Introductory statistics classes and texts frequently start with graphical methods. In teaching students why and how to produce and interpret graphical displays, care is needed to assure that the displays do not distort or omit important information. For example, a histogram display of time series data loses the sequential nature of the data. We should avoid asking students to do such plots just to practice making histograms. I present some examples that illustrate this concern and suggest some principles to teach students along with the mechanics of creating data displays.