For teachers
Chart assignments by class subject
Each assignment is a few charts of trustworthy public data with questions for that class. Post its one link in Google Classroom, Canvas or Moodle as it is, or change it first. Free, no account needed, and the numbers update themselves.
6 charts
Economics
Six charts of official U.S. data on prices, jobs, pay, interest rates and debt, for a lesson on how the economy is measured and what moves it.
- How fast are US prices rising?
- How much have US consumer prices risen since 1913?
- What is the US unemployment rate?
- What is the federal funds rate?
- Which kinds of jobs pay the most in the US?
- How big is the federal debt compared with the economy?
6 charts
Civics and government
Six charts on the federal budget from the U.S. Treasury and the Social Security Trustees: where the government's money comes from, where it goes, how much it borrows and who lends it.
- Where does federal revenue come from?
- Where does federal spending go?
- How big is the federal deficit each year?
- How big is the federal debt compared with the economy?
- Who owns the US national debt?
- When will Social Security's trust funds run out?
6 charts
Health
Six charts from the CDC and the World Bank on how long people live, what they die of and what health care costs, for a lesson on public health.
- How long do Americans live, and how has that changed since 1900?
- What do Americans die of most often?
- How does heart disease compare with cancer as a cause of death in the US?
- How many Americans die of drug overdoses each year?
- How has the US teen birth rate changed since 1940?
- How much does each country spend on health care per person?
6 charts
Earth science
Six charts from NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Energy Information Administration on temperature, rain, earthquakes and where electricity comes from.
- How much has the US warmed since 1895?
- Which US states have warmed the most?
- Is the US getting wetter or drier?
- How much rarer is each step up in earthquake magnitude?
- Which U.S. states have the most earthquakes?
- Where does US electricity come from?
6 charts
Statistics
Six charts that teach how numbers can mislead or inform: margins of error, rates versus counts, changes in how things are measured and how spread out a group is.
- What is the typical household income in each state?
- How many people die in traffic crashes in the U.S. each year?
- Are U.S. roads getting safer per mile driven?
- How many earthquakes are recorded worldwide each year?
- How many babies get one of the year's 10 most popular names?
- How many babies were given your name each year since 1880?
6 charts
Geography
Six charts of World Bank and United Nations data on the world's people: how many there are, how long they live, how rich they are, how many are online and how much carbon they emit.
- How has the world's population grown since 1960?
- How long do people live in each country?
- How rich is each country, per person?
- What share of people use the internet in each country?
- How much carbon dioxide does each country emit per person?
- How fast has the world come online?
Want a different mix? Make your own chart assignment, or see the one-chart lessons. Teach another subject? Tell us.
A chart for class, every Monday
One fresh chart of public data, three questions to discuss and a link that opens it as a class assignment, in your inbox each Monday. Free, no account. See this week's.