difficult alpine environments. Now ecologists use data loggers.

Scientist Hannah Rainforth investigated kākahi in the Whanganui River to find whether the evidence supports claims by local kaumātua that kākahi have nearly disappeared.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2014 Level 3: ‘Counting Kākahi’
Ministry of Education NZ
Scientist Hannah Rainforth investigated kākahi in the Whanganui River to find whether the evidence supports claims by local kaumātua that kākahi have nearly disappeared.

Scientists know that global warming is leading to rising sea levels, but the rate of change and its likely impact are less clear. Scientists investigate what is happening and use the evidence to suggest how we might adapt to the changes.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2014 Level 3: ‘Rising Seas’
Ministry of Education NZ
Scientists know that global warming is leading to rising sea levels, but the rate of change and its likely impact are less clear. Scientists investigate what is happening and use the evidence to suggest how we might adapt to the changes.

A teacher challenges his class to design a ramp that will get a marble to stop at any set distance between 500 millimetres and 2 metres from the end of the ramp. What processes will the students follow to meet this challenge?
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2014 Level 4: ‘The Great Marble Challenge’
Ministry of Education NZ
A teacher challenges his class to design a ramp that will get a marble to stop at any set distance between 500 millimetres and 2 metres from the end of the ramp. What processes will the students follow to meet this challenge?

Mr Tuala’s class have lost the Boat Float competition and they want to figure out why. By learning more about density (and how it relates to floating a boat), they critique their original boat designs and use what they have learned to design and build new, more successful boats.
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2015 Level 4: ‘A Sinking Feeling’
Ministry of Education NZ
Mr Tuala’s class have lost the Boat Float competition and they want to figure out why. By learning more about density (and how it relates to floating a boat), they critique their original boat designs and use what they have learned to design and build new, more successful boats.

Sarah Cook is a busy year 10 student living with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that can affect your day-to-day life. Find out what Sarah does to manage her diabetes and make sure it doesn’t prevent her full and active lifestyle.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2016 Level 3: ‘Blood Sugar’
Ministry of Education NZ
Sarah Cook is a busy year 10 student living with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that can affect your day-to-day life. Find out what Sarah does to manage her diabetes and make sure it doesn’t prevent her full and active lifestyle.

Miranda is going to explode if Hugh rolls another six. Three in a row just isn’t fair. Isn’t rolling a dice meant to be random? Take a deeper look into the mathematical concept of randomness and find out if Miranda stands a chance against Hugh.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2016 Level 3: ‘Totally Random?’
Ministry of Education NZ
Miranda is going to explode if Hugh rolls another six. Three in a row just isn’t fair. Isn’t rolling a dice meant to be random? Take a deeper look into the mathematical concept of randomness and find out if Miranda stands a chance against Hugh.

Sounds are all around us, even if we can’t hear them. Human ears are designed to pick up sound waves of a range of different frequencies, but ultrasonic and infrasonic sounds have frequencies that only certain animals can hear.
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2016 Level 4: ‘Can You Hear That?’
Ministry of Education NZ
Sounds are all around us, even if we can’t hear them. Human ears are designed to pick up sound waves of a range of different frequencies, but ultrasonic and infrasonic sounds have frequencies that only certain animals can hear.

Grace is on a mission to win the science fair – but to do so she must structure and present her investigation in the most informative and thought-provoking way possible. Grace uses diagrams, photographs, tables, graphs, infographics, and clear science writing to present her data and blow the judges away!
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2016 Level 4: ‘Winning Ways: Presenting Scientific Data’
Ministry of Education NZ
Grace is on a mission to win the science fair – but to do so she must structure and present her investigation in the most informative and thought-provoking way possible. Grace uses diagrams, photographs, tables, graphs, infographics, and clear science writing to present her data and blow the judges away!

How clean is the water in your river? Scientists are testing the health of the Maitai River. Find out what data they collect and what can be done to make our rivers cleaner and healthier for everyone.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2017 Level 3: ‘Testing the Waters’
Ministry of Education NZ
How clean is the water in your river? Scientists are testing the health of the Maitai River. Find out what data they collect and what can be done to make our rivers cleaner and healthier for everyone.

This article uses real-world examples to show how mathematics can be used to predict the possible outcomes of a range of human and environmental activities. It describes how mathematical models are created by defining and measuring key variables, designing an equation that shows how the variables interact, and using the equation to make predictions.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2019 Level 3: ‘Predicting Possibilities’
Ministry of Education NZ
This article uses real-world examples to show how mathematics can be used to predict the possible outcomes of a range of human and environmental activities. It describes how mathematical models are created by defining and measuring key variables, designing an equation that shows how the variables interact, and using the equation to make predictions.

This article examines how different processes combine to affect the balance of carbon in the atmosphere. It explains that the increased level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is having a huge effect on climate – an effect that can be reduced, as carbon is finite. Carbon sinks, in the form of forests, the ocean, and soils, could help to balance the carbon levels in the atmosphere. However, each form has its own complications. The article concludes that human use of fossil fuels needs to be reduced to protect the carbon sinks around us.
Level
3
Type
Book
Connected 2020 Level 3: ‘Trees, Seas, and Soil’
Ministry of Education NZ
This article examines how different processes combine to affect the balance of carbon in the atmosphere. It explains that the increased level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is having a huge effect on climate – an effect that can be reduced, as carbon is finite. Carbon sinks, in the form of forests, the ocean, and soils, could help to balance the carbon levels in the atmosphere. However, each form has its own complications. The article concludes that human use of fossil fuels needs to be reduced to protect the carbon sinks around us.

Connected promotes scientific, technological, and mathematical literacy so that students can engage in a critical and informed manner with real-life science- and technology- related issues and authentic, context-based mathematical explorations. Connected is provided to all primary schools.
Level
4
Type
Book
Connected 2020 Level 4: ‘Wildfire’
Ministry of Education NZ
Connected promotes scientific, technological, and mathematical literacy so that students can engage in a critical and informed manner with real-life science- and technology- related issues and authentic, context-based mathematical explorations. Connected is provided to all primary schools.

On average, a volcanic eruption occurs somewhere on Earth each week! Volcanic eruptions are often seen as devastating events, but they are also instrumental in providing rich fertile soils and mineral deposits.
Level
3
Type
Unit
Creators and destroyers
Primary Connections
On average, a volcanic eruption occurs somewhere on Earth each week! Volcanic eruptions are often seen as devastating events, but they are also instrumental in providing rich fertile soils and mineral deposits.

Students work in small groups to research energy-efficient house design and passive solar energy. They share their research findings, develop a design for an energy-efficient house and construct a model energy-efficient house from materials supplied, then explain their model to the class.
Level
3-4
Type
Lesson Plan
Design an Energy-Efficient House
Genesis School-Gen
Students work in small groups to research energy-efficient house design and passive solar energy. They share their research findings, develop a design for an energy-efficient house and construct a model energy-efficient house from materials supplied, then explain their model to the class.

As fish have no visible eyelids (and closed eyes generally imply sleep) and we see them usually by day when they are in motion, this question is always the source of some debate.
Level
1-4
Type
Activity
Do Fish Sleep?
New Zealand Marine Studies Centre
As fish have no visible eyelids (and closed eyes generally imply sleep) and we see them usually by day when they are in motion, this question is always the source of some debate.

Display this poster in your classroom as a visual aid to support students to create labelled diagrams that show the features of an object.
Level
1-4
Type
Poster
Drawing a labelled diagram
Primary Connections
Display this poster in your classroom as a visual aid to support students to create labelled diagrams that show the features of an object.

Humans have always looked with wonder at the movement of celestial bodies in the sky. Investigate movement, size and scale by creating 3D models of the solar system.
Level
3
Type
Unit
Earth's place in space
Primary Connections
Humans have always looked with wonder at the movement of celestial bodies in the sky. Investigate movement, size and scale by creating 3D models of the solar system.

Strong earthquakes can affect millions of lives by causing buildings to collapse, destroying roadways, and affecting basic necessities such as water supply. But did you know that the majority of earthquakes are barely noticed?
Level
3
Type
Unit
Earthquake explorers
Primary Connections
Strong earthquakes can affect millions of lives by causing buildings to collapse, destroying roadways, and affecting basic necessities such as water supply. But did you know that the majority of earthquakes are barely noticed?