Pictographs

April 1, 2013

Gr 1-4-Each book begins with an introductory chapter ("What Is a Bar Graph?"), then provides three examples, and finishes with a summary section. An activity that can be printed from the publisher's website follows each example; some ask students to make a graph, while others suggest that they use what they have learned to answer questions. The instructions are clearly written and the exercises are often lighthearted. For example, kids are asked to create charts or graphs of things such cows, clouds, pets, and number of books read. Pie Graph is the most challenging volume since creating the right wedge sizes is typically a difficult undertaking. However, the book delivers a solid explanation. The appealing layout features bright colors and a mix of graphs, illustrations, and color photos. These titles are activity-driven (even more exercises can be found in the final chapters and through the websites listed at the back of each volume) and can easily be incorporated into lesson plans.

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2013
Grades K-3 This slim entry in the Making and Using Graphs series offers a three-stage mini-course in creating simple graphs with visual markers rather than lines, bars, or points. In an easy text illustrated with brightly colored charts (plus the occasional monkey and photos or cartoons of children), the author guides readers through three projects of increasing complexityall of which involve tracking numbers and types of books read in classfrom initial data collection using hash marks (called tally marks here) through proper presentation of results to questions about what the finished graph reveals. Along with specific directions for three additional projects, she ends with further suggestions, plus print and web resources for more. Consider as a (somewhat) more challenging follow-up to Vijaya Khisty Bodach's Pictographs (2007).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)