Take Their Pictograph Knowledge to the Next Level!

Are your students ready to delve deeper into the world of pictographs (also known as picture graphs)? Chances are, by Grade 3, they’ve discovered the accessibility and ease-of-reading of these highly visual data displays, and are ready to move on to understanding many-to-one representations through images or pictures!

Through this activity, students will investigate many-to-one data displays, interpreting and discussing key features and understand that data can be represented with one symbol representing more than one piece of data.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your math

In addition to individual student work time, use this pictograph task card set to enhance learning through guided maths groups, whole class lessons, or remote learning assignments. 

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

Help students who need help understanding the concepts by providing physical manipulatives to help them make the concepts concrete. 

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

Have students collect answers based on a question of their peers (ie favorite food, etc) then have students create a bar graph and pictograph based from the answers. Have students compare and contrast the graphs.

🛴 Scoot Activity Place the cards around the room in numerical order and give each student a recording sheet. Assign students or pairs to a starting point card. Give students time to review the card and record their answers in the corresponding space on their paper. Students will rotate to the next card when you say, “SCOOT!” Continue in this manner until students return to their starting point. 

👋 Exit Ticket 

Use these cards as a formative assessment after your lesson. Pick a random assortment of cards and project them on the board for the whole class to see. Students can record their answers on a sheet of paper, sticky note or notebook. 

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. A recording sheet and answer key are also included with this download.

Print on cardboard for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

To keep the task cards out of pockets or under desks, punch a hole in the corner of each to place them on a binder ring. 

Sustainability Tip: Print a few recording sheets on cardboard and slip them into write-and-wipe sleeves. Students can record their answers with a whiteboard marker, then erase and reuse them.  

This resource was created by Cassandra Friesen, a teacher and Teach Starter Collaborator.

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more activities and resources that cut down on lesson planning time: 

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Picture Graph Playoff – Maths Game

A fun picture graph game for students to consolidate gathering and representing data.

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Pictograph, Bar Graph, and Dot Plot Match-Up (Scaled Intervals)

Use data analysis skills to match tally charts and frequency tables with their corresponding bar graph, pictograph, or dot plot.

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Graphing (Pictographs) Task Cards

Get graphing! Use these levelled pictograph task cards to show students a variety of data collection records, and have them create pictographs to represent that data.