Skills Covered

How to Use This Pack

Five pages for Year 6 on questioning the graphs, surveys and headlines found in print and online. Page 1 shows column graphs whose value axis starts above zero: children read the real values, then work out how many times taller one column looks and how many times bigger its value really is. Page 2 has uneven scales and pictographs where the bigger number gets a bigger picture: children name what is wrong and compare what the graph shows with the real values. Page 3 gives six survey claims to judge as fair or not, with a reason chosen from a short list. Page 4 asks children to redraw three misleading graphs on a fair axis that starts at zero, and page 5 checks newspaper headlines against a table and a graph: true, false or can't tell.

In the Classroom

Draw two columns on the board for 50 and 60, with the value axis starting at 45. Ask how many times taller the second column looks, then how much bigger 60 really is than 50. Talk about why someone might draw a graph like that. Page 3 makes a good discussion: would the answer change if the same question were asked at a different place?

At Home

Look for graphs and survey results in newspapers, on websites or in advertisements. Check together where the value axis starts, whether the steps are equal and who was asked. Would the graph look different if it were drawn fairly?

Tips for Success

• Check where the value axis starts: does it start at 0?
• Check that the scale goes up in equal steps
• A picture twice as tall and twice as wide covers four times the space
• Ask who was surveyed, how many, and what exactly they were asked
• A headline can only claim what the data shows