# Day 43 · Make a table someone can read

**Try:** “Turn the list into a useful table.”

**Adult teaching purpose:** Lists/tallies/frequency tables retain categorical information. AC9M2ST01; optional original equal-symbol display gives only a component of ST02.

**1 · Prepare and invite.** Use MODEL1 or the child's reviewed list; keep the original list beside the table. Prepare two columns: game choice / recorded replies. Use tally marks, broad counters, typed counts or spoken counts. A symbol display uses one symbol for one reply and needs a key. Printer/device/colour/cutting are unnecessary.

**2 · Model a different small example.** Model unrelated weather-picture labels: sun, cloud, sun. Table sun2/cloud1. Say the labels name categories; the numbers count replies. Show a tally of five as a group only after counting one-to-one; a child may use plain marks instead. A zero means no recorded replies in that category, not a missing row. An omitted row is not evidence of zero.

**3 · Guide one attempt.** Together build MODEL1's first row by rereading just the maze replies, then check matching and story. Read the source to establish the no-response count separately. Ask “Does our table account for all eight invited records?” Six choices plus two no responses do, but no-response is not a fourth game. Let the child choose a title that names this fictional question.

**4 · Your own useful turn.** Make/direct a complete table for MODEL2 or the own list. Include every intended option even if its count is zero; keep unknown/no-response status visible separately. Check the frequency total against the actual available replies. Optional: make an equal-symbol version with a key, then compare what both show and what each makes easier to see. A prefilled model is not the child's table.

**5 · Observe and record.** Keep the actual choice, representation, method and meaning before a correction. Distinguish a source fact, child decision, adult reading/scribing/handling and mathematical hint. Notice correct labels, counts, zero versus unknown and a method of checking. If counts do not match, trace an unrelated four-reply list one at a time, not simply announce a total. If symbols are unequal amounts, teach one symbol/one reply with a new example. If secure, ask which representation serves the intended reader and why; decoration is not the criterion.

**6 · Teach next and revisit.** Choose just the applicable next teaching in step5, on a different ordinary source; then offer a new question after an actual interval. Record what happened rather than completing all branches. Read the three [participation choices](../ROUTES.md#day-43); [parent offer](../family/home-43.md) is optional. A short useful attempt can replace a long sheet. Full source/rights and curriculum evidence stay in the adult [mapping](../curriculum/MAPPING.md) and [notice](../legal/NOTICE.md).

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