Although we as adults are able to look at a graph and very quickly take from it the information that we are looking for, even a simple pictogram is a strange and abstract concept for a young child to understand.
In the early years, it is very common during a topic on food, for example, to gather the children together and survey them to find out what their favourite ice-cream flavour is. The results are invariably presented in the form of a graph, bar chart or pictogram, and the children are then quizzed to find out which is the most or least popular and how many people like strawberry, vanilla or mint choc-chip. Unsurprisingly, many children struggle to understand what a graph is or what it is used for and are unable to read the information that it presents.
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