Grade by Grade
Strand A: Foundations of Language and Mathematics · Patterns, Shapes, Measuring and Sorting

Picture Graphs and "Will It Happen?"

A8.2 A8.3 A8.4About 25 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can ask a question and collect answers.
  • I can show the answers in a picture graph or a graph made with real things.
  • I can read a graph and say which has the most and which has the fewest.
  • I can say if something will always, sometimes or never happen.

Words to know

question
Something we ask to find out. "What is your favourite snack?"
graph
A picture that shows how many. Each picture or block stands for one answer.
most
The biggest number. The longest row on a graph.
fewest
The smallest number. The shortest row on a graph.
always, sometimes, never
Words that tell if something will happen. Always = every time. Sometimes = some times but not every time. Never = not ever.
likely, unlikely
Likely = it will probably happen. Unlikely = it probably will not happen.

Let's ask our family a question!

Grown-up, read this out loud.

What do people in our family like to do most on a snowy day? Sledding? Skating? Building a snowman?

How could we find out? We can ask! Then we can make a graph to show the answers.

A snowy park with people sledding down a hill, people skating on an outdoor rink, and a snowman with a scarf.
On a snowy day, people go sledding, skating, or build a snowman. Which one would you choose? AI-generated image

Making a graph has 3 steps:

  1. Ask a question.
  2. Collect the answers. Put a check mark ✔️ or a block for each answer.
  3. Show the answers in a graph, one picture for each answer, lined up in rows.
Snowy day funVotes
🛷 sledding🙂🙂🙂🙂
⛸️ skating🙂🙂🙂
⛄ building a snowman🙂
A picture graph. Each 🙂 is one person's answer.
Worked example

Let's read the graph

Look at the picture graph above. What does it tell us?

  1. Count the 🙂 in each row. Sledding has 4. Skating has 3. Building a snowman has 1.
  2. Which row is longest? Sledding. It has the most votes.
  3. Which row is shortest? Building a snowman. It has the fewest votes.
  4. How many people answered? Count all the faces: 4, then 5, 6, 7, then 8. 8 people.

Most people like sledding best. Building a snowman got the fewest votes. 8 people answered.

Line them up

Put one picture or one block in each spot, and start every row at the same place. Then you can see which row is longer just by looking!

Not lined upLined upsleddingsleddingskatingskatingWhich has more? Hard to tell!start line43
Both sides show the same votes. On the left, the blocks are spread out, so skating looks longer. On the right, the rows start at the same line, so we can see sledding (4) has more than skating (3).
Worked example

Let's make a graph with real things

What kind of shoes are at our door?

  1. Bring the shoes to the floor.
  2. Make a row for boots, a row for running shoes, and a row for other shoes.
  3. Line them up next to each other, one shoe pair per spot, starting at the same line.
  4. Look: Which row is longest? Which is shortest? Are any the same?

This is a real-object graph. The longest row has the most. (Your answer depends on the shoes at your door!)

Will it happen?

Some things happen always: every single time.

Some things happen sometimes: some days yes, some days no.

Some things never happen: not ever!

Worked example

Let's sort some ideas

Always, sometimes or never?

  1. Night comes after day.
  2. We have pasta for supper.
  3. A dog drives a bus.
  1. Night comes after day. That happens every day. Always.
  2. Pasta for supper. Some nights yes, some nights no. Sometimes.
  3. A dog drives a bus. That does not happen. Never!

Always, sometimes, never.

Alwaysnight comes after daySometimespasta for supperNever!a dog drives a busyes? no?
Night after day happens always. Pasta for supper happens sometimes. A dog driving a bus happens never!
Hands-on activity

Family survey

You need: paper, a crayon, and some blocks or sticky notes.

  1. Help your child pick a question with 2 or 3 choices, like "Which fruit do you like best: apple, banana or orange?"
  2. Your child asks family members (in person or by phone) and puts one block or one check mark for each answer.
  3. Line the blocks up in rows to make a graph.
  4. Talk about it: "Which has the most? Which has the fewest? Are any the same? How many people did we ask?"
A funny true fact

Every year on February 2, people in Wiarton, Ontario, wait for a groundhog named Wiarton Willie to "tell" them if spring will come early. Is a groundhog likely to be a good weather forecaster? Probably not, but it sure is fun!

Favourite petVotes
🐶 dog🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂
🐱 cat🙂🙂🙂
🐟 fish🙂🙂
Use this graph for the first questions below.

Your turn

1

Look at the pet graph. How many people like dogs best?

2

Which pet has the most votes?

3

Which pet has the fewest votes?

4

How many more people picked dog than cat?

5

How many people answered in all?

6

Always, sometimes or never? "A fish will ride a bike."

7

Always, sometimes or never? "It will rain today."

More practice: warm-up

1

👟👟👟👟 (running shoes)

🥾🥾 (boots)

Which row has more?

2

In that shoe graph, how many boots?

3

Always, sometimes or never? "A cat can fly."

4

Always, sometimes or never? "Tomorrow comes after today."

5

Think of a question you could ask your family.

Snack timeVotes
🍎 apple🙂🙂🙂
🍌 banana🙂🙂🙂
🍇 grapes🙂
Use this graph for the next questions.

More practice: on your own

1

Look at the snack graph. Which two snacks have the same number of votes?

2

Do grapes have the most or the fewest votes?

3

How many people voted in all?

4

A drawer has only blue socks. You pull out a sock. Always, sometimes or never: it will be blue?

5

Likely or unlikely? "It will snow in Ontario in July."

Challenge

1

A bag has 5 red blocks and 1 blue block. You pick one without looking. Which colour will you most likely pick?

2

In a graph, mittens have 4 votes, scarf has 2 votes, and hat has 4 votes. What do you notice?

3

Make your own graph with 3 choices. Tell one thing you notice.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

🛷🛷🛷🛷 (sledding)

⛸️⛸️ (skating)

Which has more votes?

2.

In a graph, which row has the fewest?

3.

A dog will drive a bus. Will it happen?

4.

🍎🍎🍎 (apple)

🍌🍌🍌 (banana)

What do you notice?

5.

What do we do first to make a graph?

For parents and teachers

What this is about: Children ask a question, collect answers, and show them with real objects or pictures lined up in rows (concrete and picture graphs). They read the graph using words like most, fewest, same and how many more. They also start to talk about chance with always, sometimes, never, likely, unlikely.

How to help at home:

  • Do tiny surveys: favourite fruit, how we got to the park, boots or shoes today.
  • Use real objects (blocks, shoes, toys) lined up on the floor before moving to pictures.
  • Use chance words in daily talk: "Is it likely we'll see snow today?"

Common difficulties:

  • Rows that do not start at the same place or have uneven gaps make the graph confusing. Line things up carefully together.
  • Children may think sometimes and never mean the same. Give lots of silly "never" examples (a cat flying) and real "sometimes" examples (rain).
  • Totalling all the votes is a stretch for some children. Counting all the pictures one by one is fine.