Charts and Graphs

Introduction  

Graphs are used every day by the media to help get the point of their story to the reader. Go to the USA Today to see what kind of a chart they are featuring on their home page today. Well-prepared graphs often make a point much clearer. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words!

In this web based lesson, you will learn about reading, interpreting, and creating computerized charts and graphs. You will be using this site as a guide to your assignment. After learning the basics about business graphs from several sites, you will surf some destinations that will provide you with data you can then use to create your own graphs.

The Task   

After learning about graphs by reading some Internet sites, you will look at existing graphs and determine what they say about the data they represent. In other words, you will interpret the data into your own words to draw conclusions.

The Process 

Part 1:

First, visit the following 3 Internet pages to learn some of the basics about graphs. Answer the ten questions on the corresponding worksheet as you read these pages. Click to open a copy of Worksheet One in Microsoft Word. You will need to have Netscape and Word open at the same time to effectively work on this part of the assignment. Use the buttons on the taskbar (at the bottom of your screen) to move back and forth between applications. When you are finished answering the questions, save the document in your folder and print a hard copy for your instructor.

• Using Charts and Graphs
• Types of Charts and Graphs
• Choosing the Right Graph

Part 2:

Next, you will need to click on the sites listed below and use them to answer the questions on worksheet two.   Click to open a copy of Worksheet Two in Microsoft Word.   Keep both Word and Netscape open at the same time.    Again, be sure to save the document in your folder and print a hard copy for your instructor.

• See a Line Graph and answer questions 11 through 15.
• See a Bar Graph and answer questions 16 through 20.
• See a Pie Chart and answer questions 21 through 25.

Part 3:

Again, you will need to have Netscape and Word open at the same time to effectively work on this part of the assignment. You will go between the two programs frequently. For this part, you will choose from the following set of links to gather numeric data to use to create graphs of your own. After finding a sight that has the kind of data you believe will make a good graph, create a chart in Word using one of the following chart types:

Line Graph

Bar Graph

Pie Chart

Click here to find out how to make a chart

Assignment:  Create the three types of charts below using Microsoft Word and data found at one of the websites below.  Turn in the following:

(Staple and turn in all at once)
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
Line Graph (Using Data found at one of the websites below)
Bar Graph (Using Data found at one of the websites below)
Pie Chart (Using Data found at one of the websites below)

Possible source sites:

	National League Team Batting Statistics
	The Week's Most Watched Television Shows
	United States Census Bureau
	Voting Statistics
	National ACT Scores
	CIA Factbook

Criteria	Score	Commendable 8-10 Points	Acceptable 5-7 Points	Unacceptable 0-4 Points
Format		Professionally laid out	Follows prescribed format	Format not acceptable
Creativity		Very clever; creatively designed	Shows some creative thinking	Lacks creativity
Correctness		Data accurate	Data incomplete	Data incorrect
Message		Message is clear and obvious	Message can be understood	Message is not easy to understand
Demonstrated Understanding		Applied learned concepts	Used examples	Thinking not justified

Conclusion 

Congratulations, completing this lesson has made you proficient at creating computerized graphs that represent numerical data gathered from any source. You also are able to interpret existing graphs, weigh their validity, and draw conclusions concerning the data they represent. Finally, you've gotten some Internet experience and used a graphing application.