Measurement & Data
GradesGrade 1Measurement & DataReading Tally Charts

Reading Tally Charts

📏 Measurement & Data
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Reading Tally Charts

Tally marks make counting and comparing data quick and easy!

A TALLY CHART is a way to record and count information. We draw one vertical line (|) for each thing we count. After every 4 lines, we draw a diagonal line (/) across them to make a group of 5. Then we count the groups of 5 plus any extra marks.

Tally marks for numbers 1–5:

| = 1|| = 2||| = 3|||| = 4|||| / = 5

The fifth mark crosses the first four diagonally. Groups of 5 make counting fast!

🐾Favourite animals survey
Dog:  |||| ||  = 7 votes đŸļ
Cat:  |||| |   = 6 votes 🐱
Bird: ||||     = 5 votes đŸĻ
Fish: |||      = 3 votes 🐠

Most popular: Dog with 7 votes!

How to read a tally chart:

1Find a full group of 5 (four lines crossed by one diagonal) → count it as 5
2Count any leftover single lines and add them on
3Total = number of complete groups of 5 × 5 + leftover lines

More votes

âšŊ Soccer: |||| ||| = 8 votes

Fewer votes

🏀 Basketball: |||| = 5 votes

Soccer has more votes (8 > 5). The tally chart makes this easy to compare!

✏ī¸ Try It!

A tally shows: |||| || — how many is that?

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Remember This!

Group your tallies into fives as you go. Don't wait until the end! Grouping while you count prevents you from losing track.

Take Quiz 📝 — 25 Questions