2nd grade · Math · Unit 17 of 17
Bar Graphs
Read and compare bar graphs
What your child practices
Reading bar graphs with four groups: how many more, how many fewer, how many in all, and which question a class survey can answer.
Alabama Course of Study content standard: 2.16 · drawing and reading picture graphs and bar graphs to answer questions
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Read each bar against the numbers on the side.
- Subtract to find how many more or fewer.
- Add the bars to find how many in all.
Example: Dogs: 12. Cats: 7. How many more chose dogs? 12 − 7 = 5. Answer: 5
Bar Graphs in Alabama
In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 17 of 17 in 2nd grade Math, after Add & Subtract to 1000.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
How many chose bike?
How we get to school - 14
- 15
- 18
- 12
15
Hint: Count the 🚲 in the bike row.
Question 2
How many chose carrots or crackers?
Our favorite snack - 21
- 25
- 23
- 26
23
Hint: Put the two rows together: 13 + 10 = 23.
Question 3
Which has more: crackers or popcorn?
Our favorite snack - 🍘crackers
- 🍿popcorn
🍿 popcorn
Hint: Compare the two rows. The longer row has more.
Question 4
How many answers are there in all?
Bugs we saw - 20
- 19
- 17
- 22
20
Hint: Add every row: 2 + 3 + 1 + 14 = 20.
Question 5
Sort them: fly or swim?
Sort into: 🪽 Flies · 🌊 Swims
- 🐦bird
- 🐳whale
- 🐝bee
- 🦇bat
- 🐬dolphin
🪽 Flies: bird, bee, bat · 🌊 Swims: whale, dolphin
Hint: Look at each picture and ask which group it belongs in.
Question 6
Which has the fewest?
Our favorite fruit - 🍊orange
- 🍎apple
- 🍌banana
- 🍇grapes
🍇 grapes
Hint: Find the shortest row. It has the fewest.