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Maths

Voting and Comparing

Overview

Children vote for a choice and compare the results.

Learning Objective
Children count and compare results from a simple vote.

Resources needed

  • Two or more options (objects or pictures)
  • Counters or tokens

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Show two or more choices.
  2. 2 Each child places a token for their choice.
  3. 3 Count the tokens for each option.
  4. 4 Ask: 'Which has more? Which has fewer?'
  5. 5 Compare results together.
  6. 6 Discuss how the result was decided.
  7. 7 Repeat with new choices.

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Add more choices
  • Predict the result before counting
  • Group tokens to help counting
More information

Use questions relevant to children's lives (e.g. favourite local food). This raises participation.

Allow children to stand in groups as their 'vote' if tokens are unavailable.

Can children read the result from the totals? Do they understand that more tokens means more people chose that option?

Children can stand in groups as their vote rather than placing tokens. Alternatively, use stones or seeds as voting counters. Draw columns in soil to record results.

Children sometimes think the option with the longest row always wins, without counting. They may also think a tie means one option is better. Use these moments to build precise counting and comparison language.

Activity details
Early Years Easy 10–15 minutes 5 minutes prep Whole Class Indoor & Outdoor
Topics
Counting Comparing