'Graphs and charts' tutor notes

The 'Graphs and charts' module is aimed at Level 1 of the Basic Skills Curriculum in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The module covers material in HD1/L1.1 and HD1/L1.2 which explains how title, labels, key, etc. provide information. It also looks at how to obtain information from a pictogram, pie chart, bar chart and line graphs, including use of decimal numbers. It covers how to choose a sensible scale to fit data including label charts, graphs and diagrams.

We'd love to hear your comments on the module. What do you think of the factsheets? Send in your and your students' feedback.

How does this tie in with the new curriculums?

• England
  HD2/L1.1 - Extract and interpret information (e.g. in tables, diagrams, charts and line graphs)
  HD2/L1.2 - Collect, organise and represent discrete data (e.g. in tables, charts, diagrams and line graphs)
  
• Wales
  As England.
• Northern Ireland
  As England.
• Scotland
  See www.aloscotland.com for details of the Scottish curriculum.

In the Skillswise module you'll find:

Graphs and charts factsheets
You'll find curriculum references in the top right corner of the factsheets. There are 5 factsheets, each on 'print-out-and-keep' sheets:

• Factsheet 1 - Charts and diagrams 1
• Factsheet 2 - Charts and diagrams 2
• Factsheet 3 - Pie charts
• Factsheet 4 - Line graphs
• Factsheet 5 - Pictograms

Graphs and charts worksheets
You'll find curriculum references in the top right corner of the worksheets. There are 8 worksheets, each on 'print-out-and-keep' sheets:

• Worksheet 1 - Table 1
• Worksheet 2 - Table 2
• Worksheet 3 - Table 3
• Worksheet 4 - Bar chart 1
• Worksheet 5 - Bar chart 2
• Worksheet 6 - Pie charts
• Worksheet 7 - Line graph
• Worksheet 8 - Pictogram

Technical help:

If you are new to the web, why not try the BBC WebWise online course, Becoming WebWise? It's free, you can do it in your own time from any computer and it will take you through everything you need to know to use the web successfully in your teaching.
Find out more about WebWise.

You can find out more about the technical requirements for Skillswise in our Help - Technical Information section.

Taking it further:

With Skillswise

Don't forget to visit Understanding averages and Teaching inspirations for links to more online games and activities on probability.

On the web
Here are some other places on the web you might find useful for teaching graphs and charts:

• Digitalbrain - Handling Data
  Digitalbrain's online resources offers a tutorial page, a practice page and assessment.
• http://nln.mimas.ac.uk/login.jsp
  The National Learning Network (NLN) offer a section on reading tables, pie charts, line graphs and bar graphs which include assessment, practice and a tutorial. Sign-up for a log-in password. Once you are logged in enter 'reading tables' or the topic you would like in the search materials window.
• http://www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk/Curriculum/Numeracy.htm#Data%20Handling
  This school resources page offers over twenty links to data handling and graphs under the heading 'data handling'.

Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of other websites.

Do you know of any great online resources for graphs and charts? Tell us about them!