Primary English: Chart Description Tutor Prep Guide | Four Sentences, Five Degree Words and Percentage Maths

2026-11-14

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary English

Faced with a bar chart, most pupils copy every number once and hand it in, so the paragraph has no comparison and no conclusion. This chapter teaches four sentences only: one says what the chart shows, two put the numbers against each other, and one closes with the highest and lowest.

Objectives — Students can: (1) open with a topic sentence naming the chart type, the subject and the unit; (2) write two comparison sentences, each carrying two figures and a comparison word, softened by a degree word; (3) compute percentage change with (new minus old) divided by old times one hundred, getting 50 per cent up from 320 to 480 and 33.3 per cent down from 480 to 320, and explain why the two differ.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Comparatives	What is the comparative of big?	bigger
Reading numbers	Read out 480	four hundred and eighty
Past tense	What is the past tense of borrow?	borrowed

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-5 min	Three-minute read	Horizontal axis, vertical axis, unit, period	Say what the chart shows
5-15 min	Four-sentence frame	Topic, comparison, comparison, conclusion	Write four sentences for one chart
15-25 min	Five degree words	approximately, about, just over, nearly, exactly	Match five sentences
25-35 min	Percentage change	The formula and the denominator trap	Work three items and write them up
35-43 min	Solo paragraph	A new chart, four sentences	Work alone
43-45 min	Exit check	Three questions collected and marked	Work independently

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: The four-sentence frame: what it shows, compare twice, close

A chart description runs four sentences: one topic sentence, two comparison sentences, one conclusion. The topic sentence names three things: chart type, subject and unit (the bar chart shows the number of books borrowed from the school library in three months). Both comparison sentences must compare, never just copy a figure: one sets the highest against the lowest, one sets two neighbouring months against each other. The conclusion gives the overall picture (overall, February was the busiest month). Model paragraph: The bar chart shows the number of books borrowed from the school library in three months. In February pupils borrowed 480 books, which is 50 per cent more than the 320 books in January. March reached 400 books, still 25 per cent above January but 80 fewer than February. Overall, February was the busiest month, and borrowing stayed well above the January level. That is 63 words in four sentences. Why two comparisons rather than one: one contrast shows a single pair, two show that the pupil can see the trend, and comparison and overview are separate marks on the P6 grid.

Students do: write four sentences for one chart and label each as topic, comparison or conclusion. Students say: with numbers copied but never compared, what a reader learns and what stays hidden.

Scene 2: Five degree words and three comparison patterns

Five degree words: approximately, about, just over, nearly, exactly. Approximately and about hedge a value read off a chart; just over means slightly more (just over 400); nearly means almost (nearly 500); exactly means no rounding. Three comparison patterns: is 50 per cent more than; is twice as many as; is the highest of the three months. Keep double and twice apart: twice as many as is a comparison structure, and double than does not exist, so P6 writes twice as many as only. Degree words are not decoration: where the chart gives no printed number, writing 480 is wrong and approximately 480 is right.

Students do: match the five degree words to five sentences. Students say: when approximately beats exactly, and why twice than is impossible.

Scene 3: Percentage change: the denominator decides right from wrong

One formula: change equals (new minus old) divided by old, times one hundred. February against January: (480 minus 320) divided by 320 gives 50 per cent, so February has 50 per cent more than January. Said the other way, January against February: the same difference divided by 480 gives 33.3 per cent, so January has 33.3 per cent fewer than February. One difference of 160 books, two different percentages, because the denominator moved. The common trap is writing January was 50 per cent fewer, which puts the denominator in the wrong place and is marked down. March against February is the same lesson: 16.7 per cent down, or 80 books fewer.

Students do: work three percentage items and write each as a comparison sentence with the denominator named at the end. Students say: why the larger number is the denominator when the trend falls, and whether March is down 16.7 per cent or down 80 books.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Description gap fill	Fill the chart type and unit in the topic sentence	Read the vertical axis title, then the horizontal period	Leaving the unit out
Comparison rewriting	Turn two figures into one comparison sentence	Pick the comparison word, then place both figures	Writing figures with no comparison word
Calculation	Work the percentage change	(new minus old) divided by old, one decimal place	Using the new value as denominator
Full paragraph	Four sentences for a new chart	Topic, comparison, comparison, conclusion	Four sentences that all describe only

Sanity check (teach this): Sanity check: the chapter covers bar charts and line graphs only, with no pie chart totals, because P6 school tests are dominated by bar charts; degree words are capped at five and patterns at three, matching the textbook; every figure is computed from 320, 480 and 400, so the model paragraph’s 50 per cent, 25 per cent and 80 books all reconcile; the denominator trap is taught with the same numbers in both directions so pupils see why two percentages appear; the model paragraph measures 63 words in four sentences, inside the forty to sixty word school requirement.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Frame	Four labelled sentences for one chart	Check each sentence does one job
Degree words	Match five sentences	Check approximately and exactly are not swapped
Maths	Three percentage items	Check the denominator is the old value

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Figures only	In January 320. In February 480. In March 400.	Every figure needs another to lean on: February had 480 books, 50 per cent more than January.
Denominator swapped	January was 50 per cent fewer than February.	Falling trends divide by the larger number: January was 33 per cent fewer, not 50.
Wrong tense	In February pupils borrow 480 books.	The months have already happened, so the past tense borrowed is required.
Degree word clash	Exactly 480 books, maybe.	Exactly and maybe cannot share a sentence; if unsure, write approximately 480.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Primary English chapter index — Every chapter in the subject
Tutor prep master index — Similar chapters in other subjects
Redo this chapter — Practice questions 1, 2 and 3: gap fill, rewriting, calculation

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Frame	Four sentences, one per job	No conclusion: reteach act one
Degree words	Four of five matches right	Two wrong: redo practice question 2
Maths	Three items right with the correct denominator	Denominator wrong: back to act three

09 Tutor FAQ

May pupils estimate when the chart has no numbers?

Yes, but with approximately or about, and consistently; an estimate must never be written as exactly.

How many figures does one comparison sentence carry?

Two: the base and the new value. With one, there is nothing to compare against.

Is a line graph written the same way?

Same frame, plus a trend verb (rose, fell, stayed steady); P6 only needs rose and fell.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.