Statistics - Introducing Line Graphs - Planning

In the Year 4 Summer Statistics curriculum, students are introduced to line graphs, a pivotal tool for representing continuous data such as time and temperature. The lesson begins with a refresher on previous learning, where students recall how to read time graphs and understand the concept of continuous data. Key vocabulary words like 'warmest', 'coolest', and 'temperature' are introduced, with resources available for further clarification. The initial classroom activity involves analysing a line graph to determine the temperature changes in a playground over a morning in March. Students are encouraged to use rulers to draw lines from the graph to the axes to help them read the graph accurately. They are prompted to use sentence stems to articulate their findings, enhancing their understanding of how to interpret and discuss data presented in line graphs.

Advancing their skills, children are tasked with creating their own line graphs from a given set of data, tracking the weekly growth of a plant. This hands-on activity requires them to consider the appropriate scales for the axes and to plot points accurately. The lesson emphasises the differences between line graphs and bar charts, and students engage in partner work to quiz each other on interpreting the graphs. Differentiated worksheets provide independent learning opportunities tailored to the students' abilities, ranging from simple retrieval questions to more complex data interpretation. The lesson aims to solidify the students' understanding of x and y axes, plotting points, and estimating data from line graphs, while addressing common misconceptions and reinforcing the importance of accurate data representation.