Interpreting visual information in texts
Interpret information in charts, diagrams, maps, tables and timelines, and explain how it supports or adds to an informational text
What a learner can do afterwards
- Read and interpret data from a chart, graph, or table included in an informational text and explain how it supports or extends the written information
- Explain how a diagram, map, or timeline in an informational text helps the reader understand the topic in ways that words alone might not
- Synthesise information from both the written text and a visual element (graph, illustration, infographic) to draw a conclusion that neither source provides independently
1 · Read
You have used pictures to help you understand words. Informational texts also use charts, diagrams, maps and timelines. A visual may add details or show the same information in a way that makes comparisons easier.
On a bar chart, each bar represents a category's amount. Taller bars show larger amounts on the same scale. Read the title, labels, caption and units before the values. Find the category you need, then read its printed value or use its scale. Units change what a number means: on a chart labelled 'in hundreds', a value of 2 means 200. Check whether the chart counts people, objects or measurements.
A practice article says a seedling needs at least 5 hours of light each day. 'At least 5' means 5 or more. Its chart shows North bed gets 3 hours and South bed gets 6. The text supplies the rule; the chart supplies the amounts. Together they show that South bed meets the rule.
A bar chart compares amounts. A timeline orders events by date. Diagram labels name parts; arrows can show movement or steps. Maps show positions. Tables arrange facts in rows and columns. Choose a visual by the information you need.
Counts can show which group is largest without explaining why. A change after an event does not prove that the event caused it. If words and a chart disagree, identify the mismatch and check the labels, dates and source. Either account could contain an error.
Check which way a timeline's dates increase. Some run left to right; others run down the page. Spacing shows elapsed time only on an evenly scaled timeline. Subtract the earlier year from the later year to find a gap: 1970 minus 1940 is 30 years.
A key explains symbols. If one symbol means 4 objects, two symbols mean 4 plus 4, or 8. Check scale intervals too. The scale below is marked 0, 4, 8 and 12. Each interval is 4. Halfway between 4 and 8 is 6: start at 4 and add half an interval, which is 2.
Use printed distances or a map's scale to compare real route lengths. Labels of 4 km and 7 km give a difference of 3 km. A shorter drawn line need not mean a shorter real route. For a table lookup, find the named row and column, then read their meeting point.
To compare amounts, subtract the smaller from the larger. To compare changes over equal periods, find each increase. These daily counts rise from 2 to 6, then from 6 to 7. The increases are 4 and 1. The increase from Monday to Tuesday is larger.
Read the visual's labels and units, compare it with the words, and explain what each source supports.
Four readings written for this dataset.
More to read
What does this number count?
A bar reaches 4. Before explaining it, find out what the chart measures. Four centimetres is different from four visitors. If the heading says 'Visitors, in hundreds', the value means 400 visitors.
Read the category labels too. They tell you which day, group or object each bar belongs to.
A symbol needs a key. Suppose one triangle represents five votes. Two triangles represent ten votes. Counting only the triangles would give the wrong vote total.
Say the label, value and unit together. That helps you keep the number attached to its meaning.
A rule and a set of values
An event requires groups to have at least six members. A chart lists three groups with four, six and eight members.
Which groups qualify? Start with the rule. 'At least six' includes six and every larger number. Compare each count with that limit. The groups with six and eight members qualify; the group with four does not.
The chart supplies group sizes, while the sentence supplies the requirement. Neither gives the whole answer alone.
Other questions may need just one source. You can compare two chart values without a paragraph repeating them. Explain where each part of your answer came from.
What the evidence leaves open
A report claims that borrowing rose every week. Its chart lists 10 books, then 14, then 11. The final count fell. You can identify the disagreement without deciding which account contains the error.
Check whether the words and chart cover the same weeks. Read their units and dates. A chart could be old, or a sentence could contain a mistake.
Borrowing counts also leave other questions open. They do not tell you whether readers enjoyed the books. A rise after a reading activity began does not prove that the activity caused it.
Give the conclusion supported by the evidence. Separate it from questions the evidence cannot answer.
Choose the information you need
To find a part's name, follow its label line on a diagram. To trace movement, look for an arrow's starting point and arrowhead.
To locate a place, use a map. To compare real distances, read its scale or printed lengths. A sketch may stretch or shorten routes to fit the page.
To look up a table value, select both a row and a column. Read where they meet.
To order events, check dates on a timeline. Their spacing represents time gaps only when the timeline uses an even scale.
A visual can also repeat facts from the text. Showing numbers side by side can make a comparison easier to see.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.