Slice It Up: Reading Pie Charts

About This Resource

A free Grade 5 math worksheet on reading pie charts: the whole circle stands for the whole group, and each slice shows a fraction of it. Students read halves, quarters and eighths from two pie charts, turn fractions into numbers of people and into percentages, compare slices, choose when a pie chart is the right graph and explain their answers. Includes a timed lesson plan, a six-activity worksheet, an editable Word version and answer key.

Overview

Students learn that a pie chart is a circle divided into slices, where the whole circle stands for everyone in the survey and each slice shows a part of the group. They estimate fractions from the size of each slice (a half, a quarter or an eighth), then use the total to work out how many people are in each slice, and write the fraction as a percentage. They also compare slices and learn that pie charts are best for showing parts of a whole, not changes over time.

Resource Details

Subject: Math
Topic: Pie Charts
Category: Data & Graphs
File Type: PDF
File Size: 279.3 KB
Published: 08 Nov 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 5 math (ages 10–11) 45 minutes Statistics fractions of amounts percentages interpreting data reasoning

Student Task

Cut a paper circle into a half, a quarter and two eighths. Hold up each piece and ask what fraction of the circle it is.
Do activities 1 and 2 together, using the marks round the edge of each chart to count eighths.
Students complete activities 3 to 6 on their own. Answers are in the answer key.

Classroom Use

Paper pie: students fold a paper circle into eighths and color slices to show the results of a quick class survey.
Human pie chart: students stand in a circle grouped by their favorite color, then hold a string from the center to show the slices.
Spot the mistake: show a pie chart whose slices add up to more than the whole and ask students to find the problem.

Differentiation

Support: give students a circle divided into eighths to place over the chart and count. Challenge: students make their own pie chart from data with a total of 24 and write three questions for a partner.

Answer Key & Assessment

Activities 1 to 5 check reading fractions, numbers and percentages from pie charts (answer key included). Activity 6 shows whether students can explain when a pie chart is the right choice.

Learning Objectives

Read a pie chart and name the fraction each slice shows.
Use the total to find how many people are in a slice.
Write simple fractions of a pie chart as percentages.

Teacher Tips

Encourage students to use the eighth marks round the edge: two eighths make a quarter and four eighths make a half. Remind them that all the slices together always make the whole group.

What's Included

7-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (6 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (6 activities)
Editable Word version of the worksheet
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)