🌟 STEAM Lesson Analysis: Stippling Graphs (Grades K–12)
Subjects Integrated: Math + Visual Art
Skills Targeted: Critical thinking, Creativity, Communication
Time Needed: One 30–45 minute session (extendable)

🔍 How this Lesson Promotes Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry Cycle Used: Kath Murdoch’s Inquiry Cycle
(Tuning In → Finding Out → Sorting Out → Going Further → Making Conclusions → Taking Action)

Let’s look at how the different steps of this lesson match the phases of inquiry:

✅ Tuning In
In the beginning, students explore the GapMinder website. The class looks at different interactive graphs that show interesting global trends—like life expectancy, income, or population growth. The teacher encourages students to ask questions about what they notice.

Why it matters: This step hooks students in. It gets them curious, encourages them to think critically, and helps them connect the graphs to real-world issues.

✅ Finding Out
After exploring the site, each student chooses a question they’re curious about—something they want to learn more about using data. Then, they do research to find information that answers their question. They record their findings in a short report.

Why it matters: This is where students take ownership. They’re doing the work of real researchers—digging into data and trying to understand something important to them.

✅ Sorting Out
Once their research is done, students take the information and turn it into a traditional paper graph using math skills—plotting points, labeling axes, etc.

Why it matters: This phase helps students organize what they’ve learned. They move from collecting info to structuring it clearly and logically.

✅ Going Further
Here’s where art and creativity come in! Using the stippling technique (creating pictures using small dots), students turn their graphs into visual artworks. They use the size, color, and spacing of the dots to show important data—just like on GapMinder.

Why it matters: Students go beyond the numbers. They start to think visually and creatively, finding new ways to represent data. This also deepens understanding and brings in artistic expression.

✅ Making Conclusions
Students reflect on their own work and do a peer review. They assess how effectively the stippled graph communicates information and what they learned from someone else’s graph.

Why it matters: This step encourages deeper thinking. Students evaluate their own and others’ ideas and clarify what the data tells them.

✅ Taking Action
Finally, students share what they’ve learned through discussion or presentations. They might talk about how their understanding changed or why their topic matters in today’s world.

Why it matters: This is where learning becomes meaningful. Students use their voice to share their findings and show how data and art can tell a powerful story.

💡 Enduring Understanding (Big Idea)
“We can use data and art together to discover patterns and share meaningful stories about the world around us.”

This lasting idea reminds students that math and art are not separate subjects. When we combine them, they can help us communicate big ideas in creative, clear ways.

❓ Essential Questions
Here are two open-ended questions that guide thinking throughout the lesson:

How can we use graphs and visual art to help others understand big ideas or issues in the world?

What makes a visual message clear, powerful, and meaningful when we use both math and art?