Graph Paper

Axes in seconds

Type the smallest and largest value for each axis and the graph paper arranges itself: the origin lands wherever zero falls, and the squares stay perfectly square, so the shape of the sheet follows from your ranges.

Getting the grid you want

Choose how often the axes are numbered, then how many small squares sit between the numbers to make the grid finer or coarser. Leave the steps on auto and a sensible scale is chosen for you.

The x-axis can count in ordinary numbers, in degrees or in multiples of π, which makes trigonometric graphs quick to set up. For bar charts, tick the box to put the numbers in the gaps, or type your own category names.

When a range does not include zero, for example years from 1990 to 2030, the axis runs along the edge of the grid and a small zig-zag shows that the scale has been broken.

In the classroom

Press Present full screen and write over the grid with the pen tools of your interactive display, or project it onto an ordinary whiteboard and write on that. That is the idea behind the whole Shine+Write collection: shine the image, then write on it. Choose the XL lettering so the numbers can be read from the back row, and try the chalkboard or blueprint paper for something different.

Switch on Plot points to drop labelled points on the grid. Join them up and you have a shape ready to reflect, rotate, translate or enlarge.

For other visual aids see Shine+Write.

Into documents and slides

Copy image puts a high-resolution picture on the clipboard, ready to paste into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Slides or OneNote. Download SVG gives a drawing that stays sharp at any size.

Printing

Print on A4 sizes the grid to fill the page, so there is no need to fiddle with scaling. Print 1, 2, 4 or 6 grids on a sheet and add Name and Date lines to make quick worksheets that can be cut up and handed out. With dark paper, turn on Background graphics in the print dialogue.

Saving and sharing

Every setting is stored in the page address and remembered by this browser. Copy link and paste it into Google Classroom, Teams or your lesson plan and the same graph paper opens, points and all.