Bar Charts - KS1 Maths - Year 3

What is a Bar Chart?

• A bar chart is a diagram that uses rows of horizontal or vertical bars to display information.
• Title: Indicates the subject of the bar chart.
• Axes: Vertical and horizontal lines known as axes.
  • Horizontal Axis: -axis
  • Vertical Axis: -axis
• Labels: Both axes have labels to clarify what is being shown.

Example

• Books Read in the Summer Holidays
  • Axis numbered 0 to 8, showing the number of books read.
  • Bars represent books read by each child (e.g., Sally read 3, Omi read 8).
  • Can interpret that Omi read 5 more books than Sally.

Understanding Bar Charts

• Bars should have equal width.
• Length of each bar represents a specific quantity.
• Example
  • Children’s Favourite Pets
    • Axis numbered 0 to 11, showing the number of children.
    • Axis shows types of pets (e.g., cats, dogs, rabbits).
    • Observation: 10 children chose cats.
    • Comparison: 6 more children chose dogs than fish (9 dogs, 3 fish).

Changing Scales

• Steps on the -axis or -axis can vary (e.g., increments of 2, 10).
• Important to read scales correctly.
• Example
  • Favourite Activities of Children
    • Axis goes up in 2s.
    • Computing is most popular (12 children), and football is played by 9 children (bar halfway between 8 and 10).

Additional Example

• Number of Visitors to a Museum in One Week
  • Axis numbered 0 to 80, showing the number of visitors.
  • Bars represent each day of the week.
  • Question: Calculate how many more people visited the museum on Sunday compared to Monday.