Picture Graphs: Counting With Pictures

Miss Lee asked her class one question: "What is your favorite fruit?" Seven kids said apple, four said banana, and two said grape. That is a lot to remember! So the class drew one little picture for each answer. Now anyone can look and SEE the answer in one second. That drawing is called a picture graph.

What You'll Learn

1. What a picture graph is and why it helps us see numbers fast. 2. How to count the pictures in each row to find the total. 3. How to tell which row has MORE and which has LESS.

One Picture, One Thing

In a picture graph, every picture stands for ONE thing. If seven kids like apples, we draw seven apples in a row. To find how many, we point and count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Seven apples! The pictures line up neatly so the longest row is easy to spot. A long row means MORE. A short row means LESS.

Line Them Up

Always start each row at the same spot on the left. When the pictures line up, the longest row jumps right out at you!

Reading the Fruit Graph

Apple row: 7 pictures. Banana row: 4 pictures. Grape row: 2 pictures. Which fruit did the MOST kids like? Apple, because 7 is the biggest number. Which did the FEWEST like? Grape, because 2 is the smallest. How many more kids liked apples than grapes? 7 take away 2 is 5. Five more kids!

Match each fruit row to how many pictures it has.

Terms

Apple row

Banana row

Grape row

Definitions

2 pictures

7 pictures

4 pictures

Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.

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In the fruit graph, which fruit did the MOST kids like?

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The banana row has 4 pictures and the grape row has 2 pictures. How many more bananas than grapes?

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Make Your Own Pet Graph

Ask 6 people: cat or dog? Draw one small cat picture for each cat answer and one small dog picture for each dog answer. Line them up in two rows starting from the left. Then write one sentence: 'More people like ___.' Show your graph to a grown-up and point to the longest row.

Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer

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