Counting Traits in a Litter

Put inherited traits on a bar graph with this scaffolded data worksheet for grades 3-5. Students work from a real data set — the fur colors of 10 puppies from one litter — to tally each color, build a bar graph, and then interpret the spread.

This is the analysis lane in action. A Predict First box starts the inquiry, a tally table organizes the count, and a ready-to-fill bar-graph grid lets students plot the data. Interpretation questions ask which trait was most and least common and whether every puppy looked the same.

The closing reasoning question ties the data back to the science: these puppies share the same parents, yet their fur colors differ — clear evidence of variation in a group of similar animals. Includes a complete answer key with the correct graph. Aligned to NGSS 3-LS3-1 and CCSS 3.MD.B.3. Just print and teach.