A class survey: reading a team report
A team report usually has three parts. The mission says what the team wanted to find out. The method says how they did it: how long, how often, who counted, what they used. The result (or findings) gives numbers and facts. Many reports also have a conclusion or a recommendation, which says what should happen next. When you read a report, look for numbers, days and names, and note which part answers which question. To infer a message, ask: What do these results suggest? Use words such as This suggests that … or We can guess that …. To present a mission in one or two minutes, use five short parts: our team, our mission, our method, what we expect, and thank you. Speak slowly, keep eye contact and do not read every word from your paper. Your book has a team report on pages 65 and 66. Read it after this lesson and look for mission, method and result.
| Part | Question it answers |
|---|---|
| Mission | What did the team want to find out? |
| Method | How did they do it? |
| Result | What did they find? |
| Recommendation | What should happen next? |
The Clean Corners Team, Class 10C. Our mission was to find out how full the twenty litter bins in our school yard are during the day. For five school days, four students visited the yard at half past ten and recorded how many bins were full. On Monday twelve bins were full, on Tuesday nine, on Wednesday eleven, on Thursday eight and on Friday fifteen. Most of the litter was paper and plastic bottles. On Friday, when the canteen sells more snacks, the bins were fullest. We suggest adding four bins near the canteen and a blue box for paper. We will check again in one month.
Mini mission. Plan a small survey, for example the number of lights left on in a room at night or the number of students who walk to school. Write the mission, the method (who, when, for how long) and one question you expect to answer. Present it to a grown-up in one minute.