How to Teach Kids to Record Data and Make Graphs at Home

Data sounds like a grown-up word, but a child collecting numbers about their own life is already doing it. How many steps to the gate? How tall is the plant today? Recording and graphing results is what turns an experiment into evidence.

Start with a question you can count

A good data question has an answer made of numbers or categories. Try:

How many of each color are in this bag of buttons?
How warm is it outside at breakfast each day?
How far does a toy car roll from different ramps?
How long does it take to say the alphabet?

Write the question at the top of a page.

Step 1: make a simple table

A table has two columns: what you changed or when you measured, and what you found. For the ramp, the first column might be “ramp height (cm)” and the second “distance rolled (cm)”. Draw the lines with a ruler, label each column with its unit, and leave space for several rows.

Young children can use tally marks. Draw four lines and cross them with a fifth to count in fives.

Step 2: measure carefully

Teach a few habits:

Start measuring from zero on the ruler.
Read at eye level.
Use the same units every time (centimetres, grams, seconds; inches and ounces if that is what you have).
Repeat the test three times and write each result.

Repeating shows children that results vary a little, which is normal. Later they can take the middle or average value. Our post on mean, median, mode and range explains this.

Step 3: choose a graph

Different questions suit different graphs:

Pictograph: each picture stands for one item. Good for ages 5 to 7.
Bar graph: compare categories, such as favourite fruits or heights of different plants.
Line graph: show change over time, such as temperature each day.
Scatter plot: see whether two things are linked, for older children.

Our guide on which graph to use goes into more detail.

Step 4: draw the graph

Use squared paper if you have it.

Draw two lines at right angles, the axes.
Label each axis with what it shows and its unit.
Choose an even scale, for example each square is 2 cm, and number it.
Plot or draw each result.
Give the graph a title that says what it shows.

Do not worry if the first graph is messy. It gets easier with practice.

Step 5: say what the graph tells you

This is the most important step. Ask:

What is the highest and the lowest?
Is there a pattern?
Is anything surprising?
What might we try next?

Encourage your child to describe only what the data shows. “The taller ramp went further” is a result. Why it happened is a separate idea to discuss.

Everyday data projects

A weekly weather chart on the fridge.
Heights of a plant measured every few days.
How many steps it takes to cross rooms of different sizes.
Pulse before and after running on the spot.

Short, repeated projects build the habit better than one big task.

Common mistakes

Missing units, uneven scales and joining dots that should not be joined are all normal. Point one out gently and let your child fix it.

Using the data afterwards

A table or graph is only useful if you look at it again. Pin it up for a few days and ask new questions. Could we predict the next result? What would happen if we changed the ramp? Can we tell how sure we are, given that three tries gave slightly different answers? This is where children begin to understand why scientists repeat tests, and why a single result is never the whole story.

Where to go next

Try the Which graph tells the truth? lesson or How fast are our reaction times?. The reaction time experiment gives you numbers right away, and measuring at home covers the tools.