Data Visualized: Simple, Quick, And A Range Of Topics

Source: The WSJ Statshot: Screentime

We continually look for resources to use for “mini” lessons or “do nows” to help learners interpret data and draw conclusions through visual analysis.

The Statshot column in the weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal provides just that. David Goldenberg compiles the data, and the graphics are designed by Carl de Torres. The topics run the gamut, including pop culture, finance, technology, and science.

Source: The WSJ Statshot: Driving Change

Each week, Statshot picks three different subjects and creates a simple graphic to highlight the data in one image. For example, last weekend looked at screentime, self-image, and Nascar. The examples from this column are straightforward enough to use with a variety of age groups, particularly elementary and middle school students.

Source: The WSJ Statshot: Great White Hope

Statshot is part of The Wall Street Journal’s Numbers blog which provides daily posts with graphic interpretations that are more complex and perfect for high school students. The Numbers blog “examines the way numbers are used and abused,” and the topics are equally as diverse as those on Statshot.

Source: The WSJ Statshot: Vanishing Species

Integrating graphic interpretation wherever we can using charts, graphs, and tables helps our students with multi-source reasoning. The pervasive use of infographics, motion graphics, and other data visualization materials requires exposing our learners to as many different modes for deciphering information. It is one of the core skills of graphicacy that they’ll need to be competent in today’s world.