Here is a bar chart of how many points four players scored last season. One player scored 30 points; the other three scored much less.

Look at the tallest bar. What has gone wrong with this chart, and what would you change to fix it?

Here is the same set of points (4, 6, 30, 8) drawn three times. Only one thing changes each time: how much each gridline is worth going up the side.

Look at all three together. One of these charts makes your eyes work far too hard, so see if you can spot which one! Which is fiddly to draw? Which squashes the short bars? Which lets you read every bar at a glance?

Today we work with the goals four teams scored in a blitz: 25, 5, 3, 7. We'll build the bars on the board first. Then, on the same builder, we'll change the step to 2, then to 5, then to 10, and watch how the same data looks each time. Together we'll decide which step tells the story best.

Now some quick building practice. All five charts share one grid, marked in fives up to 60, so you can plot fast and read the scores at a glance. First a friendly with small, close scores. Next a game where one team pulled a little ahead. Then a match where one team ran away with it. After that, the county final, where every team scored big. Last of all, a tight game where all four teams land on two consecutive bands, so you have to look carefully. Build each chart to match the numbers, then check.