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Thinking play

Mini Research Study

Preteen designs a survey, gathers responses, charts the data, and draws a careful conclusion.

Cartoon illustration of a parent and child at home doing Mini Research Study.
  • Age10 to 13 years
  • Time30 to 60 minutes
  • EnergyCalm
  • CostFree
  • WhereIndoors
  • PrepNone

Your child chooses a question about people's opinions or habits, writes a short survey, collects responses from family or friends, charts the results, and draws a careful conclusion. A real small-scale study from question to chart.

How to do it

  1. Have your child pick a question about people, such as a favourite fruit, how people get to school, or preferred weekend activities.
  2. Ask them to write a few clear survey questions with simple answer choices.
  3. Help them collect responses from a set group they can reach, such as family members, and keep a tally.
  4. Have them turn the tallies into a simple chart, such as a bar chart, by hand or on a device.
  5. Ask them to draw a careful conclusion that fits the data, including noting that a small group cannot speak for everyone.

What you need

  • Notebook
  • Pen and ruler
  • Device
  • Respondents

Signs it is working

Your child writes clear questions with answer choices rather than vague ones. They keep an accurate tally as responses come in. Their conclusion matches the data and does not overstate what a small survey can show

If it is not quite clicking

Questions are confusing: Test one on you first and reword anything unclear. Your child overstates the result (everyone likes this): Remind them how many people they actually asked and help them soften the claim. Charting is fiddly: Start with a simple tally and one bar chart rather than several

Make it yours

Younger, 9-10 years: Two or three questions and a hand-drawn tally, with your help charting. Older, 12 years and up: Add comparing two groups (for example by age) or a second chart type, and a note on what would make the survey more reliable. Make it the child's own: Let them pick a question they actually care about and want the answer to, then present their finding to the family or friends they surveyed and hear the reactions, so the study answers a real curiosity of theirs rather than a set exercise. Siblings: Each surveys a different group on the same question and they compare the results.

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