Reading and interpreting bar charts including those with different scales, finding values and comparing bars.
Where your child meets this in real life: Understanding survey results, comparing sports scores, or reading weather data
SEAGReady breaks read bar charts into 3 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Read bar chart values when each grid line represents 1 unit
Read bar chart values when each grid line represents 2, 5, 10, or other multiples
Interpret bar charts where the vertical axis starts above zero (broken axis)
Three free sample questions from our read bar charts course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.
Mrs Kelly's P6 class voted for their favourite fruit. The bar chart shows: Apples = 9, Oranges = 6, Bananas = 4, Grapes = 7. Each square on the scale represents 1 child. How many children voted for apples?
Answer: A. 9 children
Find the Apples bar and read across to the scale. The Apples bar reaches up to 9 on the scale. Answer: 9 children voted for apples.
Stuck? Start here: Find the bar labelled 'Apples' on the chart.
Niamh recorded how many people visited the library each day. The scale on her bar chart shows 0, 10, 20, 30, 40. The Thursday bar reaches exactly to the 30 line. How many people visited on Thursday?
Answer: A. 30 people
The scale shows: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40. The Thursday bar reaches exactly to the 30 line. Answer: 30 people visited on Thursday.
Stuck? Start here: Look at the scale numbers on the axis: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40.
A newspaper shows test scores for three schools on a bar chart. The axis starts at 60 and goes up in 5s (60, 65, 70, 75, 80). St Mary's bar reaches exactly to the 75 line. What was St Mary's test score?
Answer: A. 75
The axis shows: 60, 65, 70, 75, 80. St Mary's bar reaches exactly to 75. Answer: St Mary's score was 75.
Stuck? Start here: Look at the number written on the line where the bar reaches.
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Mrs O'Brien's P6 class voted for their favourite lunch. She made a bar chart to show the results.
How many more children voted for pizza than for sandwiches?
8 − 5
Step 1 of 4
Mrs O'Brien's P6 class voted for their favourite lunch. She made a bar chart to show the results.
How many more children voted for pizza than for sandwiches?
3 more children voted for pizza than sandwiches.
The key insight: On a unit scale, counting grid lines gives you the value directly!
Watch out: Reading pizza as 7 by counting spaces instead of lines. Count up from zero along the axis marks, not the gaps between them.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in read bar charts, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.