Graphing Data Sets Worksheets
Visuals help use make better and clearer choices based on data. Seeing a stream of data may work for some people, but not many. A well put together graph can give use a great way to spot trends, gaps, and clusters in our data sets. By now students should have a good handle on how to create these types of visual displays. The biggest problem that most students run into is which type of graph or chart should they create to get the most meaning out of their data. It is all based on the purpose of your analysis and how much data you are working with. These worksheets and lessons will help students learn how to take raw data sets and make sense of them in the form of a graph or chart.
Aligned Standard: Grade 3 Measurement - 3.MD.3
- Bailey's Work Week Step-by-step Lesson- Graph the number of hours Bailey worked everyday.
- Guided Lesson - Graph some data and then answer questions based on your graph.
- Guided Lesson Explanation - Each graph got their own page. It was the only fair way to do it.
- Practice Worksheet - This is 4 pages of material that will truly gauge where you stand with this skill.
- Matching Worksheet - This is great for a quick review. I would recommend doing this as a class.
- Answer Keys - These are for all the unlocked materials above.
Homework Sheets
Student hobbies, going to the zoo, and decorating; sounds like a perfect graphing opportunity.
- Homework 1-Jackson went to the school and meets some students. He made a graph of hobbies of the students.
- Homework 2- Jared went to the zoo with his friends and saw some animals. The number of each animal can be seen in the table.
- Homework 3- Tio wants to decorate his home. So he buys some home items. He buys Lamps, Bed, Alarm clocks and Dressers.
Practice Worksheets
See what you think of the different scenarios I setup here.
- Practice 1-Davis went to the fruit market. Make a bar graph of the number of fruits he bought.
- Practice 2- Based on the bar graph above, which was the favorite piece of clothing?
- Practice 3- 18 boys voted for their favorite Airlines. Lufthansa was the most popular choice. The results of survey can be seen below. Create a bar graph using the space below.
Math Skill Quizzes
Some of these require you to think as soon as you introduce a fourth bar of data.
- Quiz 1- 68 boys voted for their favorite accessories. Watches were the most popular choice. The results of survey can be seen below.
- Quiz 2- Women voted for their favorite flower. Lillie was the most popular choice. The results of survey can be seen below.
- Quiz 3- Maria goes to the musical instruments shop. She made a bar graph of the items she saw. See if you can too.
How Do You Decide What Type of Graph to use for a Data Set?
Visualization of numeric data is an important concept of statistics. It is a major branch of mathematics. When we put data into a visual display format it makes it easier to spot trends in the data and make decisions based on it. At this level kids must have a clear understanding of the differences, strengths and weaknesses of your basic types of graphs and charts such as: a line graph, a pie chart, and a bar graph. We also hope that they have a good idea of when using a scattergram make more sense.
When you know the difference between all these graphs and charts, you will know exactly which type to use for a specific data set. As you begin to use these you will spot things that each type of chart and graph does well or poorly. As you gain some experience, you will be able to determine the best type of display to use for each data set you come across.
Line Graphs - To represent data with small differences, a line graph is an appropriate choice. It is specifically used for tracking changes over a short or a long period. It can give you a quick summation of the data and help you spot and any gaps or clusters within. They are not that valuable when you are working at scale, they become rendered ineffective and cumbersome when you have over 50 data values.
Pie Charts (Circle Graphs) - It is a useful data visualization tool that helps in comparison or parts of a whole. The value of these charts must equal 100%. This is a very visually appealing graph that helps you compare portions within a group. Pie charts cannot be used for tracking changes over time. They also are very limited when you have over 7 different categories of data because each pie becomes difficult to label.
Bar Graph - Bar graphs are a great choice for data sets, which involves changes in data over time. As a line graph is a useful tool to visualize small changes, a bar graph is a right choice for data involving larger changes over a period of time. Traditionally the bars are set in a vertical orientation, but you will also see them used horizontally in corporate environments.
Scatterplots - These are used to analyze and evaluate very large data sets. They make it very easy to see correlations between variables and clusters that reside within the data. They are often used to determine trends that exist between two variables. They are not that helpful beyond analyzing two variables. They are not the most visually appealing of the other types of graphs and charts that are available.
