Pictographs

A pictograph is a fun way to show numbers. It uses pictures to stand for things being counted. Each picture might stand for one thing or many things. Pictographs are easy to read, even for young kids. They make math and data look fun.

Parts of a Pictograph

Every pictograph has a title that tells what it is about. It has rows or columns of pictures. A key shows how much each picture stands for. For example, one apple might stand for 5 real apples. If there are 4 pictures, that means there are 20 apples in all.

Why We Use Them

Pictographs help us understand numbers quickly. They are great for comparing groups. You can easily see which group has more or less. Teachers often use pictographs to teach math to young kids. Newspapers and books use them to make data fun to look at.

Fun Facts

• Pictographs are one of the oldest ways to show information.
• Ancient people used pictographs to write stories on cave walls.
• Pictographs are also called picture graphs.

Did You Know?

Long ago, people in ancient Egypt used picture symbols called hieroglyphs. These are a kind of pictograph used as writing.