Graphing Teaching Resources
Teach graphing this school year with printable worksheets, fun graphing activities and games, task cards and more teacher-created resources for elementary school math!
This collection of editable teacher-created resources is aligned with the Common Core curriculum. It has been carefully reviewed by the expert teachers on the Teach Starter team to ensure every single digital or printable resource is ready to use in the classroom. That means you can save hours on lesson planning with activities ready to print or use digitally!
Are you looking to learn more about teaching students to use graphs, or just on the hunt for fresh ideas and activities to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a look graphing on this level and some key vocabulary!
What Is Graphing? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Graphing starts as early as kindergarten or first grade in many schools around the country with simple pictographs. But how do you explain what graphing is to the youngest students? This kid-friendly definition may help.
Graphing is a way to show information using pictures and symbols. It's sort of like drawing a picture that helps you understand numbers and facts.
For example, we could use graphs to show how many kids in our class like different colors or how many toys in the toy bin are cars.
Graphing Vocabulary for Elementary Teachers
Looking for a guide to some of the graphing vocabulary your students will encounter — and you will have to define? Here's a comprehensive look, along with some simple definitions!
- Data —Information that is collected and analyzed
- Axis — The horizontal and vertical lines that make up a graph.
- X-axis — The horizontal axis on a graph
- Y-axis — The vertical axis on a graph
- Bar — A rectangular shape we use to represent data on a bar graph
- Scale — The units used to measure data on a graph
- Pictogram/pictograph — A graph that uses pictures to represent data
- Legend/key — A chart that explains the symbols used on a graph (students may recognize this from their map skills lessons)
- Line of best fit — A straight line on a graph that represents the overall trend in a set of data
- Line plot — A graph that shows the frequency of data values on a number line
- Tally — A mark used to represent data on a tally chart
- Pie chart — A graph that shows the proportion of each data value to the whole, represented as a circle that looks like a pie
- Line graph — A graph that shows the relationship between two variables using a line
- Data point — An individual value on a graph
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Interpreting Graphs Task Cards
Use this set of task cards students to practice interpreting bar graphs, histograms and line plots.
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Histograms Worksheet
Encourage your students to practice reading and creating histogram graphs using this double-sided worksheet with answer key included.
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Dot Plot Worksheet for 2nd Grade
Practice analyzing and creating single-unit dot plots with this free math worksheet for 2nd-grade students.
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Analyzing Dot Plots Task Cards
Strengthen data analysis skills by interpreting dot plots with this set of 24 task cards.
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Graphing on the Coordinate Plane Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to plot points on a graph using ordered pairs from input-output tables with this set of teaching slides.
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Picture Graphs - Worksheet
Use this double-sided worksheet to help your students practice reading and evaluating a simple picture graph.
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Reading Pictographs - Worksheets
Use this double-sided worksheet to enable students to practice reading and interpreting pictographs.
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Pictographs - Interactive Activity
Use this fun and engaging interactive activity to aid students. in practicing their pictograph interpretation skills.
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Creating Pictographs Worksheet
Use this engaging worksheet to practice creating and reading pictographs.
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Understanding Pictographs - Task Cards
Use this set of task cards to practice reading and interpreting pictographs and bar graphs.
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Pictograph Puzzles
Practice reading and interpreting pictographs with these fun puzzles which require students to match pictographs with other data displays with matching data.
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Pictograph Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this fun cut-and-paste worksheet to build student understanding of pictographs and encourage them to practice their fine motor skills.
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Graphing (Pictographs) Task Cards
Get graphing! Use these levelled pictograph task cards to show students a variety of data collection records, and have them create pictographs to represent that data.
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Create a Pictograph – Small Group Activity
Teach students how to create simple pictographs using data from word problems with this small group activity.
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Basketball Math- Mixed Operations Worksheet
Practice multiplication, division, fractions, and problem-solving skills with a high-interest basketball-themed math task
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Graphing Numerical Equations – Google Slides Interactive Activity
Recognize and analyze patterns in graphs, input-output tables, and equations with this interactive activity.
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Ordered Pairs Match-Up
Practice plotting ordered pairs and describing the process for graphing with this match-up activity.
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5th Grade Algebraic Relationships Assessment
Assess student understanding of prime and composite numbers, numerical expressions, graphing numerical patterns, and more with this math assessment.
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Creating a Bar Graph – Worksheet
Interpret data and create bar graphs with this worksheet.
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Interpreting a Bar Graph – Worksheet
Interpret information from a bar graph and answer questions with this worksheet.
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Analyzing Graphs (Scaled Intervals) – Board Game
Use this board game to sharpen data analysis skills when solving problems with information presented in a scaled picture graph and bar graph.
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Coordinate Graphing Poster
Use this math reference sheet with your students when learning about coordinate graphing.
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Analyzing Graphs (Single-Unit Intervals) – Board Game
Sharpen student data analysis skills when solving problems with information presented in a single-unit picture graph and bar graph with this board game.
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Equations, Tables, and Graphs, Oh My! – Differentiated Worksheets
Use these differentiated worksheets to practice using equations to create patterns within input-output tables and graphs.
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Input-Output Tables and Graphing Task Cards
Practice reading input-output tables and plotting points in the first quadrant with this set of task cards.
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Graphing Using Input-Output Tables – Differentiated Worksheets
Use data from input-output tables to graph points with this set of differentiated worksheets.
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Creating Ordered Pairs From Input-Output Tables – Worksheet
Create ordered pairs from an input-output table and determine the rule for each table with this worksheet.
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Draw a Bar Graph and Pictograph Task Cards (Single-Unit Intervals)
Practice drawing single-unit bar graphs and pictographs with this set of task cards.
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Analyzing Graphs — Scaled Bar Graphs, Pictographs, & Dot Plots —Task Cards
Use data analysis skills to analyze scaled bar graphs, pictographs, and dot plots with this set of task cards.
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Pictograph and Bar Graph Match-Up (Single-Unit Intervals)
Use data analysis skills to match frequency tables with a corresponding bar graph or pictograph.
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Graph It! Worksheet (Single-Unit Intervals)
Draw a single-unit picture graph and bar graph to represent data with this worksheet.
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Graph It! Worksheet (Scaled Intervals)
Draw a scaled picture graph and bar graph to represent data with this worksheet.