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Teaching Data Literacy in Social Studies: An Interactive Professional Development Tool Why teach data literacy in social studies? Not only is data literacy required by state standards and included in standardized assessments, it is important for understanding core social studies disciplines. This module addresses the role that data visualizations play in social studies standards, assessments, and texts. It also provides links to resources that can be used to support data literacy as a component of disciplinary literacy. What kinds of data visualizations will students encounter in social studies? Information can be visualized in multiple ways, from bar graphs to scatterplots, choropleth maps to distribution maps, timelines to time series. Designers can choose from an array of graphical elements such as points, lines, or icons used to represent data, and multiple aesthetic attributes such as color, shape, and size. Furthermore, designers can apply multiple combinations of titles, legends, and explanatory text to provide context for a data visualization. Given the almost dizzying array of data visualizations students may encounter in social studies, it is helpful to place them in categories related to the types of questions they will help us answer. How do students learn with data visualizations? Reading data visualizations in print and online social studies texts can improve students' overall comprehension and quality of reasoning. And there is evidence to suggest that reading data visualizations helps students better understand historical and geographic context, multiple causation, and change over time — all important concepts for students to grasp in social studies subject areas. However, students may face significant challenges in trying to make sense of different kinds of data visualizations. This section provides insight into both benefits and challenges of reading timelines, maps, and graphs and charts. How should students analyze data visualizations in social studies? The challenges that data visualizations present, coupled with their prevalence in social studies texts, standardized assessments, in online social studies resources, and as sources of information in society, suggest that teaching with and about data visualizations in social studies is essential. This module provides guidance for how teachers can support students' data literacy for social studies.

Index of Lesson Plans

The following is a list of the minimal manuals and lessons found on this website. Minimal manuals are designed to be adapted to different grade levels and do not have a grade designation associated with them. Lesson plans are organized according to the school level for which they are designed. However, many of these lessons can be adapted for different grade levels. To edit the minimal manuals or lesson plans, click the 'File' button located in the top left of the Google Doc and select 'Make a copy'.

Minimal Manuals

ArcGIS StoryMaps: CREATE YOUR OWN ARCGIS STORYMAP
DV4L: HISTORICAL INQUIRY WITH DATA VISUALIZATIONS IN SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES
Google Charts/Sheets: CREATING A CHART WITH GOOGLE
Google Earth: CREATE A SPATIAL STORY USING GOOGLE EARTH
Google Maps: CREATE A CUSTOM MAP WITH GOOGLE MAPS
Timeline JS: SHOW CHANGE OVER TIME WITH TIMELINE JS
Voyant Tools: TEXT MINING AND VISUALIZING WITH VOYANT

Index of Lesson Plans

Minimal Manuals

Elementary (K-5)

Middle School (6-8)

General

6th-Grade World Geography

7th-Grade World History & Geography

8th-Grade U.S. History & Geography

High School (9-12)

General

World History & Geography

U.S. History & Geography

Civics

Economics