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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 This page contains 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.

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1. Area Graphs
2. Bar Graphs Bar graphs use either horizontal or vertical bars (column chart) to show discrete, numerical comparisons across categories. One axis of the chart shows the specific categories being compared and the other axis represents a discrete value scale. Bar graphs can also be multi-set, with multiple variables in one category, or stacked to show proportions of values within a category.This bar graph was created by William Playfair to show exports and imports of Scotland to and from different countries for one year.
3. Bubble Charts A bubble chart is a multi-variable graph that is a cross between a scatterplot and a proportional area chart. Bubble charts use a Cartesian coordinate system to plot points along a grid where the X and Y axis are separate variables. Each point is assigned a label or category. Each plotted point then represents a third variable by the area of its circle. Colors can also be used to distinguish between categories or used to represent an additional data variable. Time can be shown either by having it as a variable on one of the axis or by animating the data variables changing over time. Hans Rosling made the bubble chart famous through his website Gapminder.
4. Line Graphs Line graphs are used to display quantitative values over a continuous interval or time period. A line graph is most frequently used to show trends and analyze how the data has changed over time, but time does not have to be one of the variables. The are also good for showing how long positive or negative trends last. William Playfair's stacked line graph (with two categories and therefore two lines) shown here is from the 1786 Commercial and Political Atlas was innovative in that it showed the importance of the relationship between the lines too.
5. Pie Charts This is one of the earliest known pie charts, showing proportions of the Turkish Empire and included among several other pie charts in William Playfair's "Commercial and Political Atlas and Statistical Breviary." Pie Charts help show proportions and percentages between categories, by dividing a circle into proportional segments. Each arc length represents a proportion of the whole while the full circle represents the total sum of all the data, equal to 100%.
6. Population Pyramids Population pyramids display the distribution of a population in all age groups and in both sexes. The x-axis is used to plot population numbers and the y-axis lists age groups. Population pyramids are ideal for detecting changes or differences in population patterns. Multiple Population Pyramids can be used to compare patterns across nations or selected population groups. This particular population pyramid was created by the U.S. Census bureau and displays population distribution in 2015.
7. Scatterplots
8. Treemaps Treemaps display both a hierarchical structure of categories and quantities for each category via area size. Each category is assigned a rectangle area with their subcategory rectangles nested inside of it. When a quantity is assigned to a category, its area size is displayed in proportion to that quantity and to the other quantities within the same parent category. This treemap, which was interactive on the Office of Management and Budget website (see https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/interactive-budget), was used to show the 2016 Obama White House budget.
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