This lesson plan is useful for teaching students about how data is presented visually, how it can be distorted, and some examples of where data distortion is prevalent.
This lesson is suggested for a flipped classroom model and comes with a video, worksheet, reflection questions, slide deck, textbook and AP connections, teacher's guide, and data set.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This lesson plan uses relevant, real-life examples in order to make important points.
This lesson plan has a good balance of teacher-centered and student-centered learning.
Additional Prerequisites
Teachers and students may create a free account for unlimited access to the materials.
The slides used in the video can be found in the slide deck.
Differentiation
This lesson plan could supplement a social studies classroom discussion about misinformation that uses misleading charts.
This lesson plan could enhance a broader classroom discussion on propaganda, misinformation, and tactics used to distort facts.
For the open-ended questions in this lesson plan, it may be wise to go over them as a class in order to analyze comprehension and address misconceptions.
Student data from the reflection questions can be used for targeted reteaching of key concepts.
Scientist Notes
This webpage contains lesson materials talking about misleading data. The lesson contains a video, worksheets for students, and notes and presentation materials for instructors. Additionally, suggestions for how to incorporate these materials into a class (remotely, flipped, or in person) are included. The resource is presented as a part of an AP Stats course, so the focus is primarily on the math and does not specifically mention climate or climate change. With that said, this is a great lesson to include in discussions or lessons about identifying reliable resources and graphs, how we know climate change is happening, how to talk to climate change deniers, or other similar topics. Similarly, graphs of climate data can be used as practice problems in this lesson. For example, you can compare the same data from climate change deniers versus scientific organizations (like NOAA, NASA etc.) for misleading versus non-misleading graphs. The information presented is accurate and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11-12 texts and topics.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Common Core Math Standards (CCSS.MATH)
Statistics & Probability: Interpreting Categorical & Quantitative Data (9-12)
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.ID.B.6 Represent data on two quantitative variables on a scatter plot, and describe how the variables are related.
Statistics & Probability: Making Inferences & Justifying Conclusions (9-12)
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.IC.B.6 Evaluate reports based on data.
