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Maths

Collecting Data and Drawing Pictograms

Overview

Students conduct a real class survey, organise their findings, and present them visually — connecting data handling to real-world contexts.

Learning Objective
Students collect a simple data set, record it as a tally chart, and represent it as a pictogram with a key, then answer questions from their graph.

Resources needed

  • Blank tally chart template or paper
  • Squared paper or pictogram grid
  • Pencils and coloured pencils

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Choose a simple survey topic: 'What is your favourite fruit?' or 'How do you travel to school?' Write 4–5 options on the board. 'How can we find out which is most popular?'
  2. 2 Each student votes once. Record tallies on the board together — model the gate method (4 strokes + diagonal = 5). Students copy into their own tally chart.
  3. 3 Count tallies in each category together. Students write the total frequency next to each tally group. 'How many children chose...? Which was most popular?'
  4. 4 Show a completed example pictogram. 'Each picture represents one vote.' Introduce the KEY — 'this symbol = 1 person.' Model drawing a simple symbol (e.g. a star or smiley).
  5. 5 Students draw their own pictogram using the class data. Each row is one category. They draw the correct number of symbols in a row for each category. Add a title, labels, and key.
  6. 6 Students write (or answer verbally) three questions from their own pictogram: 'How many chose ___?' / 'Which was least popular?' / 'How many more chose ___ than ___?'
  7. 7 Compare two students' pictograms. 'Did you both get the same result? Should you? Why?'

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Use a key where 1 symbol = 2 people (introduces multiplication)
  • Compare two classes' data
  • Use digital tools if available to create the pictogram
More information

Display vocabulary: survey, data, tally, frequency, key, symbol, most popular, least popular. Practise question stems: 'How many...?' 'Which...?'

Pre-fill the category labels and provide a pictogram grid with rows already marked. Reduce number of categories to three for those who need it.

Is the tally count accurate? Are pictogram symbols evenly spaced and in a straight row? Is a key included? Can students extract information from their graph to answer questions?

Draw the pictogram on a shared piece of paper or the board. Students contribute by drawing their own symbol in the correct row.

Students may draw different-sized symbols or space them unevenly. Reinforce that each symbol must be the same size and represent exactly one unit.

Activity details
Primary Easy 30 minutes 5 minutes prep Small Group, Whole Class Indoor & Outdoor
Topics
Data Handling Pictograms Tally Charts Statistics