Reading Pictographs: Picture Graphs with a Key (2nd–3rd Grade)

What is it?

A pictograph uses small pictures to show how many. The key tells how many each picture stands for. In the first graphs, one picture is 1 thing. Later one picture can be 2, 5 or 10 things, so counting the pictures is not enough: your child counts the pictures and then skip counts by the key. Once each row is a number, the graph answers questions such as how many in all and how many more.

Step by step: 4 stars at 2 each is 8

1. A graph shows books read. The key says each ★ = 2 books. Ana has 4 stars and Ben has 3 stars.
2. Read the key first: each star is worth 2, not 1.
3. Ana: count by 2s, one count per star: 2, 4, 6, 8. Ana read 8 books.
4. Ben: 2, 4, 6. Ben read 6 books.
5. How many more did Ana read? Subtract: 8 − 6 = 2. Ana read 2 more books than Ben.
6. How many in all? Add: 8 + 6 = 14 books.

Common mistakes

• Skipping the key and counting each picture as 1. Ana would then have only 4 books.
• Skip counting by the wrong number. Say the key out loud before you count.
• Answering "how many more" with the bigger number or by adding. Subtract the smaller total from the larger.

Your turn

Here is a problem to try. Pause and let your child work it out before you check.

In a pictograph, each ★ = 5 stickers. Mia has 6 stars. How many stickers does Mia have?

Answer: 30 stickers. Count by 5s, once per star: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30.

Practice at home

Make a quick graph from real life: shoes by the door, favorite fruits at dinner, or toy cars sorted by color. Draw one picture for each at first, then switch to a key where one picture means 2 and ask your child to read it back. Ask a "how many more" question each time.