Beginner

30 mins

Teacher/Student led

Learning Goals

Learning Outcomes

+10 XP

What you need:
Chromebook/Laptop/PC

Creating Your First Charts

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1 Thinking About Charts In Place of Just Numbers
2 Let's Find Excel
3 Creating Your First Chart
4 Input Your Data
5 Select Your Data
6 Navigate to the Insert Tab
Quiz

1 - Thinking About Charts In Place of Just Numbers

Imagine you're the captain of your school's football team, and you want to see which player scored the most goals this season. Instead of looking through pages of numbers, you could create a chart and see straight away who the top scorer is. Or perhaps you're saving pocket money for a new game. A line chart could help you see how close you are to your goal each week.

Can you think of another situation where a chart might be more helpful than a list of numbers?

Imagine you're part of the school's environmental club, and you've been collecting data on the amount of paper waste generated in school each month. Over the year, you've jotted down the number of kilograms of paper waste for each month.

Now, while a list of numbers for each month can give you specific details, it might be hard to quickly identify patterns or trends. For instance, is there a particular month where paper waste spikes? Or maybe there's a steady decline or increase over the year?

By using a chart, especially a line chart in this case, you can visually see the ups and downs of paper waste over the year. Maybe there's a spike in waste during exam months due to increased paper usage for test papers and revisions. Or perhaps there's a decline during holiday months when school isn't in session.

A chart would instantly show these patterns, making it easier for the club to identify which months need more attention and perhaps initiate paper-saving campaigns. It's a powerful way to present data and make informed decisions!

2 - Let's Find Excel

Before we dive into the vibrant world of charts, let's make sure we're all set up and ready to begin our Excel adventure. Here's a step-by-step guide to get you started:

Finding Excel on Your Computer:

If you're using a Windows computer, click on the 'Start' button (it looks like a little flag) and type 'Excel'. You should see the Excel app pop up in the search results.

If you're on a Mac, open 'Finder', go to 'Applications', and look for 'Microsoft Excel'.

Opening Excel:

Click on the Excel icon to open it. You'll be greeted with a welcome screen.

Choosing a Starting Point:

You'll see some template options, but for now, click on the 'Blank Workbook'. This gives us a clean slate to start our work.

Getting Familiar with Excel:

Before we jump into charts, take a moment to look around. You'll see rows, columns, and a bunch of tabs at the top. This top area is called the 'Ribbon', and it's where all our magic tools are!

Deciding What to Chart:

Think about what you want to show in your chart. Maybe it's the number of books you've read each month, or perhaps it's the scores of your favourite football team. Write down your data in the rows and columns.

Now that we're all set up, we can start our exciting journey into the world of charts! Imagine turning those numbers into colourful visuals that tell a story. With Excel, you're about to become both a data wizard and an artist! 🎨📊

Ready to dive in? Let's make our data dazzle!

3 - Creating Your First Chart

Hey there, young explorer!

Have you ever looked at a bunch of numbers and thought, "Hmm, this is a bit tricky to understand"? Or maybe you've wondered how to make your school project look super impressive? Well, charts in Excel are like magic wands that turn those plain numbers into colourful and easy-to-understand visuals!

Imagine you've been noting down how many ice creams you've had each day for a week. Instead of just seeing a list of numbers, wouldn't it be cool to have a picture that shows which day you had the most? That's precisely what charts do!

In Excel, making a chart is like creating a mini-artwork. You pick your colours, decide what type of chart you want (like a bar chart or pie chart), and let Excel do the rest. And the best part? You don't need to be an artist to make your chart look fantastic!

So, are you ready to dive into the colourful world of Excel charts and make your data dance? Let's get started!

4 - Input Your Data

Before creating any chart, we need to have our data ready. This is like preparing the ingredients before baking a cake.

Step 1: Open a new Excel worksheet. You'll see a grid of cells, which are the tiny boxes you'll be entering your data into.

Step 2: Click on cell A1. This is the starting point for our data.

Step 3: Type "Fruits" in cell A1. This will be the header for our list of fruits, helping us remember what data is in this column.

Step 4: Below the header, start listing the fruits you want to track. Click on cell A2 and type "Apples". Press the 'Enter' key on your keyboard, and you'll move to the next cell down, A3. Here, type "Bananas". Continue this pattern:

A4: Oranges

A5: Grapes

A6: Strawberries

... and so on, depending on how many fruits you want to include.

Step 5: Now, move to column B. Click on cell B1 and type "Quantity". This column will represent the number of each fruit you consumed.

Step 6: Just as you did with the fruits, start entering the quantities in column B, aligning with each fruit:

B2: 5 (This means you ate 5 apples last week)

B3: 3 (3 bananas)

B4: 4 (4 oranges)

B5: 6 (6 grapes)

B6: 2 (2 strawberries)

... and so on.

Tip: Always make sure your data is accurate. Double-check your entries to ensure there are no mistakes. Remember, the chart will only be as good as the data you provide!

By following these steps, you've successfully set up your data in Excel, ready to be transformed into a colourful and informative chart!

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