Free printable types of graphs chart
Grades 1–5Tally charts, pictographs and bar graphs — the three ways children are asked to show the same information, and what each one is good for. Print it for the wall, or change the counts below and watch all three redraw together.
Tap the chart to open it at full size
One set of data, three ways
Change any count with the plus and minus buttons. The tally marks, the pictograph and the bar graph all redraw from the same numbers, because they are all the same information wearing different clothes.
That is the idea worth landing. Children often treat tally charts, pictographs and bar graphs as three separate topics with three separate sets of rules. They are one topic — you collect the data once, and then choose how to show it.
Watch what happens when you make them all equal. Every bar is the same length and the graph stops telling you anything. Graphs exist to show differences, and a graph with no differences to show is a fair thing for a child to find boring.
| Fruit | Tally | Pictograph | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 5 | ||
| Banana | 3 | ||
| Grapes | 7 | ||
| Orange | 2 |
- Total votes
- 17
- Most and least
- —
Every row is the same information three times over — marks, pictures and a bar.
How to use this data and graphs chart at home
Collect something real first. Cars going past the window by color, the weather every day for a fortnight, everyone's favorite dinner. A graph made from data a child gathered themselves is a completely different experience from one copied off a worksheet.
Tally while collecting, graph afterwards. That order matters and is often skipped. Tally marks exist because you cannot draw a bar graph while things are still happening — the two tools do different jobs at different moments.
Then ask questions of the graph rather than about it. Which was most popular? How many more chose apples than oranges? How many altogether? Reading a graph is only useful if it answers something, and those three questions cover most of what gets asked in school.
Every graph is a picture of counting
Tally marks, pictures and bars are three ways of drawing the same numbers, and it helps enormously to say that out loud. A child who sees them as one idea can move between them; a child who sees three topics tries to remember three sets of rules.
What changes is the job each does best. Tally marks are for collecting in real time. Pictographs are friendly for small numbers and young children. Bar graphs are quickest to read and handle large numbers without becoming ridiculous.
The widget above deliberately shows all three at once for that reason. Change one number and three things move, which is the clearest possible demonstration that they are not independent.
The scale is where marks get lost
Once a graph counts in twos, fives or tens rather than ones, reading it stops being obvious. A bar reaching the third gridline on a scale of fives is 15, not 3, and a child who has only met one-per-line graphs will confidently say 3.
The same problem arrives in pictographs when the key says each picture stands for two or five. Half a picture then means half of that, which is a genuinely tricky idea the first time it appears.
Checking the scale before reading any value is a two-second habit that prevents most graph mistakes at this level. It is worth making it the first thing a child does, every time, even when the scale turns out to be ones.
Where graphs usually go wrong
Ignoring the scale. Reading gridlines as ones when they count in fives.
Forgetting the pictograph key. Counting pictures instead of what the pictures are worth.
Miscounting tally marks. Losing track in a group of five, or drawing the diagonal as a fifth vertical mark so a group holds six.
Answering the wrong question. How many more is a subtraction; how many altogether is an addition. Children read the graph correctly and then do the wrong operation with what they found.
After the chart goes up
A chart explains the idea but gives a child nothing to do. These do the rest.
- statistics at Mathify Kids — every topic in this area, sorted by grade.
- mean median mode range worksheets — printable practice.
- comparing numbers worksheets — the next step once this is solid.
- coordinate plane worksheets — more practice in the same area.
Everything at this level: Grade 1 math · Grade 2 math · Grade 3 math · Grade 4 math · Grade 5 math
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Questions parents ask
What is a tally chart?
A way of counting things as they happen. Each item gets a mark, and every fifth mark goes diagonally across the previous four, making groups of five that are quick to count later. It is for collecting data rather than presenting it — you make a tally chart while counting, then turn it into a graph afterwards.
Why are tally marks grouped in fives?
Because counting a long row of single marks is slow and error-prone, while counting in fives is fast. Grouping also makes miscounts obvious — a group with six marks in it is visibly wrong. It is the same reason we count money in notes rather than coins.
What is a pictograph?
A graph that uses pictures instead of bars, with a key saying what each picture is worth. If each apple stands for two votes, then three apples means six. Children usually meet pictographs where one picture equals one thing first, and the key becomes important once each picture stands for more.
What is the difference between a bar graph and a pictograph?
Only what they are drawn with. A pictograph uses repeated pictures; a bar graph uses a solid bar against a scale. Bar graphs are easier to read precisely and handle large numbers better, which is why they take over as the numbers grow.
How do you read a bar graph?
Find the top of the bar, then read straight across to the scale. The part children miss is checking what the scale counts by — if it goes up in twos or fives, a bar reaching the third line is not three. Checking the scale first is the habit worth building.
What grade is this graphs chart for?
Grades 1 to 5. Tally charts and simple pictographs usually arrive in Grade 1 or 2, bar graphs in Grade 2 or 3, scaled graphs and line plots by Grades 3 to 5.
Is this data and graphs chart free to print?
Yes. Open it full size and print as many copies as you need for home or a classroom, with no account and no watermark. Reselling it or re-hosting the file elsewhere is not allowed — link to this page instead.