Idea 2of 22Builds onA graph needs a title and labels
A source says where the data came from
How can a reader check a graph's numbers?
Today you'll discover
- what a source line is
- what a good source says
- why who made a graph matters
Think firstSeedlings in the class garden: 47, 44 and 42
Can you check where these numbers came from?
Decide first, then press Next. Find the small line under the graph.
A bar graph of seedlings that sprouted in the class garden: Beans 47, Peas 44, Corn 42, with no line under it. Then a source line appears at the bottom: Source: Room 12 garden count, October 2026. The last step shows a graph titled Do kids love Crunch Chips?, Yes 9 and No 1, with the source Crunch Chips company, 10 kids asked.
See the whole ideathe big idea and the key word, in one place
The big idea
A source says who collected the data, and when, so a reader can check it.
A good source lineSource: Room 12 garden count, October 2026. It names who, where and when, in one short line under the graph.
Easy to get wrongA graph with no source asks you to trust it blindly. A careful reader looks for the source first.
Key word
- source
- a line under a graph saying who collected the data, where and when
Ready to use it?
- Write a source line for a graph you make.
- Judge a graph by who collected its data.