What is on each sheet?

A box of scattered pictures to count, a picture graph or tally chart to fill in, and three questions: how many of one picture, which has the most, and how many more one has than another.

Which is harder, the graph or the tally?

The picture graph is easier: one square for each picture. Tally charts add grouping in fives and writing a total, which suits Year 1 and Year 2.

Do the questions have one answer?

Yes. Every picture has a different count, so “the most” always has one answer.

Can each child get a different sheet?

Yes. Choose 5, 10 or 25 versions; every version has different pictures and counts.

Pictogram and Tally Chart Worksheets: Count, Graph and Tally

From counting to data

Graphs start with counting, then turn the counts into something you can compare at a glance. These sheets do both on one page, then ask questions that need the graph to answer.

Talk about the graph

Ask which bar is tallest and how they can tell without counting, and what a new picture would do to the graph.

In the Australian Curriculum

FoundationCollecting, sorting and comparing data shown with objects and pictures (AC9MFST01).
Year 1Collecting categorical data, making one-to-one displays, and comparing and discussing the counts.
Year 2Collecting and interpreting categorical data.
Year 3Recording data in frequency tables and comparing different graphs of the same data (AC9M3ST01, AC9M3ST02).

The one-square-per-picture graphs here are what the Year 1 curriculum calls one-to-one displays. Tally charts look ahead to Year 3, when data is recorded in frequency tables before it is graphed.

For a real investigation, start with a question the class cares about, such as favourite fruit at recess, collect the answers together, then use these sheets for independent practice.

Summarised in our own words from the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, Version 9.0 (ACARA).