Stem-and-leaf plots
Organise a data set into a stem-and-leaf plot by splitting each value by place value into a stem (e.g. the tens, or the hundreds and tens for larger values) and a leaf (the next digit), listing the stems in order and every leaf in order on its row, including repeated values, with a key that states the place value (e.g. 4 | 7 = 47); read a stem-and-leaf plot to find values, the least and greatest values, how many values there are, and where values cluster or leave gaps; and compare two data sets shown in separate plots that use the same key
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Stem-and-leaf plots means practising the idea at the table with counters or paper models and one clear check. We will demo once, then your child tries.”
Bring to the table
- Place-value cards or columns (hundreds/tens/ones)
- Digit cards 0–9
Extra for the adult
Worked example. In 243, the 2 means 2 hundreds, the 4 means 4 tens, the 3 means 3 ones.
Optional challenge. For Stem-and-leaf plots, add one harder example after success.
What to notice. Keep one parent note: examples tried; results; support used. This session samples Stem-and-leaf plots, not mastery.
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Teaching approaches
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1 approach
Stem-and-leaf plots means practising the idea at the table with counters or paper models and one clear check. We will demo once, then your child tries.
Materials: Place-value cards or columns (hundreds/tens/ones); Digit cards 0–9. Adult builds 243 and names hundreds, tens, ones. Child builds three numbers and names each place. Done: three numbers built with correct place names. Stop after the fresh check; keep optional challenge for another day.
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Practice this concept
Start practiceStem-and-leaf plots practice
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Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
Illustrative Mathematics · Practice link — not the full lesson
Field Day Scarcity
Before you open · source notes
Field Day Scarcity supports stem-and-leaf plots. Not every worksheet pack.
Free, no sign-in. A teacher solution is on the same page, so use the student view with your child.
Before you openAsk the learner to explain one step of “Field Day Scarcity” in their own words.
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Source, access and review notes
Public Illustrative Mathematics task page. The .html address responds HTTP 308 to this URL. An anonymous GET of this URL on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt. Where a teacher solution is present, it is on the same page as the student task; this check did not find a separate locked student view. An adult can use the student view section and should not read a solution aloud. Advertising was not observed in the fetched HTML text; that is not a browser, device, or ad-free guarantee. This is a paper or discussion task, not an automatically marked interactive game. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. Diagrams on the page use missing or filename-only alt text, so they are not an accessible image equivalent. Accessibility still depends on an adult describing the picture.
Illustrative Mathematics. “Field Day Scarcity.” Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. External task; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — link only
Check understanding
- Make a stem-and-leaf plot of scores such as 38, 41, 47, 47, 52, 59, 63 with the stems in order, the leaves in order on each row (writing a repeated value such as 47 twice) and a key such as 4 | 7 = 47
- Read a given stem-and-leaf plot to state the smallest and largest values, how many values there are, and where the values cluster or leave gaps
- Compare two data sets shown in separate stem-and-leaf plots with the same key (e.g. the jump distances of two groups) and say, using the plots, which set has more high values
“If your child has a list of their class's spelling-test scores, can they arrange them in a stem-and-leaf plot — tens on the left, ones on the right, with a key — and then read off the highest and lowest scores?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Representational
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Data & Statistics
- Age range
- Ages 9–10
Standards