6.SP.4: Dot Plots, Histograms and Box Plots
Also written as 6.SP.B.4 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.4 · Cluster: Summarize and describe distributions.
The Official Wording
Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.
Common Core State Standards, Grade 6, Statistics & Probability · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What 6.SP.4 Means in Plain English
Sixth graders take a data set, like 15 students’ summer book counts, and put it on a number line three ways: a dot plot with one dot per student, a histogram with bars for equal-width groups, and a box plot built from minimum, quartiles, median and maximum.
Each display answers a different question: the dot plot shows every value, the histogram shows where values pile up, the box plot shows the middle half at a glance. 6.SP.5 reads center and spread from them; in 7th grade two box plots side by side compare populations (7.SP.3).
6.SP.4 I Can Statements
- I can make a dot plot from a list of data.
- I can group data into equal bins and draw a histogram.
- I can find the five-number summary and draw a box plot.
6.SP.4 Worked Example
Fifteen summer reading counts drawn three ways on one number line, so the same 15 students can be found in every display.
Fifteen students reported how many books they read over the summer: 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12. Show the data as a dot plot, a histogram and a box plot.
- Dot plot: draw a number line from 0 to 12 and stack one dot per student above each value. Repeated values pile up.3 dots above 2; 2 dots above 1, 3 and 4; 1 dot above 0, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 12
- Histogram: group the values into equal-width bins and draw a bar whose height is the count in each bin. Bars touch, because the bins share edges.0 to 2: 6 students, 3 to 5: 5, 6 to 8: 2, 9 to 11: 1, 12 to 14: 1
- Box plot: find the five-number summary. The median is the 8th of 15 values; the quartiles are the medians of the 7 values on each side.Min 0, Q1 2, median 3, Q3 6, max 12
- Draw a box from Q1 to Q3 with a line at the median, and whiskers out to the minimum and maximum, on the same number line.Box from 2 to 6, line at 3, whiskers to 0 and 12
- Read each display: the dot plot shows every student, the histogram shows the pile-up at the low end, the box plot shows that half the class read 2 to 6 books.Same data, three pictures, one number line
Check it: Count: 15 dots, bar heights 6 + 5 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 15, and the box plot’s median is the 8th value with 7 on each side. Every display accounts for all 15 students.
Common Mistakes with 6.SP.4
Spacing dots by order instead of by value
Dots placed evenly left to right, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, ... with equal gaps and no scale
Try this: Draw and label the number line first, with every tick equally spaced, and only then place the dots above their values.
Histogram bins of different widths
Bins 0 to 2, 3 to 9, 10 to 12
Try this: Decide the bin width first (3 here) and march it across the whole range, so every bar covers the same number of values.
Including the median in both halves
Upper half 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, so Q3 = 5.5
Try this: Circle the median, set it aside, and find the middle of the 7 values on each side: Q1 is 2 and Q3 is 6.
Where 6.SP.4 Fits
Practice 6.SP.4
Quick Check
- Find the five-number summary of 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14.
- Test scores: 62, 68, 71, 75, 78, 79, 83, 85, 90, 94. With bins of width 10 starting at 60, how tall is each bar?
- In a box plot the box runs from 20 to 32 with the median line at 25. What fraction of the data is inside the box?