Maths Library

Tally Charts and Pictograms: Year 3 maths

This topic covers collecting data using tally marks and displaying or reading categorical data in pictograms. The worksheet practises reading tally totals, drawing tally marks, and interpreting pictograms with symbols representing one or more items.

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What this covers

Tally Charts and Pictograms is taught in Year 3 (age 7 to 8, KS2) as a topic to introduce. It sits in the Statistics strand.

Worked example

In a pictogram, one circle represents 4 books. How many books do 3 and a half circles represent

  1. Calculate the whole circles: 3 × 4 = 12
  2. Calculate the half circle: 42 = 2
  3. Add them together: 12 + 2 = 14

Answer: 14

Difficulty scale

The sheet generator offers five difficulty settings for this topic.

  1. Reading simple tally counts up to 10
  2. Interpreting pictograms where 1 symbol represents 1 item
  3. Drawing and reading tallies grouped in fives up to 30
  4. Interpreting pictograms where 1 symbol represents 2, 5, or 10 items
  5. Solving two-step comparison problems using pictograms with half symbols

Common mistakes

  • Counting individual tally marks without grouping the diagonal slash as five
  • Ignoring the key in a pictogram and counting each icon as 1 item

Curriculum links

Indicative matches to National Curriculum for England. Check wording and codes against the official document.

  • Interpret and present data using bar charts, pictograms, and tables to solve one-step and two-step questions.

Sample sheet and answers

Six questions at the level's usual difficulty. Open the editor to change, add or regenerate any of them.

Tally Charts and Pictograms

Year 3 maths

Qs
6
Marks
18
NameDateScore / 18
1.
The tally chart shows favourite colours. How many people chose blue?
RedBlueGreenYellow
[3]
2.
The tally chart shows favourite colours. How many people chose green?
RedBlueGreenYellow
[3]
3.
The tally chart shows favourite colours. How many people chose green?
RedBlueGreenYellow
[3]
4.
The tally chart shows favourite colours. How many people chose green?
RedBlueGreenYellow
[3]
5.
The tally chart shows favourite colours. How many people chose green?
RedBlueGreenYellow
[3]
6.
The tally chart shows favourite colours. How many people chose red?
RedBlueGreenYellow
[3]

Answer key

  1. 7Count the tally marks next to Blue: 7
  2. 14Count the tally marks next to Green: 14
  3. 12Count the tally marks next to Green: 12
  4. 14Count the tally marks next to Green: 14
  5. 7Count the tally marks next to Green: 7
  6. 10Count the tally marks next to Red: 10