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Introduction:
Data handling, which is essentially a sorting and classifying activity, appears in various guises throughout the primary school: The nursery class child sorting Compare Bears into sets according to colour or size, the reception class child using PB Bear to sort the birthday presents according to the shape of the package and the Year 6 pupil using a key to identify a rock pool animal, are all examples of sorting and classifying activities which are undertaken across the primary range both at and away from the computer.

A number of specific references are made to data handling in the National Curriculum with mathematical and scientific contexts springing readily to mind. However, the generic nature of data handling means that a whole range of learning objectives can be addressed through its use. Data handling lends itself well to development of children's language, especially where technical language is concerned and data handling can contribute to the development of problem-solving and thinking skills as well. When data handling is thought of in terms of ICT, teachers generally think of flat-file applications such as FindIT or Textease Database. Possible uses for flat-file databases in the primary curriculum are endless and could range from a database of African countries, to pupils' achievements in athletics, through to biographical information about musical composers. Applications that are not so readily taken up are branching databases and spreadsheets though here again there is plenty of opportunity in the curriculum to exploit their use.

ICT should never be used for its own sake. Rather it comes into its own when its potential effectiveness in achieving particular learning objectives has been identified and planned for and when its use would make teaching and/or learning easier, better or different. If the use of ICT can be dovetailed with conventional classroom activities then all the better. On one level this provides an effective strategy for organising a class around a limited number of computers but more importantly the pupils' concrete experiences when working away from the computer can help to inform their knowledge and understanding when working 'virtually' at the computer and vice versa. Teachers who are reluctant to use ICT can often find it reassuring to see an ICT activity mirroring a learning experience that is being carried out in a conventional and concrete way. A teacher's confidence and progress in the use of ICT often develops when that teacher begins to graft the ICT on to the rootstock of existing good practice. Data handling in the primary school is well suited to this integrated approach.

Data Handling Activities

Outlined below are some data handling activities that I have used in the classroom to support various aspects of the curriculum.

Activity 1
A "Whodunit" style scenario provides the context for data handling. {R} o"The Mystery of the Vanishing Sandwich" sees Paddington Bear become the victim of a crime. Pupils have to carry out sorting activities at and away from the computer to help the local police find the culprit. Clues to the criminal's identity are hidden within the story and by carrying out (a) a conventional sort using picture cards (b) a sort using a branching database (c) a sort using a spreadsheet, the children are able to "sort out" and pinpoint the culprit.

(a) Conventional Sort
You will need to use sets of character cards for sorting. (We had a number of sets of the children's board game 'Guess Who' in school which contain an assortment of cards ideal for this purpose.)k The children need to practise posing and answering closed questions in the "20 Questions" style: Is it a male? Does he have a beard? Does he wear glasses? These types of questions require a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer.
Working in small groups the children sort the cards according to a clue gained from the story; e.g. If they learn from the story that the criminal is a woman they can pose the question, "Is it a female?" They then sort the cards into two piles, the pile on their right being cards that answer, "Yes, it is a female" and the pile on their left being, "No, it isn't a female". The "No" pile can then be discarded and the process continued with the "Yes" pile until only one card is left which would match all the clues. So in our scenario the culprit would be Betty who matches the clues (i) is female (ii) has white hair (iii) wears red glasses.

(b) Branching Database
The children can use a branching database such as Textease Branch to try to find the culprit. {R} k The characters are sorted on-screen by the children posing closed questions that are based on the clues they have found in the story. This "virtual" experience helps to reinforce the work carried out practically in the first activity.

(c) A Spreadsheet
The children can use their 'character cards' to complete the missing column of the spreadsheet. {R} Therefore by posing 'yes' and 'no' type questions the children can sort the cards and eventually find the missing name. In the example below the character's name is missing but all the other characteristics are known:

So beginning with all the sixteen character cards the children could ask, "Is it a male" and sort the cards into two groups based on the answer to that question. The female pile, those answering, "No, it is not a male", would be eliminated from the sort and the children could further sort the 'yes' pile by posing a second question such as, "Is he bald?" This process would continue until only one card was left with all the others having been "sorted out". The characteristics of the remaining card should match all those in the first row of the spreadsheet when the missing name can be filled in. The children can carry on in this way to complete the whole spreadsheet. {R}
An extension to the original spreadsheet includes data on age and height and offers the opportunity for more numerical analysis. {R}
A further extension to this activity would be to transfer the data from the spreadsheet to a flat file database and prepare a set of questions for children to interrogate this database with. Older children can use the aditional numerical data to extend the complexity of their searches and provide opportunities for graph work.

Activity 2
The first part of this activity allows the children to use Branch to sort a set of animals according to the children's own criteria. {R}
Here the opportunity arises for some written work where the children can describe each animal according to the way its been sorted in the branching database. By clicking on an animal in the branching database a red line appears which tracks the animal through the questions that have been asked during the sorting. I would ask the children to imagine what each animal would say about itself. {R}

Older children would need to sort the animals according to more specific criteria. To start with, I would introduce the children to the Vertebrates Classification Sheet. {R} vI would show them an example of what an animal might say about itself using this more detailed and scientific information. {R}jj I would then ask the children to go back to Branch and sort the animals using the technical terms and knowledge they have recently acquired. The resultant database might look something like this:{R} The children can now click on one of the animals in the database and look to see how the red line tracks through the various questions. The children can use this as a basis for the 'animal saying' task that might turn out something like this: {R}

Activity 3
This activity would involve the use of Branch and a set of digital photographs of the children in the class. I would use an interactive whiteboard to sort the children's photos according to their own suggestions. {R} mTo reinforce this sorting I would physically move the children into sets around the classroom to correspond to the sorting taking place on the computer. A digital camera could be used at the different stages of the sort to illustrate to the children how their grouping matches the branching database. There is scope here to create a 'human' Venn Diagram or even a 'human' branching database.

Activity 4
A branching database can be useful in a mathematical context when working with shapes. If you've ever asked a child to differentiate a square from a rectangle you will be aware of the need for the child to have access to technical language as well as a knowledge about the properties of shapes. {R}

Activity 5
MAPE members were given language resources produced by Warrington LEA a little while ago. Some of the activities involved sorting words to reinforce a particular spelling rule. {R} gThese activities provide another possible context for using a branching database: The children would be given a selection of words and they would have to sort them according to observable features or their prior knowledge of spelling rules and patterns.

Activity 6
I carried these activities out with a Reception/Year 1 class. First of all, the children were introduced to a pictorial flat-file database, 1st FindIT and the 'Teddy' option. I had prepared a pictorial data capture sheet and the children were asked to colour in the various parts of the teddy and his clothing.{R} gThe children were limited to using only the colours they would later encounter in the computer program. The next step was to work at the computer and transfer the data from their colouring sheets into the database. By the end of the week the database contained twenty-six records in the form of a coloured teddy for each child in the class. {R} kThe next step was to print out and laminate a large-scale teddy for each child. Once this was done, we were ready to embark on some practical activities:

(a) Venn Diagram:

This activity involved the use of two ropes, the laminated teddies and an interactive whiteboard. Two circles were made with the ropes on the classroom floor and the children were asked to look carefully at their teddy. They were then asked a question and had to stand inside a rope according to either a 'yes' or 'no' response to the question. So when they were asked, " Does your teddy have blue shorts?", the children either moved inside the 'yes' circle or they moved inside the 'no' circle.This was repeated a few times with different questions and once I was confident the children understood what they were doing we moved on.

This time the children were asked a question and moved to the appropriate circle. Instead of remaining inside the circle they were asked to put their teddy on the floor and to move away. We then viewed the circles from a distance and the children had to answer various questions such as, "Why are those teddies in this circle?", "Why are those teddies not in this circle?" and "How many teddies have a blue hat?"

I wanted now to use the interactive whiteboard to replicate the practical experience and hopefully consolidate the learning. I had used Textease to create a 'Venn Diagram' {R} hand a page of 'teddy cards' {R} hThe children took turns to sort the teddies on the whiteboard. I asked questions such as, "Does the teddy have red shoes" and the child had to drag and drop the teddy into the correct set on-screen. They seemed to enjoy this experience and this led us on to the final part of the activity. Here the children were provided with a set of small-scale teddies and two different coloured card circles. In response to my different questions they had to sort their teddies into 'yes' and 'no' sets.

It was apparent that the children were using the learning gained from their earlier practical and ICT experiences to carry out this last task

(b) Early Graphs:

I was now keen to use the teddies to develop the children's use and understanding of graphs. Again I used the sets of laminated teddies, the interactive whiteboard, some Textease resources, paper and pencils. First of all we went into the school hall with the large teddies. The children were asked to stand in lines according to their teddies' different attributes. So when they were asked to stand in lines according to the colour of the teddy's hat this is how they organised themselves:

	Afterwards I asked the children to arrange their teddies in lines on the floor and to sit on the steps of the hall stage and view the teddies from this elevated position. They had a view now of the picture graph (pictogram) which they had created earlier when sitting in lines.

To consolidate this work we returned to the classroom. The children were given a set of small teddies and a grid drawn on paper. I stood in front of them at the whiteboard and I posed the question, "How many teddies have a blue hat?" I showed the children how to arrange the teddies in a column on the whiteboard. I then repeated the question with a different colour and showed the children how to arrange these teddies in a column.

	When I had sorted all the teddies it was their task to arrange the teddy cards accordingly on their paper grid to produce their own pictograms. This task was repeated a number of times until I was confident the majority of the children had understood the concept of a pictogram.

To finish off I asked the children to use coloured pencils to draw their own pictogram of the teddies' fur colour.
Additional Photographs
Child working at interactive whiteboard to complete Venn diagram created in Textease.	A group using laminated teddy cards to produce a pictogram.	A group of children sorting the teddies into two sets.
Group of children completing pictograms with teddy cards.		A completed pictogram

Some Additional Early Years Activities
Sorting and classifying activities feature regularly in Early Years software. It's possible to create your own activities using a desktop publishing application such as Textease as well.

a shape sort {R}

a colour sort {R}

a letter sort {R}

a number sort {R}