Kindergarten Worksheets > Math/Number Awareness > Pictographs
Pictographs are a basic form of bar graph that are especially simple for young children to create and understand. With their colorful pictures and simple directions, pictographs will help children learn the basics of graphing. These pictograph worksheets will encourage your child to make his own pictograph by cutting apart the pictures at the bottom of the page and then pasting each picture into the correct column on the graph.
Beginning
Beginning
Beginning
Beginning
Beginning
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
What are pictographs?
A pictograph (sometimes called a pictogram) is a special type of graph that uses pictures or symbols to represent information. Because pictographs do not require any words or numbers, they are perfect for young children who cannot yet read or who are not yet comfortable identifying printed numbers and matching them to the amounts they represent.
Pictographs are an important part of a preschool or kindergarten math program because they are an easy way for children to learn about bar graphs and the important role bar graphs play in organizing and tracking the amounts of different items.
More about the importance of pictograph worksheets
Pictograph worksheets give children an easy way to create pictographs and gain experience using these types of graphs. They are particularly easy for children to create since children only need to paste each picture in the correct column and they know they have completed the pictograph when they have pasted all of the pictures into the grid.
A special feature of pictograph worksheets is that all pictures are the same height. This is intentional. Without being able to count or match numbers to the amounts they represent, a child can still read a pictograph made from a pictograph worksheet since all pictures are the same height and children can easily see which column is taller and, therefore, has more items.
Activities to enhance your child’s understanding of pictograph worksheets
Go 3-D. Encourage your child to make a three-dimensional pictograph by using beans, buttons, or other small items, sorting each item into a column. Or, encourage your child to create an edible, three-dimensional pictograph by giving your child a handful of different cookies and having him stack the cookies by type. At the end, encourage him to make observations about which column has more items by observing the height of the different columns.
Encourage comparisons. When putting away your child’s laundry, encourage him to make observations about his clothing. For example, ask him to compare how many blue shirts and red shirts he has using the words “more” or “less.” Also encourage your child to use the descriptive words “more than” and “less than.” For example, at snack time ask him if he would like more cherries than crackers or more crackers than cherries. Being comfortable using these comparative terms will help him explain what he sees as he looks at pictographs.
Make pictographs instead of normal lists. Transform your shopping list into a pictograph by, for example, drawing 6 small pictures of a banana instead of writing “6 bananas.” Then let your child hold the pictograph at the store and remind you how many of each item to buy. If you are worried about your artistic skills, you can cut pictures of different foods out a magazine or off the internet to create your shopping list pictograph.
