What does a child have to do to decode a pictogram key in the 11+?

Use a pictogram key to determine one represented quantity. It is one of 55 named maths skills in the 11+, in the data strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.

Why does my child keep getting decode a pictogram key questions wrong?

There is a specific mistake recorded against this skill: counts symbols without multiplying by the key. 11+ papers are written to offer exactly that answer, so a child can be confident and still lose the mark. When it keeps happening, the fix is the misunderstanding rather than more questions.

What can I say if my child is stuck on decode a pictogram key?

Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Count the icons in the Rockets row and multiply by 2; a half icon is worth 1, not the full 2.

What is not part of decode a pictogram key in the 11+?

The skill map draws the line here: Includes fractional symbols only when stated by the key. A question past that line is testing a different named maths skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.

Which other 11+ skills should we practise alongside decode a pictogram key?

The data strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to decode a pictogram key are interpret a pie-chart sector, read a bar-chart value and read a line-graph value. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.

How can my child practise decode a pictogram key for free?

Use Pictogram Reader, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to decode a pictogram key, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

Maths · Data

Decode a pictogram key

Use a pictogram key to determine one represented quantity.

Watch the worked example

Open the video page

Crack the Pictogram Key

This video shows how to use a pictogram’s key to calculate the quantity represented by its symbols. Watch an 11+ maths question solved step by step.

0:00 / 2:34

Turn on captions with the CC button. Jump to any part with the chapter buttons.

Read the transcript

Keep practising with Trace Learn. Find topics to practise next

Quick quiz: Decode a pictogram key

10 questions, with feedback after each one. No sign-up needed.

Read the questions in this quiz

Question 1
How many children visited Lighthouse?
🚌 = 10
Quarry
Farm
Lighthouse
Museum
Castle
- A.65
- B.6
- C.45
- D.55
Question 2
How many children paddled Sculls?
🛶 = 10
Canoes
Coracles
Kayaks
Sculls
Paddleboards
- A.40
- B.35
- C.45
- D.23
Question 3
How many children baked Flapjacks?
🧁 = 4
Brownies
Scones
Gingerbread
Flapjacks
Cupcakes
- A.5
- B.14
- C.8
- D.10
Question 4
How many children paddled Sculls?
🛶 = 4
Sculls
Coracles
Paddleboards
Canoes
Dinghies
- A.8
- B.26
- C.34
- D.30
Question 5
How many children chose Ludo?
🎲 = 4
Mahjong
Draughts
Ludo
Charades
Dominoes
- A.14
- B.16
- C.22
- D.18
Question 6
How many children chose Baking?
⭐ = 10
Rowing
Baking
Drama
Coding
Pottery
- A.45
- B.55
- C.40
- D.23
Question 7
How many children chose Canoeing?
⛺ = 4
Caving
Orienteering
Climbing
Archery
Canoeing
- A.12
- B.14
- C.7
- D.4
Question 8
How many children knitted Bookmarks?
🧦 = 10
Mittens
Blankets
Bunting
Bookmarks
Scarves
- A.15
- B.3
- C.25
- D.35
Question 9
How many children joined Recorders?
🎻 = 4
Woodwind
Keyboards
Strings
Recorders
Voices
- A.14
- B.22
- C.18
- D.9
Question 10
How many children borrowed Cooking?
📚 = 4
Cooking
Comics
Mystery
Poetry
History
- A.18
- B.6
- C.20
- D.22

Practise it now

Tap the Adventure row. Then use the key to say how many books it stands for.

It covers most of this skill rather than all of it.

Loading the interactive exercise. Nothing you do here is saved or scored.

A worked example

One question of the kind this skill is tested with, worked all the way through: the reasoning, and what the wrong answers are there to catch.

Topics chosen by children for the space project

Start with the Rockets row. How many children does it stand for?

Each icon stands for 2 children, so a half icon stands for 1.

🚀 = 2

Comets

Rockets

Galaxies

Meteors

Answer: 7

How you get there

The Rockets row draws 3 whole icons and a half icon, and the key says one icon stands for 2 children, which means the row is worth 7 children altogether.

Why the other answers tempt

Each icon is worth more than one, so the number of icons is never the answer on its own.

If they are stuck, say this

Count the icons in the Rockets row and multiply by 2; a half icon is worth 1, not the full 2.

Now do it live in Pictogram Reader

Kitchen-table script for parents

Try this together

A friendly mini script for the breakfast table, school run or a quiet two minutes. Read it aloud as written, or make it your own.

Ready? Let's try Decode a pictogram key together. Take a look at the picture. Here is what matters: Each icon stands for 2 children, so a half icon stands for 1. Pictogram where each 🚀 means 2. Rows: Comets is 13; Rockets is 7; Galaxies is 6; Meteors is 11. Here comes the question: Start with the Rockets row. How many children does it stand for? A handy clue is: Count the icons in the Rockets row and multiply by 2; a half icon is worth 1, not the full 2. Nice work. Here is the thinking: The Rockets row draws 3 whole icons and a half icon, and the key says one icon stands for 2 children, which means the row is worth 7 children altogether. So our answer is: 7. One sneaky trap is: Each icon is worth more than one, so the number of icons is never the answer on its own. Can you show me the first move in your own words? No rush; one calm step is enough.

What this exercise is doing

Pictogram Reader

Tap the Adventure row. Then use the key to say how many books it stands for.

The Adventure row draws 2 and a half pictures, and the key says each whole picture stands for 2, so the row stands for 5. Counting the pictures and stopping gives 2, which is the answer to a different question: a pictogram is drawn small on purpose, and the key is what turns what you can count into what it means. A part picture is worth part of the key, not a whole one.

Step 1. Find it. Tap the row the question names.
Step 2. Read it. Now use the key to choose how many books that is.

What to say if they get stuck

Find the bar, row or slice the question names before you read anything. Getting the label right matters as much as the reading.
The scale does not always count up in single steps. Work out what a single line is worth before you read anything off it.
Keep your finger level as you slide from the board across to the scale. Drifting up or down by a line is the commonest slip there is.

Open Pictogram Reader on its own page to share it

What usually goes wrong here

Counts symbols without multiplying by the key.

This is the wrong answer 11+ papers are built to offer, so it is worth watching for directly: a child who does this will look confident and still lose the mark. If it keeps happening on decode a pictogram key, the fix is the misunderstanding rather than more questions.

Related maths skills

Calculate an arithmetic meanFind the mean of a short supplied data set.
Compare bar-chart valuesCompare two category values on a bar chart.
Compare line-graph changeCompare one change or gap between plotted values.
Compare table valuesCompare two values read from a table.
Interpret a pie-chart sectorExpress one pie-chart sector as a fraction, percentage, or count.
Read a bar-chart valueRead one category value using the bar-chart scale.
Read a line-graph valueRead one plotted value at a named position.
Read a table cellFind one value at a named row and column.

All maths 11+ skills

Questions parents ask about decode a pictogram key

What this skill involves, common mistakes and ways to practise it at home.

: Use a pictogram key to determine one represented quantity. It is one of 55 named maths skills in the 11+, in the data strand, and this page carries 1 interactive exercise that practises it.
: There is a specific mistake recorded against this skill: counts symbols without multiplying by the key. 11+ papers are written to offer exactly that answer, so a child can be confident and still lose the mark. When it keeps happening, the fix is the misunderstanding rather than more questions.
: Point at the next move rather than explaining the whole rule. Count the icons in the Rockets row and multiply by 2; a half icon is worth 1, not the full 2.
: The skill map draws the line here: Includes fractional symbols only when stated by the key. A question past that line is testing a different named maths skill, which is worth knowing before you spend a week practising the wrong one.
: The data strand holds 9 skills that are tested together, and the pages next to decode a pictogram key are interpret a pie-chart sector, read a bar-chart value and read a line-graph value. Each has its own exercise and its own link, and none of them needs an account.
: Use Pictogram Reader, embedded on this page. It is the exercise the skill map attaches to decode a pictogram key, it runs in the browser with no account to make, these exercises are not scored and do not save learner records. The separate quiz sends answers for marking and shows a score, without saving an assessment record. It also has its own link, so you can send it to a child without sending them anywhere else first.

One wrong answer is a slip, the same wrong answer every time is a habit

A free diagnostic looks at which mistakes repeat across all four subjects, not just whether decode a pictogram key was right on the day.