Make an Olympics Bar Graph

Without a strong understanding of the concept, bar graphs have the tendency to appear as a chaotic jumble of lines and numbers. Make them easier for your child to grasp; try incorporating an introduction to bar charts into his interest in the Winter Olympic Games! You'll notice a breakthrough in his comfort with the concept as he reads, analyzes, and shares his 2010 Winter Olympics-themed bar graph with family and friends.

What You Need:

• White poster board
• Markers
• Ruler

What You Do:

1. Have your child interview several friends, relatives, classmates, teachers, etc. to find out about their favorite Winter Olympic event: hockey, skiing, snowboarding, luge, figure skating, or curling. If your child has a favorite sport that is not listed, go ahead and replace one of the sports with it.
2. Once the data has been collected, he is ready to create the bar graph! Take white poster board and lay it in front of your child, lengthwise. (The long side should be horizontal, and the shorter side should be vertical.)
3. Invite your child to draw one vertical line and one horizontal line with a marker, leaving a two-inch border on each side, starting in the bottom left corner. The vertical line is called the y-axis, and the horizontal line is called the x-axis.
4. Ask your child to make six small vertical marks every four inches along the horizontal line.
5. Have your child write the name of each sport under each vertical mark. He can also title the chart, "Popular Winter Olympic Sports" underneath the listed sports.
6. Instruct your child to make small marks approximately two inches apart along the vertical line. Number the marks 1–9 or up to 10 on the left-hand side of the line. (It is unlikely that more than 10 people will choose the same sport, but if this is the case, space the numbers one inch apart and write more numbers as needed.)
7. Have him write the title, "Number of People" vertically beside the numbers.
8. Now your child is ready to begin graphing the recorded data! Start with the first sport: hockey; If two of the respondents liked hockey best, have your child take the ruler and make a vertical line from hockey up to the number 2. He should form the line into a bar that is at least an inch thick, so it is visible from a distance.
9. Repeat the above step with the remaining sporting events. If no respondents pick a particular sport as their favorite, have your child make a small, but visible line across the horizontal x-axis. Ask your child to place a zero on the left-hand side of the horizontal or x-axis.
10. Make sure your child titles the graph at the top; a clear title such as "Favorite Winter Olympic Sports" works well. If he wishes, your child can also decorate the graph with colors and small drawings.
11. To practice reading and analyzing a bar graph, encourage your child to answer the following questions about his chart:

• How many people were interviewed?
• How many people like luge best?
• How many people like figure skating best?
• How many people like hockey, skiing, and curling combined?
• How many people like figure skating and snowboarding combined?
• Which sport is the least popular?
• Which sport is the most popular?
• How many more (or less) people like luge than curling?
• How many more (or less) people like snowboarding than figure skating?