Creating a Line Graph
Step-by-step directions
For this example, Mr. Frankel was concerned about the progress of one of his 2nd grade students, Jimmy,
and went to the problem solving team to get some help. At the meeting they asked him to collect 3 data
points before implementing any interventions, which he actually was doing before he came to the
meeting. Together they created an intervention to address Jimmy’s instructional needs and Mr. Frankel
was going to continue to progress monitor by collecting data to see how Jimmy responds to the
intervention. Before he goes back, Mr. Frankel is looking to create a line graph that represents Jimmy’s
growth during each weekly progress monitoring probe by graphing the number of words Jimmy read
correctly per minute.
1. Enter Data
A. Open Microsoft Excel program.
B. Label Columns (A & B) name of variables – Date (Column A) and Number of Correct
Words per Minute (Column B).
C. List each day the data was collected (in chronological order) in column A under ‘Date’.
D. Enter the number of words read correctly in a minute in the next column (B) next to the
date that corresponds with when that test was administered. Here are the number of
words Jimmy read correctly per minute.
2. Create a Line Graph
A. With the computer mouse, highlight the 26 boxes containing the information entered in
steps 1.B-1.D. To do this, left-click on box A1 (Date) and while still holding the left-click
button, move the mouse cursor to B13, so all of the cells are inside of the box you
created. Release the left-click button.
B. Once the boxes are highlighted, move the mouse cursor to the tool bar at the top of the
Excel page. Click on the ‘Insert’ tab.
C. In the ‘Charts’ section, click on the ‘Line’ button. This creates a dropdown menu of Line
Chart options to choose from.
D. Click the icon for the appropriate graph (to easily indicate the data point utilize the first
style on the second row).
E. After clicking, a chart will be created from the highlighted data.
i. If you don’t want the graph on the same page as the data, you can move the
graph to a new sheet in the same document. First click on the white space on
the graph.
ii. Next, move your mouse cursor to the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools’
(around the center of the bar), click the ‘Design’ tab. The toolbar will display the
‘Type’, ‘Data’, ‘Chart Layouts’, ‘Chart Styles’, and ‘Location’ boxes.
iii. In the ‘Location’ box, click the ‘Move Chart’ button.
iv. In the box that pops up, click the circle next to ‘New sheet’, write the desired
title for the new chart sheet, and click ‘OK’ when completed.
v. A new sheet will be created with the graph. If you would like to move back and
forth between the graph and data (most likely in Sheet1), click on the tabs
across the bottom of the screen.
3. Once the line graph is created, you want to finish labeling the graph. (For this example, we are
going to use the graph in the new sheet ‘Jimmy Graph’). If you choose to leave the graph in
‘Sheet1’ the directions are the same, just ignore the steps instructing to move between the tabs
across the bottom of the screen.
A. Chart Title
i. If there is already a chart title at the top of the chart (in this example – Number
of Correct Words per Minute) and you would like to adjust the name of the
graph and the top of the chart area, double click on the title to type.
ii. If there is no chart title or you would like to adjust its location, click the ‘Layout’
tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools’. In the ‘Labels’ box in the
toolbar, click the ‘Chart Title’ button. Choose the desired location.
iii. For additional options, follow step 3.A.ii and click ‘More Title Options…’ at the
bottom of the ‘Chart Title’ dropdown menu.
B. Axis Titles
i. It is important to label the horizontal and vertical axis of a line graph.
ii. Horizontal Axis
a. Click the ‘Layout’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In
the ‘Labels’ box in the toolbar, click the ‘Axis Titles’ button. Move the
mouse cursor over the ‘Primary Horizontal Axis Title’ label. An additional
dropdown menu will open. Click the ‘Title Below Axis’ option.
b. A box with the words ‘Axis Title’ will appear below the horizontal axis.
Double click on the words and type the desired title.
c. For additional options, follow step 3.B.ii.a and click ‘More Primary
Horizontal Axis Title Options…’ at the bottom or the ‘Primary Horizontal
Axis Title’ dropdown menu.
iii. Vertical Axis
a. Click the ‘Layout’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In
the ‘Labels’ box in the toolbar, click the ‘Axis Titles’ button. Move the
mouse cursor over the ‘Primary Vertical Axis Title’ label. An additional
dropdown menu will open. Click the ‘Rotated Title’ option. (Note: any of
the options are appropriate)
b. A box with the words ‘Axis Title’ will appear below the vertical axis.
Double click on the words and type the desired title.
c. For additional options, follow step 3.B.iii.a and click ‘More Primary
Vertical Axis Title Options…’ at the bottom or the ‘Primary Vertical Axis
Title’ dropdown menu.
C. Legend (label of graphed data)????
i. To add or adjust the location of the legend, click the ‘Layout’ tab at the top of
the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In the ‘Labels’ box in the toolbar, click the
‘Legend’ button. Choose the location of the legend.
a. To rename a series (in this example – there is only one data series
entitled ‘Number of Correct Words Read per Minute’) to back to
‘Sheet1’ by moving your mouse to the bottom of the screen and clicking
on the ‘Sheet1’ tab.
b. Once in ‘Sheet1’, double click on box B1 (the data series) and edit the
name as desired.
c. When done, click enter and move back to ‘Jimmy Graph’ tab and the
chart will update the change automatically.
ii. For additional options, follow step 3.C.i and click ‘More Legend Options…’ at the
bottom of the ‘Legend’ dropdown menu.
D. Data Labels
i. To add or adjust the location of the data labels on the graph, click the ‘Layout’
tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In the ‘Labels’ box in the
toolbar, click the ‘Data Labels’ button. Choose the location for the data labels.
ii. For additional options, follow step 3.D.i and click ‘More Data Label Options…’ at
the bottom of the ‘Data Labels’ dropdown menu.
E. Data Table (optional)
i. Another option for data labels is a Data Table. To add or adjust a data table,
click the ‘Layout’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In the
‘Labels’ box in the toolbar, click the ‘Data Table’ button. Choose the location for
the data table.
ii. Note: Due to the table, the chart can become smaller and distorted. If it greatly
affects the graph utilize the data labels instead.
4. Additional Data Formatting
A. Trend Line
i. A trend line is used to see how the student is progressing, mostly across a length
of time.
ii. To add a trend line, click the ‘Layout’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart
Tools.’ In the ‘Analysis’ box in the toolbar, click the ‘Trendline’ button. Choose
the ‘Linear Trendline’ from the dropdown menu.
iii. Once selected, the graph will look as follows.
B. Phase Line
i. A phase line is used to indicate that there was some change that impacted
student learning. This is typically a deliberate change in instruction/intervention
or a significant event. In this example, Mr. Frankel implemented an intervention
on January 25th, 2010 (1/25/2010) with Jimmy to assist with his reading. Mr.
Frankel wants to add a phase line to the graph so others can see that the
instruction changed.
ii. To add a phase line, click on the ‘Insert’ tab at the top of the window.
iii. In the ‘Illustrations’ box, click the ‘Shapes’ button. From the dropdown menu,
choose the first Line option.
iv. The mouse cursor will change to a (+). On the horizontal axis, left click the
mouse once in the desired location. While still holding the left click button on
the mouse, drag the mouse straight up and release the left click of the mouse
when you reach the top of the plot area and the desired location so the line is
straight.
During
After
a. Note: To make a straight line follow step 4.B.iv on the vertical axis and
then drag to the desired location.
v. Since a phase line does not have a description in the legend, you should add a
label so others looking at the graph will know what it means. To add a label,
click on the phase line you’ve added (a ball will appear on each end when it has
been clicked). Next, click the ‘Format’ tab at the top of the window under
‘Drawing Tools.’ In the ‘Insert Shapes’ box in the toolbar, click the ‘Text Box’
button.
vi. Move the mouse cursor to the location where you would like to place the
description (most likely next to the phase line). Left click and hold while you
drag the mouse to create a box the desired size. Once reached, release the left
click.
vii. In the box, type the desired description.
viii. To delete a phase line, click on the phase line you’ve added (a ball will appear on
each end when it has been clicked). Next, press the ‘Backspace’ key on your
keyboard and the line will be deleted from the page.
ix. To make additional changes to the phase line, click on the phase line you’ve
added (a ball will appear on each end when it has been clicked). Next, click the
‘Format’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Drawing Tools.’ The toolbar will
contain the boxes: ‘Insert Shape’, ‘Shape Style’, ‘WordArt Style’, ‘Arrange’, and
‘Size’. If you are unsure of the purpose of an option, hold the mouse cursor over
the box but do NOT click. A brief description will pop up below your mouse.
C. Goal Line
i. Adding a goal line is very similar to adding a phase line. A goal line is used to
indicate the desired level of performance at a certain point in time. There are
typically two forms, a straight line at the end goal level or a gradual line that
follows peers typical rate of learning. In this example, Mr. Frankel wants Jimmy
to be reading 98 words per minute by the end of Spring Break. Mr. Frankel
wants to add a goal line to the graph so others can see the desired level of
performance.
ii. To add a goal line, click on the ‘Insert’ tab at the top of the window.
iii. In the ‘Illustrations’ box, click the ‘Shapes’ button. From the dropdown menu,
choose the first Line option.
iv. The mouse cursor will change to a (+). On the vertical axis, left click the mouse
once in the desired location. While still holding the left click button on the
mouse, drag the mouse straight across and release the left click of the mouse
when you reach the other side of the plot area and the desired location so the
line is straight.
During
After
a. Note: To make a straight line follow step 4.C.iv on a horizontal axis and
then drag to the desired location.
v. Since a goal line does not have a description in the legend, you should add a
label so others looking at the graph will know what it means. To add a label,
click on the goal line you’ve added (a ball will appear on each end when it has
been clicked). Next, click the ‘Format’ tab at the top of the window under
‘Drawing Tools.’ In the ‘Insert Shapes’ box in the toolbar, click the ‘Text Box’
button.
vi. Move the mouse cursor to the location where you would like to place the
description (most likely next to the phase line). Left click and hold while you
drag the mouse to create a box the desired size. Once reached, release the left
click.
vii. In the box, type the desired description.
viii. To delete a goal line, click on the goal line you’ve added (a ball will appear on
each end when it has been clicked). Next, press the ‘Backspace’ key on your
keyboard and the line will be deleted from the page.
ix. To make additional changes to the goal line, click on the goal line you’ve added
(a ball will appear on each end when it has been clicked). Next, click the
‘Format’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Drawing Tools.’ The toolbar will
contain the boxes: ‘Insert Shape’, ‘Shape Style’, ‘WordArt Style’, ‘Arrange’, and
‘Size’. If you are unsure of the purpose of an option, hold the mouse cursor over
the box but do NOT click. A brief description will pop up below your mouse.
D. Mistake in the data
i. In this example, Mr. Frankel realized that he had entered one of Jimmy’s scores
in incorrectly. To make sure that the graph is an accurate representation of the
data, Mr. Frankel wants to go back in and change the data point. In Jimmy’s
case, Mr. Frankel entered 32 instead of the correct score of 23 on 1/13/10.
ii. Fortunately, you don’t have to redo the entire graph to make a change in the
data if you make a mistake. Start by clicking your mouse back to ‘Sheet1’.
iii. Move your mouse cursor over the box with the incorrect data and using the left
click double click the box.
iv. Enter the correct data and hit ‘Enter’ on your keyboard.
v. Click back to ‘Jimmy Graph’ on the bottom tab. The data will change
automatically.
E. Adding Additional Data for the Target Student
i. After creating the graph, Mr. Frankel had the opportunity to collect a few
additional data points before going to the problem solving meeting. He had the
opportunity to enter the information into the excel spreadsheet.
ii. Once the information was entered, it graph did not change because this
additional data was not originally selected to be part of the data series. To add it
to the graph, click the ‘Design’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’
iii. In the ‘Data’ box, click the ‘Select Data’ button. A pop-up box (‘Select Data
Source’) will appear in the window, which will also move back to ‘Sheet1’. If it
does not move back to ‘Sheet1’ and/or when you click on data points, use the
tabs across the bottom of the window to move back to the appropriate sheet
(Sheet1, Jimmy Graph).
The pop up window (‘Select Data Source’) – as you can see the selected data series does not include the
newly entered data.
iv. In the ‘Legend Entries (Series)’ box (on the bottom left hand side of the box), the
series ‘Jimmy-Number of Correct Words Read per Minute’ should be highlighted
with a light grey. If not click on the data series (note: if you click on the name
the window will move back to the graph, do not worry, you haven’t done
anything wrong. Just continue to follow the steps).
v. Next, click the ‘Edit’ button right above the name of the data series (JimmyNumber of Correct Words Read per Minute). The pop up box changes to ‘Edit
Series’ and it looks like this. The top box, ‘Series name’ refers to the title of the
data series that goes in the legend, this will not change if you are just adding
data points to an already established series. The second box ‘Series Values’ are
the data points that represent Jimmy’s words per minute. This is what has
changed.
vi. Click on the small button just to the right of the ‘Series values’ box.
vii. This causes the pop up box to minimize again and highlight the data currently
selected for the data series.
viii. Next, to highlight the additional data points, move your mouse cursor above the
box at the top of the page, for this example, that is box B2 with the value of 28.
Left click and hold as you drag the mouse cursor down to the bottom of the list
(including the new data), when you reach the bottom, release the left click. As
you move over the boxes, you will see the numbers in the ‘Edit Series’ box
change, that is a good thing! Note: Do not highlight both columns; we will
address the additional dates (3/30/2010, etc) in a minute.
ix. When you are done, click ‘Enter’ on your key board. The larger ‘Edit Series’ box
will reappear. Click ‘OK’.
x. The screen will move back to the graphing page and the ‘Select Data Source’ will
reappear. You can also see on the graph that the new data points have been
added to the graph. You now need to add the additional dates (on the
horizontal axis) that the new data points correspond with.
xi. Next, in the bottom left hand box (Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels) you will see
the original dates of the data series. Click the ‘Edit’ button right below
‘Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels’ and above the dates. The window will move
back to ‘Sheet1’ and the data.
xii. Like step 4.E.viii, left click the top box, in this example box A2 (1/7/2010), and
hold as you drag the mouse cursor down to the bottom of the list (including the
new dates), when you reach the bottom, release the left click. As you move over
the boxes, you will see the numbers in the ‘Edit Series’ box change, that is a
good thing! Note: Do not highlight both columns.
xiii. Click ‘Enter’ on your keyboard when completed. The window will move back to
the graph and you can see the additional dates have been added to the
horizontal axis.
xiv. You have completed adding data to the chart, to finalize, click ‘OK’ at the
bottom right hand corner of the ‘Select Data Source’ box.
xv. In the process of adding new data, the graph has shifted to allow for more data.
Double check the features you added earlier (goal and phase line). Note: the
Trend Line will automatically adjust to include the new data if it is correctly
added to the data series (what we did in steps 4.E.iii-4.E.xiv). If any lines are at
an incorrect location, left click and hold the line as you drag it to the desired
location. In this example, the Phase Line is no longer in the correct location and
needs to be moved to the correct location so the graph is an accurate
representation of the information.
F. Add Additional Data for Comparison Student
i. Since Jimmy looked to be making a lot of process and Mr. Frankel collects this
data for all of the students in his class, Mr. Frankel wanted to compare him to a
‘typical or comparison’ student to see if his rate of growth would allow for
Jimmy to reach the level of his peers. To enter additional data we are going to
follow steps very similar to adding additional data for Jimmy.
ii. Start by moving back to ‘Sheet1’ by clicking on the tab at the bottom of the
window. First, enter the comparison student’s (in this example, Sally will be
used as the comparison student) data in the column (C) directly next to the
Target Student’s (Jimmy) data.
iii. To add this information to the graph, move back to the graph by clicking the tab
‘Jimmy Graph’ at the bottom of the window.
iv. Once the information was entered, it graph did not change because this
additional data was not originally selected to be part of the graph. To add it to
the graph, click the ‘Design’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’
v. In the ‘Data’ box, click the ‘Select Data’ button. A pop-up box (‘Select Data
Source’) will appear in the window, which will also move back to ‘Sheet1’. If it
does not move back to ‘Sheet1’ and/or when you click on data points, use the
tabs across the bottom of the window to move back to the appropriate sheet
(Sheet1, Jimmy Graph).
The pop up window (‘Select Data Source’) – as you can see the selected data series does not include the
comparison student (Sally) data.
vi. In the ‘Legend Entries (Series)’ box (on the bottom left hand side of the box), the
series ‘Jimmy-Number of Correct Words Read per Minute’ should be highlighted
with a light grey.
vii. Next, click the ‘Add’ button right above the name of the data series (JimmyNumber of Correct Words Read per Minute).
viii. The window will move back to the graph page and the pop up box changes to
‘Edit Series’ and it looks like this. Move back to ‘Sheet1’ by clicking on the tab at
the bottom of the page.
ix. In the ‘Edit Series’ box, the top box, ‘Series name’ refers to the title of the data
series that goes in the legend. To enter a series name (which appears in the
legend of the graph), click on the box containing the name of the data you are
wishing to add (in this example – Sally-Number of Correct Words Read Per
Minute).
x. The second box ‘Series Values’ are the data points that represent Sally’s words
per minute. Click on the small button just to the right of the ‘Series values’ box.
xi. This causes the pop up box to minimize again and the window will move back to
the graph. Click on the ‘Sheet1’ tab at the bottom of the window to move back
to the data.
xii. Next, to highlight the new data points, move your mouse cursor above the box
at the top of the page, for this example, that is box C2 with the value of 73. Left
click and hold as you drag the mouse cursor down to the bottom of the list
(including all the new data), when you reach the bottom, release the left click.
As you move over the boxes, you will see the numbers in the ‘Edit Series’ box
change, that is a good thing! Note: Do not highlight all three columns.
xiii. When you are done, click ‘Enter’ on your key board. The larger ‘Edit Series’ box
will reappear. Click ‘OK’.
xiv. The screen will move back to the graphing page and the ‘Select Data Source’ will
reappear. You can also see on the graph that the new series and data points
have been added to the graph.
xv. You now need to adjust the ‘Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels’ that the new
data points correspond with. In the bottom left hand box (Horizontal (Category)
Axis Labels) you will see the numbers 1 through 15. Click the ‘Edit’ button right
below ‘Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels’ and above the numbers.
xvi. A new pop up box will appear, and the page will stay on the graph page. Click on
the ‘Sheet1’ tab at the bottom of the window to move to the data. Like step
4.E.viii, left click the top box of the horizontal axis label, in this example box A2
(1/7/2010), and hold as you drag the mouse cursor down to the bottom of the
list (including all the dates), when you reach the bottom, release the left click.
As you move over the boxes, you will see the numbers in the ‘Edit Series’ box
change, that is a good thing! Note: Do not highlight all columns.
xvii. Click ‘Enter’ on your keyboard when completed. The window will move back to
the graph and you can see the appropriate axis label for the comparison student
data series (Sally-Number of Correct Words Read per Minute). You have
completed adding data to the chart, to finalize, click ‘OK’ at the bottom right
hand corner of the ‘Select Data Source’ box.
xviii. In the process of adding new data, the graph may have shifted to allow for more
data. Double check the features you added earlier (goal and phase line). If any
lines are at an incorrect location, left click and hold the line as you drag it to the
desired location.
xix. Adding a Trend line: It is important to add a trend line for the comparison
student data series. Start by placing your mouse cursor over the line
representing the comparison student’s data (in this example, the red line
representing Sally’s data). Left click once so the line is highlighted.
xx. Next, click the ‘Layout’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In the
‘Analysis’ box in the toolbar, click the ‘Trendline’ button. Choose the ‘Linear
Trendline’ from the dropdown menu.
xxi. Once selected, the graph will look as follows.
5. Additional Formatting (Optional)
A. Axes
i. The axes of the graph indicate the range at which the data is being represented.
If the range of the data (the difference between the highest and lowest scores)
is very small, Excel will automatically expand an axis to demonstrate some
variation in the data. This might cause the data to not be the best
representation.
ii. There are several ways to adjust the axis. The quickest way is to place your
mouse cursor over a value on the axis you wish to change and left-click. In this
example we are going to adjust the Vertical axis.
iii. Next, right-click and a dropdown menu will open.
iv. Move the mouse cursor to the bottom of the list and left-click the ‘Format
Axis…’ option.
v. The following window will pop up.
vi. To make changes, click the circle next to ‘Fixed’. The box will become white and
you will be able to make adjustments as desired. For this example, we will only
change the Minimum axis number from 0.0 to 10.0.
vii. For any additional changes, utilize the options in the left hand column long the
box to make changes. When done, click ‘Close’ at the bottom right hand corner
of the ‘Format Axis’ box.
viii. The axis will change automatically.
ix. Note: Additional changes can be made to the axis by clicking the ‘Layout’ tab at
the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In the ‘Axes’ box in the toolbar, click
the ‘Axes’ button. Choose either the ‘Primary Horizontal Axis’ or ‘Primary
Vertical Axis’. For more options, click ‘More Primary Horizontal/Vertical Axis
Options…’.
B. Gridlines
i. Gridlines can also be added to the graph for additional formatting. To add
gridlines, click the ‘Layout’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In
the ‘Axes’ box in the toolbar, click the ‘Gridlines’ button. Choose either the
‘Primary Horizontal Gridlines’ or ‘Primary Vertical Gridlines’ and choose the
desired options from the dropdown menu. For more options, click ‘More
Primary Horizontal/Vertical Gridlines Options…’.
C. Plot Area
i. Plot Area can also be adjusted in the graph for additional formatting. To add
gridlines, click the ‘Layout’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In
the ‘Background’ box in the toolbar, click the ‘Plot Area’ button. Choose the
desired option. You can also click the ‘More Plot Area Options…’.
D. Chart Styles/Color
i. Chart Styles can also be adjusted in the graph for additional formatting. To make
changes, click the ‘Design’ tab at the top of the window under ‘Chart Tools.’ In
the ‘Chart Styles’ box in the toolbar, click the desired color scheme. For more
options, click the arrow in the bottom right hand corner of the ‘Chart Styles’
box.