Young children will enjoy this activity because, when they finish graphing the data, they can eat it. Supply students with simple graph paper displaying small boxes horizontally and vertically, a half cup of colorful cereal, and crayons. The object is to separate and count the colors. Chart the results on the graph by coloring in one square for each piece. Analyze the results together, answering questions relating to total for each color and which ones appear more or less frequently.
Design a simple tally sheet with twenty-one rows and three columns. Brainstorm with the class to come up with the names of 12 healthy foods and write the list on the board. Hand out the tally sheets and ask children to write the food names in the first column, beginning with the second row. In the top box of the first column, write "Like" and in the top box of the second column, write "Don't Like." Allow them to survey each other and other children, recording a tally mark in the appropriate column for each response. Provide graph paper for the purpose of creating circle graphs to show the results in percentages of people liking and disliking each food.
Give each child a small cup of trail mix made with raisins, peanuts, candies and o-shaped cereal, a large piece of white construction paper and colored pencils. Ask them to sort the mix by type. Assign half the class to construct a bar graph and the other half to make a circle graph to chart how many of each food type was found in the mix. Bring the class together to interpret results and talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using one type of graph over another.
Use masking tape to mark off a long line on the floor. Attach strips of tape from top to bottom, several inches apart, along the line. Ask students to name some of their favorite foods and write them on the tape strips. Have each child stand next to the label which bears the name of the food she likes best. Continue until all children have found a place. As the students count off in each line, write the totals on the board next to the food names. Talk about what their "living graph" showed, which foods are most and least popular with the class.