Once you brainstorm ideas from a central idea, you may find you have a jumble of ideas. Many of these ideas are related to the central idea but are not necessarily clearly related to each other. Making and Using Tables Browse through your textbook and you will notice tables in the text and in the activities. In a table, data or information is arranged in a way that makes it easier for you to understand. Activity tables help organize and interpret the data you collect during an activity.
Most tables have a title.
The title tells you what the table is about. A table is divided into columns and rows. The first column lists items to be compared. In Figure 8, a collection of recyclable materials is being compared in a table. The row across the top lists the specific characteristics being compared.