Teaching Graphing in Kindergarten

This post was updated in October 2026 to align with the Ontario Kindergarten Curriculum, 2026.

Hi there!

If you’ve ever wondered how to teach graphing in Kindergarten… you’re not alone.

Every year my students found graphing fun and engaging, but when I was in the classroom, I found turning it into an independent centre in a JK/SK class challenging the first few times I taught it. So I brainstormed and tested different ways to make it more independent… and now that I’ve seen it work in my own classroom I’m ready to share it with you! You can find the five-day lesson sequence I used below, along with the way I set up the graphing sheets so children could use them on their own.

This post has been updated to match my current Graphing for Kindergarten unit and the 2026 Ontario Kindergarten curriculum. Here’s what’s inside:

• What the 2026 curriculum expects for graphing
• A five-day lesson sequence, from making a question to building class graphs
• How to introduce the recording sheets so graphing can become an independent centre
• Ways to adjust the sheets for different learners
• A few extra ideas for concrete graphs and collecting data 📊

What the 2026 curriculum expects

Graphing is part of Strand A, under A8 Data Literacy and Probability. Three expectations connect to this unit:

• A8.1 sort objects or data using one attribute
• A8.2 collect and record data to answer questions of interest, and display it in concrete graphs or picture graphs
• A8.3 respond to data in concrete graphs and picture graphs by interpreting it and drawing conclusions

In the curriculum, children can collect data through observations, experiments and interviews or surveys. A concrete graph uses real objects to represent information, and the examples include people graphs, stacking blocks and connecting cubes. Children then talk about what the graph shows and use it to draw a conclusion, such as noticing that more children chose one option than another.

The lessons below build toward that. Children start by making a question, then collect and record the answers, and finally describe what the graph tells them using the words most, least and the same.

If your students are new to sorting, you may want to begin there first. I shared how I teach it in my sorting post.

Day 1: Introducing graphing and making a question

I began by introducing the learning goal: We are learning to make graphs.

Then we talked about the first success criteria: I can make a question. I gave the children a few examples, then invited them to share their own questions, and we recorded them on chart paper.

Afterwards, I typed up the questions and laminated a couple of copies for the graphing centre (a question folder works well) so children could look at them whenever they needed help thinking of one.

The 2026 curriculum calls these “questions of interest,” so you might also invite children to suggest questions that help the class make a real decision, like what to put in the sensory table.

Day 2: Collecting and recording data

On the second day, I introduced the remaining success criteria:

• I can collect and record data on my graph. (I explained that data means information.)
• I can answer questions about my graph using the words most, least and the same.

We practised with the question What is your favourite colour? This is where I modelled the recording sheet, because it is much easier for children to use it independently once they have seen every step.

Want to try this colour graphing printable and word chart? Click here or on the button below to grab it for free!

I projected the sheet on the whiteboard (a SMARTBoard works too) and showed the whole group how it works:

1. Trace the question and choose three colours.
2. Record the colour choices. Children who are not yet printing can colour in the circles. Children who can copy words can take the colour words from the word wall. A colour word reference poster is included if you don’t have colour words on display.
3. For a little extra support with the words, I suggested adding a small dash of the colour in crayon under each word.
4. Ask each friend the question and record their answer on the graph.
5. At the end, record which colour was the most, which was the least, and whether any were the same. Children who are not printing yet can do a small scribble of the colour in the box (example shown above).

There are two versions of the favourite colour sheet, one where children colour in the circles and one where they write the colour words, in 8 or 14 box options so you can choose what suits your class size.

One way I help students ensure they ask every student (and each student only once) is to make these photo class lists available! I simply make a page with each child’s face on it like this:

I have students clip a photo class list and a graphing paper on their clip board and then flip to the class list after they ask a classmate their question and cross them off. This greatly reduced students coming to me frustrated that they can’t remember who they’ve asked and especially helped students feel confident if they were not able to finish their graph and had to continue the next day.

Day 3: A concrete graph with favourite animals

For our first concrete graph, the question was What is your favourite animal?

I taped five different animal pictures around the room. We talked about each animal, the children thought about their favourite, and then they moved to stand by it.

Next, I called one group at a time to sit in a line on the carpet to form their part of the graph, with the first person holding the animal picture. Then I took a photo, showed it to the class (I used the SMARTBoard, but a projector works too), added a title, and we talked about which animal had the most, which had the least, and whether any were the same.

The unit includes twelve animal cards, including an “other” card, so you can choose the five that suit your class.

We had a carpet like this which made it really easy to make a concrete graph right on the carpet!

Day 4: A concrete graph with siblings

On Day 4, we followed the same process with a new question: How many siblings do you have?

Before graphing, I divided the children into four groups using the sign cards: sisters only, brothers only, sisters and brothers, and no siblings. Then we built the graph the same way and talked about what we noticed.

Family situations vary, so if this question doesn’t suit your class, you can swap in another one that works for your students, like a favourite fruit or season.

Day 5: A birthday graph

Our last graph in this sequence was a birthday graph. Before the lesson, I prepared a bulletin board with the title and the months already taped on, got each child’s photo ready, and kept a class list with birthdays handy in case a child didn’t know their birth month.

I told the children we were making a birthday graph so we could find out which month had the most birthdays. Then, one by one, I asked each child for their birth month and added their photo to the board. At the end, we talked about the month with the most birthdays, the month with the least, and any that were the same.

Making graphing an independent centre

Once the children had seen graphing modelled whole group, I put the recording sheets out at a centre. The sheets are designed to match where your learners are, so you can offer more than one at the same time and use whichever sheets work for you.

• Not yet printing: use the favourite colour sheet with colour-in circles, or a pre-filled sheet where the choices are already pictured with their words. Children can scribble or colour in each answer.
• Copying words: use a sheet where the choices are blank and leave a colour or animal reference poster at the centre so children can copy the words.
• Ready to write their own choices or question: use the generic What is your favourite ____? sheet, or the sheet with a blank question area, so children can make and record their own question.

I also added simpler, pre-filled graphing sheets in response to teacher requests. They come in a 6 or 12 box option and cover animals, seasons, dinosaurs, weather, sports, fruit, vegetables, breakfast foods and ice cream flavours. (There are two dinosaur versions, because a pterodactyl isn’t technically a dinosaur!)

The unit also includes an editable PowerPoint file, so you can make graphing sheets around the interests of your group, like a favourite character or a class theme.

More ways to explore concrete graphs:

These extras aren’t part of the unit, but they match examples in the 2026 curriculum, so you might find them useful.

• Build a graph with materials. Children can place a connecting cube or stacking block for their choice and compare the towers.
• Collect data through observation. The curriculum gives the example of counting which birds visit a feeder during outdoor learning.
• Collect data through an experiment. For example, children can test how many blocks a small foil boat can hold before it sinks, and record the results.
• Draw a conclusion together. After a graph is complete, ask, “What does our graph tell us?” Children might notice that more friends chose one option than another and use that to decide what to do or order.

Possible look-fors as students graph:

As children work, here are a few things you can watch and listen for:

• Can they make or choose a question?
• Do they record each answer in the right column or box?
• Can they say which choice had the most, the least, or whether any were the same?
• Can they tell you something the graph helps them know?

These are starting points, not a checklist. For children who need more support, use pre-filled sheets and graph with fewer choices. For children ready for more, offer sheets where they write their own choices or make their own question.

Want the lesson plans and graphing sheets?

If you’d rather not build the lesson plans, cards and sheets yourself, my Graphing for Kindergarten unit includes five days of lesson plans, animal and sibling lesson cards, colour and animal reference posters, favourite colour and favourite animal graphing sheets, make-your-own-question sheets, simpler pre-filled sheets and an editable PowerPoint. It is aligned to A8.2 and A8.3 of the 2026 Ontario Kindergarten curriculum.

If you prefer digital lessons and centres, I also have a Google Slides version: Digital Math for Kindergarten | Graphing Activities.

This unit is also included in my Year-Long Printable Kindergarten Math Bundle and the Ontario Kindergarten Math System if you’re looking for lesson plans and hands-on centres for your math teaching all year.

I hope these ideas help make your planning a little easier! ✨

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