LightMySky

Picture & Bar Graphs

Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories; solve put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in a bar graph

No account needed. Progress saves in this browser.

What a learner can do afterwards

  • Draw a picture graph with a symbol representing one unit for each data point
  • Draw a bar graph with labelled axes and a single-unit scale
  • Use a bar graph to answer comparison questions (e.g. 'How many more votes did cats get than dogs?')

The lesson

You already know how to sort things into groups. A picture graph and a bar graph are two ways to show your groups so anyone can see the counts at a glance. A picture graph uses a small picture for each one. A bar graph uses bars that grow taller as the count grows.

Cats4Dogs3Fish2
This bar graph shows favourite pets. The height of each bar tells you how many children picked it.
Try it together

Zara asked her friends which fruit they liked best. Five friends picked apples, so she drew one apple picture for each of them: 5 apples in a row. That is a picture graph, one picture for each vote.

Tap each apple and count out loud.
Try it together

Look at the pet graph again. Cats got 4 votes and dogs got 3 votes. To find how many more, subtract: 4 minus 3 is 1. Cats got 1 more vote than dogs.

Good to know

When you draw your own bar graph, write numbers evenly up the side, like 0, 1, 2, 3, and label what each bar means. Then anyone can read it without asking you.

A picture graph uses one picture per unit. A bar graph uses labelled bars with an even scale. Read the bars to compare or add up amounts.

Watch it

Where it sits

Where this leads

Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.

Then practise

8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.

Picture & Bar Graphs · Mathematics, ages 7 to 8 · LightMySky