What’s Going On in This Graph? | Dec. 14, 2022

Ten-day temperature trend graphs for 22 U.S. cities, similar to the graphs above, are published every Sunday in the national print edition of The New York Times. The graphs above are for Dec. 6 – 15.

On Dec. 12 we replaced the graph below with the one above, so that students will be looking at the most up-to-date temperature trends during live moderation on Dec. 14.

The source of the data used to construct these graphs is AccuWeather. The historical temperatures are based on all temperature data that is available for these 10 days in December as far back as to the 1800s. Normal temperatures are calculated by averaging the high and low temperatures for these 10 days for the years 1990 – 2020. The forecasts are based on variables used to predict weather and, for large metropolitan areas, take into account local variations.

On Wednesday, Dec. 14, we will moderate your responses live online. By Friday morning, Dec. 16, we will provide the “Reveal” — the graph’s free online link, additional questions, shout outs for student headlines and Stat Nuggets.

1. After looking closely at the graph above (or at this full-size image), answer these four questions:

• What do you notice?

• What do you wonder?

The questions are intended to build on one another, so try to answer them in order.

2. Next, join the conversation online by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box. (Teachers of students younger than 13 are welcome to post their students’ responses.)

3. Below the response box, there is an option to click on “Email me when my comment is published.” This sends the link to your response which you can share with your teacher.

4. After you have posted, read what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting a comment. Use the “Reply” button to address that student directly.

On Wednesday, Dec. 14, teachers from our collaborator, the American Statistical Association, will facilitate this discussion from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time.

5. By Friday morning, Dec. 16, we will reveal more information about the graph, including a free link to the article that includes this graph, at the bottom of this post. We encourage you to post additional comments based on the article, possibly using statistical terms defined in the Stat Nuggets.

Reveal

We’ll post more information here on Thursday afternoon. Stay tuned!

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More?

• See all graphs in this series or collections of 60 of our favorite graphs, 28 graphs that teach about inequality and 24 graphs about climate change.

• View our archives that link to all past releases, organized by topic, graph type and Stat Nugget.

• Learn more about the notice and wonder teaching strategy from this 5-minute video and how and why other teachers are using this strategy from our on-demand webinar.

• Sign up for our free weekly Learning Network newsletter so you never miss a graph. Graphs are always released by the Friday before the Wednesday live-moderation to give teachers time to plan ahead.

• Go to the American Statistical Association K-12 website, which includes teacher statistics resources, Census in the Schools student-generated data, professional development opportunities, and more.

Students 13 and older in the United States and the Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.