Box Plots and Variability

Box Plots and Variability

What students learn

Students learn that a box plot summarizes the five number summary and shows spread with quartiles. Start with Box Plots Show the Five Number Summary to see the parts of the display.

Why it matters

Box plots are useful when students want to compare variability or find the middle half of the data. Box Plots Reveal Variability and Spread makes the spread visible right away.

Learn the idea

A box plot does not show every exact value, so it is powerful for summaries but limited for detail. Box Plots Limit Claims About the Data helps students say what the graph can and cannot prove.

Try it

Give the student two box plots and ask which group has the larger median, which group has the greater spread, and what you cannot know from the plots alone.

Parent guide

Use the words minimum, quartile, median, and maximum. If the student starts making exact claims from a box plot, gently bring them back to what the graph actually displays.