Interpreting graphs

Great ideas and resources for teaching engaging mathematics lessons

Aim is for you to realise that a picture (or graph!) really does paint a thousand words i.e. good paintings make you think of a whole host of thoughts that would take you pages and pages to express, graphs should do the same!

The other aim is for you to realise that if you read the labels on the axes and think about the many different possible units and scales that could be used, for each graph, a whole host of stories could fit the picture.

Hopefully, you'll also understand why it is so important to label, title, units and scale axes if you want people to only see the story you want the graph to tell.

Why we like this activity....
It's entirely up to you to really think about what the graph is telling you . . . Don't forget, "a picture (in this case a graph!) paints a thousand words"!

How this activity can be used....
Look at the labels on the axes, what are the units? what is the scale? There is no one right answer, there are hundreds of thousands of answers, up to you to define the scale, units and possibilities. Why not try it in pairs and once you have decided on your interpretation, as a pair, go and visit other pairs to see how they have chosen to interpret the graphs. Is their explanation possible or can you clearly explain to them or the class, what's logically incorrect about it?

What to expect when using this activity, from our experience...
You're going to have to do the thinking! As humans, we are logical machines, so this activity is as much about reasoning as it is about graphs.

Extra notes

Oliver Bowles 17.08.09

Interpreting Graphs real life graphs, axes, units, scale, interpreting graphs
	Description/Aim
		Aim is for you to realise that a picture (or graph!) really does paint a thousand words i.e. good paintings make you think of a whole host of thoughts that would take you pages and pages to express, graphs should do the same! The other aim is for you to realise that if you read the labels on the axes and think about the many different possible units and scales that could be used, for each graph, a whole host of stories could fit the picture. Hopefully, you'll also understand why it is so important to label, title, units and scale axes if you want people to only see the story you want the graph to tell.

	Teachers Notes - Why? How? What?
	Why we like this activity.... It's entirely up to you to really think about what the graph is telling you . . . Don't forget, "a picture (in this case a graph!) paints a thousand words"! How this activity can be used.... Look at the labels on the axes, what are the units? what is the scale? There is no one right answer, there are hundreds of thousands of answers, up to you to define the scale, units and possibilities. Why not try it in pairs and once you have decided on your interpretation, as a pair, go and visit other pairs to see how they have chosen to interpret the graphs. Is their explanation possible or can you clearly explain to them or the class, what's logically incorrect about it? What to expect when using this activity, from our experience... You're going to have to do the thinking! As humans, we are logical machines, so this activity is as much about reasoning as it is about graphs. Extra notes Oliver Bowles 17.08.09
	www.thinkmathematics.com

Interpreting Graphs