Pie Chart Analysis
Percentages and Proportional Reasoning · Level 4
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Understand percentages as parts of a whole (100%)
- Read and interpret pie charts showing proportional data
- Calculate actual numbers from percentage data
- Convert between fractions, decimals, and percentages
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- I can read a percentage directly from a pie chart label
- I can calculate how many from a percentage: n = (% ÷ 100) × total
- I can convert a percentage to a simplified fraction
- I can compare proportions across categories and explain what I notice
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Level 4: apply proportional reasoning; express fractions, decimals, and percentages; solve problems involving proportions.
Display and interpret statistical data; understand that different representations suit different purposes.
Whakataukī
"Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi"
With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive.
Like sharing kai to feed our whānau, pie charts help us see how the whole is divided into parts. Each slice represents a share of the total — together they form the complete circle, just as many contributions create abundance for all.
Ōrau Tere · Quick Reference
Kauwhata 1 · How Students Get to School (300 students total)
| Method | Percentage | Degrees (° = % × 3.6) | Number of students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk | 40% | 144° | |
| Car / dropped off | 30% | 108° | |
| School bus | 20% | 72° | |
| Bike / scooter | 10% | 36° |
Draw your pie chart in the circle below. Use a protractor to mark each slice, then label each one.
here
Key (colour each section):
1. Fill in the "Number of students" column above. Show one calculation.
2. What fraction of students walk? Write in simplest form.
3. What percentage of students use a vehicle (car or bus) to get to school?
Kauwhata 2 · Year 8 Students' Favourite Subjects (150 students surveyed)
| Subject | Percentage | Degrees | Number of students |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE & Sport | 25% | 90° | |
| Art | 20% | 72° | |
| Science | 20% | 72° | |
| English | 15% | 54° | |
| Maths | 12% | 43° | |
| Social Studies | 8% | 29° |
here
Key:
1. How many students chose PE & Sport? Show your working.
2. Art and Science have equal percentages. How many students is that in total combined?
3. What percentage of students chose either Maths or Social Studies?
Kauwhata 3 · Design Your Own Survey
Survey your classmates on a topic of your choice. Record results, convert to percentages, then draw a pie chart.
My survey question:
Total students surveyed: ______
| Response category | Tally | Count | Percentage (%) | Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 100% | 360° |
pie chart here
Key:
What does your chart show? What was the most common response and why do you think that is?
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
In te ao Māori, resources were traditionally shared — fish catches, kumara harvests, communal labour — and questions of fair distribution were important. The concept of utu (reciprocity) and manaakitanga (hospitality and generosity) reflect a worldview in which the whole is more important than any individual slice. Pie charts give us a mathematical lens on the same question: who gets what proportion, and is the distribution fair?
Today, iwi economists use proportional data extensively — in Treaty settlement asset distribution, in comparing Māori vs non-Māori health outcomes, in tracking language speaker demographics. Percentage literacy is not just a maths skill; it is a tool for tino rangatiratanga.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
Resources already provided:
- This handout with data tables and circle templates
- Protractor — to measure slice angles (degrees = % × 3.6)
- Ruler and coloured pens/pencils for labelling slices
- Calculator (permitted throughout)
Aronga Rerekē · Differentiated Pathways
Tīmata · Entry Level
Complete Chart 1. Fill in the number column using the formula. Draw the pie chart with the angles already given. Answer questions 1 and 2.
Paerewa · On Level
Complete Charts 1 and 2 fully. Complete the design-your-own survey. Answer all questions and show working.
Tūāpae · Extension
Complete all sections. For Chart 3, compare your class results to a national statistic (e.g. Ministry of Education data). Write two sentences explaining what the difference tells you and what might explain it.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to build pāngarau (mathematical) understanding — developing number sense, pattern recognition, and mathematical reasoning through hands-on, culturally grounded activities that connect to tamariki's world.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain their mathematical thinking using words, objects, drawings, or symbols.
- ✅ Students can apply the number or pattern concept in this resource to a real or everyday context.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Use concrete materials (blocks, counters, fingers) for entry-level engagement before progressing to abstract representations. Offer extension challenges asking students to generalise a pattern, write their own word problem, or explain their strategy to a partner.
ELL / ESOL: Mathematical language is a discipline-specific barrier — pre-teach key terms (e.g., equals, more than, fewer, pattern, factor) using visual representations. Allow students to demonstrate mathematical understanding non-verbally or through drawing. Pair with a bilingual buddy where possible.
Inclusion: Embed choice in how students engage — oral, written, or diagrammatic responses are all valid. Neurodiverse learners benefit from short, chunked task sequences with immediate feedback loops. Avoid timed drills in favour of exploratory tasks that reward curiosity. Make the maths classroom a safe place to be wrong and try again.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Pāngarau is a living tradition in Te Ao Māori — from the geometric precision of tukutuku and kōwhaiwhai patterns to the navigational mathematics of waka hourua, and the seasonal calculations embedded in maramataka. Framing early number sense within these contexts shows tamariki that mathematics is a human, culturally rich endeavour — not a foreign import. Encourage students to see counting, measuring, and patterning as acts of knowing their world.
Prior knowledge: Designed for early learners. No prior formal mathematics knowledge required. Teachers should assess current number knowledge before selecting appropriate entry points.
Curriculum alignment
- Number and Algebra — Number Strategies: Use a range of counting, grouping, and equal-sharing strategies with whole numbers and fractions.
- Number and Algebra — Patterns and Relationships: Generalise that the next counting number gives the result of adding one object to a set and that counting the number of objects in a set tells how many.