Activity
Discuss with the students how graphs are a useful way to analyze information. Ask, “ What graphs have you seen recently in newspapers or magazines? How were they used?” Review the main types of graphs and how they are constructed. (i.e. bar graph, line graph, pie graph, scatter plot, etc.). Ask the students, “If the graph has a horizontal and vertical axis, what data is typically represented on the x-axis? The y-axis?”

Have students make a rough sketch of each type of graph and discuss what type of data might be represented on the graph and why. For example, ask them, “ Would you use a pie graph, a bar graph, or a line graph to show the percentage of people in a specific country belonging to different religions?” Have a few volunteers share with the class to ensure that all students are on the same page on the various graphs.

Homework
Have students get together in groups by their specific country and create at least 5 graphs, in addition to the graphs they have made earlier, to present information about their country. They should have a variety of types of graphs on their final project, which means they should discuss and choose carefully what data they want to use and what graph is most appropriate. Some ideas of what to include are:

o Poverty rate over time or
o Number of people living below the poverty level over time
o Economic factor (GDP) over time
o Labor force by occupation
o Amount of products that are produced in the country and how much of the product is exported
o Amounts of products that are imported
o Exports vs. imports over time
o Import partners
o Export partners
o Infant mortality rate over time
o Religion
o Literacy of total population or change in literacy over time
o Mortality rate or projected life expectancy over time
o Population Pyramids: change in population over time and predictions for the future

This is just a starting place. Students may graph whatever data they feel with help them the most in the upcoming Model N.

(As a longer-term project, you might ask the students to collect graphs over a week or longer, putting the graphs into their notebooks and writing reflections on how well the graph represents the information and how easy it is to interpret the information)

Embedded Assessment
Through informal discussion you will be able to assess how well the students understand the types of information that can be presented by the different types of graphs. As the students are making their graphs, wander around the room and observe if the individual groups are using a different types of graphs as well as choosing the most appropriate graph for the chosen data.