Pictographs can introduce preschool children to addition concepts. It is best to use pictures that are familiar to young children when constructing pictographs, such as pictures of apples, oranges or bananas. A basic, two-column pictograph chart is all you need to teach addition. Place the name of each fruit in the first column and its pictorial representation in the second column. Ask the children addition questions that require them to count the pictures to determine total amounts. Have them write the corresponding addition problems on a separate sheet of paper.
Pictographs used to teach multiplication are similar to addition pictographs. However, instead of each picture representing just one unit, each picture represents multiple units. For example, a picture of one apple can represent 20 apples total, meaning that five apples is equivalent to 100 units. There is no limit to the numerical amount that each picture can represent.
Pictographs allow children to find solutions to math problems using graphical data. They can compare data and make predictions based on information in the graphs. For example, if a sports pictograph has data for four football teams and uses a photo of a football to represent the number of games that each team won, students can predict which team has the highest likelihood of making it to the finals based on the game history depicted in the graph.
Businesses also use pictographs to display company statistics. They may use small pictures of dollars bills to represent the company's budget, stick figures to represent employees, small buildings to represent various locations and cars to represent company vehicles. These graphs tell a story while presenting important company data to business associates.