Slow Reveal Graphs: Climate Spiral

Slide #1 - just the animated spiral

Before playing, ask students what they notice and what they wonder as they are watching.

Play it through several times before having the group share. Depending on your group, have them share with an elbow partner or small group first.

Slide #2 - Add the rings, no labels

• Before starting the animation ask, "What's been added?" "How might these circles help us understand the graph?"
• Play the animation several times with the circles, ask, "What did the yellow and green circles help you understand as you watched?" "Was this something you already knew?"

Slide #3 - Add the Months on the outer ring

Play this video at least twice

• "What does each ring represent?"
• "How many years do you think are in this data set?" Record estimates that students volunteer

Slide #4 - Add the Running Years in the center

• As you play this video (over and over) ask, "What's the first year of data?"
• "What's the last year of data?"

• "How many years does this data represent?"

• "What do you think the yellow and green circles are measuring?"

Slide #5 - Add the units to the yellow and green circles

• "Were you right about the data being represented?"

Explain to students that the data represents global temperature anomalies between 1880-2022. These are deviations from an average of the data between 1951-1980.

• "How might this graph change if the 'average' was taken ten years later, or represented just one year?"

• "What if that one year was 1950, or 1990, or 2010?"

• "How would you describe the Earth's average temperature over time after seeing this graph?"

Slide #6 - Add The Twist

Before playing, instruct students to pay attention to what happens at the end

• "Describe what happened!" Have students share with a partner/group before sharing in large group.
• "What does this representation tell you that might not have been clear in the original?"

Slide #7 - Side By Side

• "Where did the months and years go from the circle to the stack?"
• "Which representation of the data do you prefer, and why?"

• "Pick one representation and describe something it 'tells' you that the other one doesn't"

• "Which is a more compelling and convincing representation?"

  "This graph represents 'anomalies', or deviations from the average. How would you describe these anomalies?

• This is an opportunity to note that deviations from average can be warm or cold.