Line plots – Grade 4 math lesson
Lesson 22 of 26 in the Grade 4 math course
US version. US grades, US spelling and dollars ($). · UK Maths Department
A complete 45-minute lesson for grade 4 (ages 9–10) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is graded right away, with a worked explanation.
- Time
- 45 minutes + 20 min homework
- Grade
- Grade 4 (ages 9–10)
- You need
- Paper, a pencil and this page
- Graded
- Instantly, with explanations
For parents: how to use this lesson
You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is graded straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to grade anything.
- Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
- Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
- Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
- Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “What does a tall stack of Xs tell you?”
- Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.
Watch out for
- Counting the numbers on the line instead of the Xs. Point to each X as you count.
- Finding the range from the counts instead of the values. Use the numbers on the line, not how many Xs.
Tip for home: Record how many minutes of reading each day for a week and make a line plot.
What your child will learn
Learning goal: read and use line plots to answer questions about data.
Success looks like
- I can read a line plot.
- I can find the most common value and the range.
- I can solve problems with line plot data.
Key words
- line plot
- a number line with Xs for each data value
- data
- information collected
- range
- largest value minus smallest value
- most common
- the value with the most Xs
What to have ready
- Paper and a pencil
- This page on a computer, tablet or phone
- For the hands-on part: Measure the lengths of pencils to the nearest half inch and make a line plot with Xs.
The big ideas (for the adult)
A line plot shows each data value as an X above a number line.
Count the Xs above a number to find how many times it happened.
To find the range, subtract the smallest value from the largest; to find a total, add each value times its count.
The lesson, step by step
| Part | Time | How it is checked |
|---|---|---|
| Starter: quick recall | 5 min | Graded by Classfern |
| Teaching input | 10 min | Not assessed, self-checked |
| Worked examples and guided practice | 9 min | Not assessed, graded by Classfern |
| Independent practice | 15 min | Graded by Classfern |
| Closure and exit ticket | 6 min | Graded by Classfern, self-checked |
Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are graded by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.
The lesson
It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.
Homework and practice at home
20 minutes: 10 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all graded instantly.
More practice
More Grade 4 math lessons
- Factors and multiples
- Prime and composite numbers
- Multiplication and division
- Solving word problems
- Number patterns
- Place value: the value of each digit
- Rounding to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000
- Adding with the standard algorithm
- Subtracting with the standard algorithm
- Decimals: tenths, hundredths and thousandths
- Comparing, ordering and writing numbers
- Equivalent fractions
- Adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators
- Fractions of a whole number
- Comparing and simplifying fractions
- Fractions, decimals and percentages
- Area of rectangles
- Perimeter
- Finding unknown angles
- Converting units of time
- Converting measurement units
- Measuring angles
- Classifying 2-D shapes
- Lines of symmetry
Curriculum
Common Core State Standards 4.MD.B.4: “Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Solve problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions by using information presented in line plots. For example, from a line plot find and interpret the difference in length between the longest and shortest specimens in an insect collection.”
Common Core State Standards 5.MD.B.2: “Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Use operations on fractions for this grade to solve problems involving information presented in line plots. For example, given different measurements of liquid in identical beakers, find the amount of liquid each beaker would contain if the total amount in all the beakers were redistributed equally.”
Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.