2nd grade · Math · Unit 14 of 14
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.
Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 2.1.1.3; 2.1.1.4 · showing data in picture and bar graphs and making predictions from them
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 Minnesota
In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 14 of 14 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 answers are there in all?
Our pets - 45
- 44
- 41
- 47
44
Hint: Add every row: 17 + 10 + 5 + 12 = 44.
Question 2
How many chose carrots?
Our favorite snack - 15
- 18
- 19
- 17
17
Hint: Count the 🥕 in the carrots row.
Question 3
Sort them: fly or swim?
Sort into: 🪽 Flies · 🌊 Swims
- 🐝bee
- 🐟fish
- 🐳whale
- 🐦bird
🪽 Flies: bee, bird · 🌊 Swims: fish, whale
Hint: Look at each picture and ask which group it belongs in.
Question 4
How many more chose bee than butterfly?
Bugs we saw - 18
- 12
- 17
- 15
15
Hint: bee: 17. butterfly: 2. 17 − 2 = 15.
Question 5
Which has more: sunny or windy?
Our favorite weather - 🌬️windy
- ☀️sunny
🌬️ windy
Hint: Compare the two rows. The longer row has more.
Question 6
How many chose popcorn or cheese?
Our favorite snack - 12
- 14
- 16
- 15
15
Hint: Put the two rows together: 14 + 1 = 15.