Charts and data
Grade 4 · Math
Explore numbers, spot patterns and explain how you worked it out.
Choose a game
Take your time, try a game and collect stars.
Time graphs
How much did the temperature rise between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.? Read time graphs in this
Play Time graphsDiscrete or continuous data?
Goals in a match are counted; heights are measured. Sort data into discrete and continuous in this
Play Discrete or continuous data?Reading timetables
How long does the bus take from Ashby to Denby? Read a 24-hour bus timetable in this
Play Reading timetables
Learning about charts and data
These Grade 4 Math games practice Time graphs, Discrete or continuous data?, Reading timetables. 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.
Time graphs
In this game children read values from time graphs described in each question, find rises and falls between two times, and work out distances travelled at a steady speed. Each answer comes from reading two points and comparing them.
Try an example: 6°C at 7 a.m. and 9°C at 9 a.m. By how much did it rise?
9 − 6 = 3.
Show the answer
3°C
What to look out for
Reading the time axis as if it were the value axis. Label both axes with your finger: 'this way is time, this way is temperature'.
Discrete or continuous data?
In this game children sort data sets into discrete and continuous. Discrete data is counted in whole numbers, like goals in a match. Continuous data is measured and can take any value in a range, like a child's height.
Try an example: The number of goals scored in each match
Goals are counted. You cannot score half a goal.
Show the answer
Discrete
What to look out for
Thinking any data with numbers is continuous. Ask whether a value in between makes sense. Counted things jump from one whole number to the next.
Reading timetables
In this game every question shows the same bus timetable. Children find journey times between stops and the next bus after a given time. Reading across a row and down a column carefully is the skill being practiced.
Try an example: The 07:05 bus from Ashby reaches Bramley at 07:20. How long does it take?
From 07:05 to 07:20 is 15 minutes.
Show the answer
15 minutes
What to look out for
Treating times as ordinary numbers, so 08:57 to 09:25 seems to be 68 minutes. Count on to the next hour first: 08:57 to 09:00 is 3 minutes, then 25 more.
Practice away from the screen
- Record the temperature outside every hour on a weekend day and draw a time graph together.
- Sort things around the house: things you count (spoons) and things you measure (water in a jug).
- Look up a real bus or train timetable together and plan a trip.
Curriculum connections
Time graphs
Enrichment: time graphs are not a Common Core standard. They build on line plots (4.MD.B.4) and prepare for graphing points in Grade 5 (5.G.A.2).
Discrete or continuous data?
Enrichment: Common Core does not name discrete and continuous data. It links to representing measurement data in 4.MD.B.4.
Reading timetables
Supports part of Common Core 4.MD.A.2: word problems with intervals of time. The timetable uses 24-hour times. This focused game does not cover the entire standard.
Common Core connection: 4.MD.A.2. This is focused practice for part of the standard.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with charts and data?
Start with Time graphs. 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. These games provide focused practice. Grade suggestions do not replace your school’s curriculum, and any Common Core connection applies only to the skill described.