Statistics in the media, homework help

GOALS

It is common to see graphs in news stories because graphs give a lot of information in a small amount of space.

For this project, you will analyze graphs that appear in news articles.

First you’ll find news articles containing graphs. Then you’ll draw conclusions from the graphs. Finally you’ll reflect on your findings.

PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS

Before beginning, review the sample project so that you understand what you’ll be creating.

PROJECT RESEARCH

1.Find four news articles, each containing a graph of data.

·Find articles on the Internet, in newspapers, and/or in magazines. The articles can be current or out of date. (Do not use the articles or graphs that are in the sample project.)

·Try to find a variety of graph types. Graph types can be, but do not have to be, the same types you have studied in this course.

·Tip 1: You can find some news websites by searching “top news websites.” Look for companies that have an offline newspaper as well, such as the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

·Tip 2: The science, technology, money, and health sections of both online and offline newspapers tend to have more graphs than the breaking news and current events sections.

2.Open your presentation and type your name on slide 1. On slides 2, 4, 6, and 8:

·Cite the source by filling in the top lines with the required information.

·Upload an image of the graph. If you found the article on the Internet, copy and paste a screenshot of the graph. If you found the article in a newspaper or a magazine, upload a picture or a scan of the graph.

PROJECT WRITING

Before you begin writing, complete the Lesson Checkpoint, an online, ungraded assessment. You’ll practice analyzing graphs—a skill essential to completing your project. Reach out to your teacher with any questions you have after taking this Lesson Checkpoint.

On slides 3, 5, 7, and 9:

·Write a brief summary of each news article.

·Draw three conclusions from the graph that appeared in each news article. See the sample project for examples of the types of conclusions you might draw.

PROJECT REFLECTION

Look back over all your graphs and articles and complete slide 10 by choosing two of the following:

·Tell which of your graphs was most helpful to the story it went with and why.

·Tell which of your graphs was least helpful to the story it went with and why.

·Tell which graph you found most interesting and why.

·Tell how a graph was misleading or incomplete, if applicable.

SUBMISSION

Confirm that your presentation contains all your work:

·Source information for each of 4 articles

·A graph from each article

·Three conclusions drawn from each graph

·Your reflection discussion

Submit your project to your teacher.