How to explain create pictograms in pictograms to your student: Example question
31 October 2026
Pictograms are a simple way for children to turn tally charts into pictures that show information clearly. When your child learns to create a pictogram, they practise both counting and organising data in a visual way.
Example question
Here is a tally chart showing the number of pets in a class:
Dogs: |||| || (7) Cats: |||| (4) Rabbits: ||| (3)
Step 1: Decide what one picture will mean. Here, 1 picture = 1 pet.
Step 2: Draw the right number of pictures for each pet.
Dogs: 7 pictures
Cats: 4 pictures
Rabbits: 3 pictures
Step 3: Label your pictogram with the pet names and show what each picture stands for.
The pictogram shows 7 dogs, 4 cats and 3 rabbits in the class.
Key insight: After working through this example, your child will be able to spot how pictograms use pictures to represent numbers and categories. They can now try similar maths.com uk style questions to build confidence with pictograms.
