- Definition
A frequency table is a chart that shows how often each item or category appears in a set of information. It helps you quickly see which things happen most or least often.
A table showing that 8 kids chose 'dog,' 5 chose 'cat,' and 2 chose 'fish' as their favourite pet is a frequency table.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: A frequency table is like making a chart to see how many votes each movie choice got for movie night.
Ask your child: How many blue shirts are in your drawer? How many red?
Common mix-up: Kids might think it's just a list of what you counted. A frequency table organizes the counts so you can see which category has the most or least at a glance.
Examples
- Making a chart with tally marks to show how many kids have birthdays in each month.
- A list showing the number of sunny, cloudy, and rainy days last week.
frequency table is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
