Charts and data
Year 3 · Maths
Explore numbers, spot patterns and explain how you worked it out.
Choose a game
Take your time, try a game and collect stars.
Reading bar charts with scales
Read bar charts with scales in 2s, 5s and 10s, even when a bar stops between two marks.
Play Reading bar charts with scalesHow many more? How many fewer?
Find the difference between two values in a chart to answer 'how many more?' and 'how many fewer?'.
Play How many more? How many fewer?
Learning about charts and data
These Year 3 Maths games practise Reading bar charts with scales, How many more? How many fewer?. Choose a game above for a short activity, or explore the examples below before you play. The full guide for each game explains its controls, gives more examples and includes a free printable for practice away from the screen.
Talk it through
Use counters, a drawing or a number line before moving to a mental method. Ask your child to explain a choice, then change one number and try the method again.
Ask: “How could you show the same answer another way?” Give your child time to explain. Return to an example after playing and ask whether they would approach it differently.
Reading bar charts with scales
Year 3 pupils interpret and present data in bar charts, pictograms and tables. Their bar charts use scales that go up in 2s, 5s or 10s rather than 1s.
Try an example: The scale goes up in 2s. The bar stops halfway between 6 and 8.
Halfway between 6 and 8 is 7.
Show the answer
7
What to look out for
Assuming every scale goes up in 1s. Read two marked numbers next to each other and find the difference before reading any bar.
How many more? How many fewer?
Year 3 pupils solve one-step and two-step questions using information in scaled bar charts, pictograms and tables, such as 'how many more?' and 'how many fewer?'.
Try an example: Cats 14, dogs 9: how many more cats than dogs?
14 − 9 = 5.
Show the answer
5
What to look out for
Adding the two numbers together. Ask: is the question asking for a total or for a gap? 'More' and 'fewer' mean a gap.
Practise away from the screen
- Look at bar charts in leaflets or on food packets and ask what the scale goes up in.
- Compare the number of red and blue sweets in a packet and ask how many more.
Curriculum connections
These games support selected practice connected to Statistics in the National Curriculum in England. Use your school’s sequence to decide when to introduce and revisit each skill. A game covers selected examples, rather than assessing every requirement.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with charts and data?
Start with Reading bar charts with scales. Look at the worked example together, then try a round. If the task feels unfamiliar, use the full game guide or its free printable before trying again.
Does this cover everything taught at this level?
No. This page brings together the games currently available for this topic. It supports selected skills and does not replace the full programme of study or practical teaching.