START 2.3
Put “A” Ideas in Order

Grades 1-3

Only one idea can be best. How do you choose? Imagine you have a whole box of colorful crayons, but you can only use one to draw a picture of your favorite animal. So many fun colors to pick from.

How do you decide? Use a Decision Table.

A decision table helps you  pick the best idea.

Task 2.3.1 – Small Group

You are the coach of five cheerleaders: Abbie, Betty, Carla, Darla, and Emy. The season just ended. Who wins the Best Cheerleader Award?

Use a Decision Table

st words: To make st words (superlative), you add “-est” to the end.

For example, “happy” becomes “happiest,” “tall” becomes “tallest,” and “funny” becomes “funniest.”

You choose evaluation questions, such as:

  • Who is the peppiest?
  • Who is the best dancer?
  • Who has the best smile?
  • Who is the best tumbler?
  • Who is the loudest?

Next, we make a table. Each cheerleader gets a row, and each question gets a column.

Name Peppiest? Best Dancer? Best Smile? Best Tumbler? Best Grades? Total
Abbie
Betty
Carla
Darla
Emy

Use numbers to rate each cheerleader from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best and 1 being worst. 

Decide on the best in the first column you will grade.  Give it a 5, since there are five cheerleaders.

Then decide on the worst in that column.  Grade it a 1.

Next, decide on the next best in that column.  Give it a 4

Decide on the second worst in that column.   Give it a 2

You will have one empty box remaining.  It will be a 3.

Name Peppiest? Best Dancer? Best Smile? Best Tumbler? Best Grades? Total
Abbie 4
Betty
Carla 2
Darla 1
Emy 5

Fill in the numbers until the table is full.  Make sure that no column has more than one of the same number, such as three 5’s.

Name Peppiest? Best Dancer? Best Smile? Best Tumbler? Best Grades? Total
Abbie 4 4 1 4 5 18
Betty 3 5 3 2 4 17
Carla 2 1 4 1 2 9
Darla 1 2 5 5 1 14
Emy 5 3 2 3 3 16

The cheerleader with the highest score wins. If two have the same score, they can be co-Super Stars! Or flip a coin.