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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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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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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Interpreting Graphs on the Coordinate Plane Matching Activity
Incorporate this interpreting graphs matching activity into your unit on coordinate planes.
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Coordinate Plane Activity — Four Quadrant Sort
Introduce this coordinate plane activity to students to enhance their skills in identifying ordered pairs in all four quadrants.
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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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Ordered Pair Picture Pack
Practice plotting ordered pairs with this differentiated and engaging picture pack.
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Coordinate Planes and Graphing Vocabulary Card Set
Introduce coordinate planes to your students with this set of 18 vocabulary cards.
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Sports Day Dilemma - Metric Conversions Math Task
Engage students with a real-world application of measurement conversions with Sports Day Dilemma, a metric conversion math task!
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Dot Plots / Line Plots - 4th & 5th Grade Assessment
Assess student understanding of reading and creating line plots with a printable math test for 5th grade.
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Line Plot Project: Bakery Menu Design
Make learning about math as sweet as your students' favorite treats with this project based learning line plots exercise!
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Data Collection Investigation Project
Assign this data collection project to enable students to master the skills of gathering, recording, and graphing data.
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Creating Graphs Interactive Activity
Share this interactive activity with your students to help them practice using digital tools to create graphs from raw data.
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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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Looking at Line Plots With Fractions Task Cards
Challenge your students to analyze a line plot with fractions and answer questions with this this set of 24 task cards.
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Differentiated Line Plot Worksheet
Guide your students to create line plots with whole-number or ¼ inch measurements with this differentiated line plot worksheet.
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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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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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Creating Pictographs Worksheet
Use this engaging worksheet to practice creating and reading pictographs.
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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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5th Grade Math Review – Test Prep Packet
Encourage your students to work through 8 pages of 5th-grade math problems while charting their progress to measure their success.
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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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Coordinate Grids Mystery Pictures
Practice plotting on coordinate grids with this set of differentiated mystery pictures.
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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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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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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.