Types of Graphs Teaching Resources
Teach your students the different types of graphs with printable graphing activities, worksheets, games and more data activities created by teachers for teachers like you!
Aligned with both TEKS and the Common Core math curriculum, the printables and digital activities in this collection can help you not just introduce each type of graph but also give your students practice using each one to represent and analyze data.
Whether it's your first year covering the various types of graphs in your math classes, or you're just looking for some handy tips and tricks, the Teach Starter teacher team has you covered. Read on for a primer that covers some of the main graph types plus a handy way to explain what a graph is to your students.
What Is a Graph? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Before you can start discussing the various graph types, it helps to explain what a graph is in math. That's where our definition could come in handy!
A graph is a visual way to show data. Graphs help make information easier to understand and analyze.
What Are the Different Types of Graphs?
There is a long list of different types of graphs that mathematicians use to represent numbers and other forms of data. So, which graph types do your students need to know about right now?
Let's take a look at the more common graphing types we use in elementary and middle school math classes:
1. Bar Graphs
A bar graph is a type of graph that uses rectangular shapes called bars to represent quantities or values of data. Bars on a bar graph will be different heights or different lengths to represent the quantity or value.
This makes it easy to compare the values.
2. Line Graphs
A line graph uses points that are connected by lines to show the relationship between two sets of data.
Line graphs are helpful when we want to see changes in data sets over a period of time.
3. Pictographs
The "picto" in pictographs refers to pictures, which are used in this graph type to represent data.
4. Pie Charts
Did you know that a graph is a kind of chart? Although pie charts may not be called "pie graphs," these circles divided by lines to resemble slices of pie are most definitely a type of graph.
Pie charts can be used to represent parts of a whole or categories of a whole, and they help us understand the proportion or percentage of each category.
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We're Going On a Shape Hunt! Graphing Game
Consolidate students' knowledge of 2D shapes while teaching about data collection, recording and graphing!
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Battleship Coordinate Plane Game
Use this coordinate plane game to practice plotting ordered pairs on the coordinate grid.
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Count and Graph Worksheet Pack
Explore counting and graphing skills with this set of three worksheets.
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Bar Graphs Worksheet
Use this double-sided bar graphs worksheet to check your students’ understanding of interpreting and drawing bar graphs.
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How Does It Move? Toy Graphing Worksheets
Explore motion and mathematics with engaging Toy Graphing Worksheets.
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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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Count and Graph – The Picnic
Practice collecting, sorting, and organizing data to create a graph with this 2-page worksheet.
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Mix & Measure Temperature Experiment
Explore temperature changes and practice reading a thermometer with our Mix and Measure Temperature Experiment.
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Coordinate Plane Escape Room
Play this engaging coordinate plane escape room with your students to help them refine their coordinate grid skills.
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Isometric Paper Templates - Dotted/Lined
Isometric Paper - Dotted Paper Printable
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Coordinate Plane Games — "Roll and Graph"
Play our coordinate plane games in your classroom to enhance students’ ability to plot points and find the distance between them.
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Coordinate Plane Printable Templates
Download these coordinate plane printable templates for use in your coordinate planes or graphing unit.
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Plotting Points on a Coordinate Plane Worksheet Set
Utilize our Plotting Points on a Coordinate Plane Worksheet Set to give your students practice locating and plotting points on a coordinate grid.
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Coordinate Grid Worksheets — Plotting and Perimeter
Provide your students with these coordinate grid worksheets to help them master plotting and perimeter on the coordinate plane.
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Plotting Points Mystery Picture — Valentine’s Day
Share this potting points mystery picture with your students on Valentine’s Day.
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Spin, Tally, Graph and Interpret Data – Task Card Activity
Guide your students to collect data, make tally marks, create a bar graph and analyze data with this math activity designed for 1st and 2nd-grade students.
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Creating Line Plots With Measurements – Differentiated Worksheets
Guide students to measure items to the nearest inch or ¼ inch, create a line plot and answer questions with this set of differentiated worksheets for 2nd and 3rd-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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Pictographs - Interactive Activity
Use this fun and engaging interactive activity to aid students. in practicing their pictograph interpretation skills.
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5th Grade Math Review – Google Slides Interactive Activity
Review important 5th-grade math standards with a student-led interactive activity that covers 12 different mathematical concepts.
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Graph It! Worksheet (Scaled Intervals)
Draw a scaled picture graph and bar graph to represent data with this worksheet.
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Count and Graph – In the Classroom
Practice collecting, sorting, and organizing data to create a graph with this 2-page worksheet.
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Coordinate Plane Anchor Chart
Display this coordinate plane anchor chart in your classroom when introducing your students to coordinate grids and ordered pairs.
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Number Talks - Data Analysis Task Cards
Build data analysis skills with this set of 26 task cards.
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Picture Graph Playoff – Math Game
A fun game for students to practice gathering and representing data in a picture graph.
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Types of Graphs Posters
This colorful and easy-to-digest visual display shows students the varying data displays they will encounter in their elementary math lessons.
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Easter Coordinate Graphing Worksheets
Hop into your study of ordered pairs with Easter Coordinate Graphing Worksheets.
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Data Collection Project
Complete this data collection project with your students to give them practice developing a statistical question, collecting data, and displaying the results.
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Collecting and Representing Data Worksheet Set
Download our collecting and representing data worksheet set to get your students collecting, organizing, and displaying data.
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Bar Graph Anchor Chart
Hang this bar graph anchor chart in your classroom to teach your students about the different parts of this commonly used graph.
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Graphing Data Worksheets (Coordinate Plane)
Introduce these graphing data worksheets to your students to give them practice graphing real-world situations on the coordinate plane.
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Real-World Math Problems on the Coordinate Plane Worksheet Set
Interpret real-world math problems on the coordinate plane with our differentiated worksheet set.