Look at this line graph of the water level in a pond over one week. When was the pond filling up fastest, and when did the level hold steady? How can you tell just by looking at which way the line goes and how steep it is?

Three line graphs come up on the screen, one at a time: rainfall across a week, then temperature through a day, then a sunflower's height over six weeks. Watch which way the line goes and how steep it gets, and be ready to read a value for a moment that sits between two points by following the joining line. Hands up when you are asked for the in-between reading, the warming and cooling parts, and the steepest climb.

Today we plot and read our own line graph together on the board: the number of pupils in the yard at break over six readings: 12, 18, 22, 20, 15, and 24 on an extra sunny day. We plot each point by clicking, then read the joined line to find a value for a moment between two points and say how the trend changes. Notice the line climbs Monday to Wednesday to 22, falls to Friday, then rises on the sunny day.

Today we read this temperature line graph together. There are four board tasks:

1. Read the value straight off the line at reading R4 (type this answer and press Check).
2. Find the biggest jump between two readings.
3. Read a value for a moment between two plotted points by following the line.
4. Predict where the next point would land if the trend carried on.

We take turns at the board and check each answer together before moving on.