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Become a Data Detective with our Mash of the Month

Sept. 16, 2022

Each month we highlight a #MashoftheMonth, focusing on a tool or application within Purple Mash and how it can be used within the classroom to support learning across the curriculum. During the month, if you share how, you have used the #MashoftheMonth, you will be entered into a draw to win a 2Simple Goody Bag!

Data Detectives

This month is our brand-new application Data Detectives, developed to give those children in Upper Key stage 2 a challenge with a range of activities and levels that they can work through. It moves children on from database tool 2Investigate and enables them to analyse and question a range of data sets. Data detectives enables children to experience working with a range of data handling exercises and introduces the terminology of databases to children. They are introduced to terms such as search, sort, filter and link and use these as they progress through the levels and complete the activities.

Playing Data Detectives 1
Playing a level 1 activity in Data Detectives

The levels

The built in Data Detectives activities are organised into three levels with the tasks becoming more complex as the children work through the activities. The levels are organised in the following way:

  • Level 1 - Tutorial level: Each activity teaches an individual skill with data such as filtering or sorting.
  • Level 2 – Integrating skills: These activities require more than one skill to complete the stages. 
  • Level 3 – Linked challenges: These activities are all linked to a zoo scenario. The children will be solving the mystery of who stole a panda named Pei.

The activities

The activities are split into a range of steps, enabling the children to build on their skills at each stage requiring the children to complete an assessment question that helps them to interpret the data before moving onto the next stage. There is a solution document for every stage and activity that teachers can refer to.

Playing level 3
Playing level 3 of Data Detectives

Share your work with us

However you use Data detectives in school, we would love to see how your children get on. You can share examples via our Twitter or Facebook pages, and if you share this September with the #MashoftheMonthZA hashtag you'll be entered into our monthly draw to win a 2Simple goody bag!