Science offers many opportunities for students to learn and practice data collection and recording. One project includes giving each student a bean to plant in a clear cup of soil. Set aside time each day for them to observe and care for their plants. They can record the amount of water and sun the plants receive, as well as rate of growth. Some students might give their plants fertilizer or grow their seeds in the dark to record the differences from a control group.
Students can participate in weather data collection through the school year. It's a good opportunity to teach about long term collection and recording of data. Students can use thermometers, rain gauges, a barometer and other weather devices to gather their data and use forms, graphs and computer programs to record it. They will be able to extract information, such as the warmest or coolest school day, number of days of rain or what the barometer does prior to a temperature change.
Another way students can learn to collect and record data is by interviewing each other, members of their family or perhaps the teachers and administration at their school. This project will teach them to come up with a relevant list of questions, ask those questions and record the information they collect. They can use the data to learn what the most popular pet in their classroom is, which jobs student's family members hold or how long each teacher at their school has taught. The possibilities are nearly endless.
Data collection and recording becomes a game when students use it to learn about probability. Pair your students off and provide them with a quarter. Have them flip the quarter 100 times while their partner records heads or tails, then gather the data from all of the other groups and come up with conclusions about the results. Another game involves having students roll a die, recording how many times they have to roll before a certain number comes up. You could divide students into six groups and assign one number to each group, then let them report their results to the whole class.