Graph Choice

🟦📊 Technique Card: Choosing the Right Graph Type (deeper)

🕵️‍♀️ What's this all about?

Graphs help us see patterns in data. But not all graphs are good for all types of information. This card helps you choose the best type of graph depending on what kind of data you have and the story you want it to tell.

📊 Bar Charts – Tall or Wide?

Bar charts are perfect for showing categories — things you can count and group (like ways people travel to school, favourite fruits, or types of animals seen in a survey).

Vertical Bars (up and down):
Best when categories are short or in a clear order.
Great for showing change over time or ranking.
Example: Number of students in each year group.
Horizontal Bars (sideways):
Best when category names are long.
Easier to read when there are lots of categories.
Example: Different hobbies children enjoy at your school.

✅ Choose bar charts when you're comparing amounts between groups.

📈 Line Graphs – Showing Change Over Time

Line graphs are perfect when your data has time involved — hours, days, weeks, years. They're great for spotting trends (going up, down, or staying steady).

Connects points with a line.
Shows how something changes or grows.
Example: Tracking the temperature across a week.

✅ Choose line graphs when you're showing how something changes over time.

⚪ Scatter Graphs – Looking for Patterns Between Two Things

Scatter graphs (or scatter plots) are used when you're checking if two things are linked or have a relationship.

Each point shows two pieces of data.
You can spot patterns, like if taller people tend to run faster.
Example: Comparing children's height with their shoe size.

✅ Choose scatter graphs when you're asking “Does this affect that?”

🧠 Quick Quiz

Which graph would you choose?

To show how the number of ice creams sold changed across a summer week?
To compare how many children picked each fruit as their favourite?
To check if students who sleep more get better test scores?