GOW August 14-18, 2017: Rise of Hate Groups in the U.S.

July 26, 2017

The Disappearance of the  Teen Summer Job   


(click on image above to access the article!)


I hope everyone is having a restful summer break. I came across this article from The Atlantic and thought it would be a great opening Graph of the Week for my students this fall. As you read through the article, you will find the supporting graphs/data helpful in understanding the mindset of some of our kids sitting in our classes today. I plan on choosing one of the graphs to kick off the first GOW. 


Our first day of school is August 9, so I will most likely post the first GOW on August 14. 

May 15-19, 2017: No GOW this week
Next week: no GOW--FINALS Week! Congratulations, class of 2017!

 GOW May 8-12, 2017: Food Allergies 
(image soon, but click anyway...PDF is available!)

GOW May 1-5, 2017: Amusement Park Ticket Prices

GOW April 24-28, 2017: MARVEL Superhero Movie Box Office Sales

GOW April 17-21, 2017: Hate Crimes in the U.S.

*Click on the button below to see a detailed map of the Hate Groups that currently exist in the U.S. that may help you with your written analysis.  

No GOW April 10-14, 2017

GOW April 3-7, 2017: In-N-Out Burger vs. McDonald's Nutritional Facts

GOW March 27-31, 2017: Salaries & Unemployment; Highest Paying Majors

Teacher Resource: Powerpoint to introduce the Graph of the Week on the first days of school...click below!

(The graphs below are discussed in the powerpoint)



The Student Writing Prompt:


Analyze the graph below and write a reflection on what you think the graph is communicating to you. To guide you with your response, start with some observations.


  • What is the topic of the graph?
  • What do the x-axis and y-axis represent?
  • What are some observations you can make based on the graph?
  • What do you foresee happening about 5 years from now?



Questions to ask your students when reading graphs:


  • Is there an upward or downward trend?
  • Are there any sudden spikes in the graph?
  • What is being compared in the graph?
  • What prediction can I make for the future?
  • What inferences can I make about the graph?




Writing Prompt Template

Topics covered for the 2016-7 academic year:

8/15 Rio Summer Olympic Games Medal Count 

8/22 Trends in Obesity in the U.S. (2010 Healthy Kids Act impact)

8/29 Android vs. iPhone U.S. and worldwide

9/6 Total Income spent on food at home/away U.S. & Worldwide

9/12 Spread of the Zika Virus

9/19 College Football Player Recruits and Top States of NFL Recruits

9/26 Music Sales: Albums vs. Singles, Digital vs. Physical; Popular Genres over the years

10/3 Cyberbullying

10/10 Survey among likely voters: Most effective Attacks on Clinton and Trump

10/17 Decline in Bee Population & Economic Impact for Human Food Worldwide

10/24 Rise in Mobile Gaming among Kids & Teens

10/31 UC's Declining Freshmen Acceptance Rate

11/14 Employment and Labor Force Trends

11/28 Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sales

12/5 Student Sleep Statistics

12/12 Fatal Car Accidents (alcohol related)

1/9 Gas Consumption (# of therms used/month) in southern CA home

1/23 Presidential Approval Ratings

1/30 Marriage/Divorce Rates; Age to get married increases

2/6 Super Bowl Ticket Prices; Franchises with most championships

2/13 Valentine's Day Spending/Celebration

2/20 Best-Selling Cars/Trucks in the U.S.; Average Age of a Car

2/27 BAC Levels & Teens Driving Under the Influence

3/6 Music Revenue Through the Years and Who Gets Paid

3/13 Sports Injuries in Children/Teens

3/20 Immigrants and Crime Rates

3/27 Earnings & Unemployment; Highest Paying Majors

4/3 Nutritional Facts In-n-Out Burger vs. McDonald's 

4/17 Hate Crimes in the U.S.

4/24 Marvel Superhero Movie Box Office Sales

5/1 Amusement Park TIcket Prices; Disneyland Ticket Prices on the Rise

5/8 Food Allergies in Children

Topics covered for the 2015-6 academic year:

8/24 California's Water Consumption

8/31 2015 MLB Projections 

9/14 SAT Scores vs. Family Income

9/21 Donald Trump Ratings in GOP Race

9/28 Caffeine Consumption

10/5 Homicide Rates in U.S. and Los Angeles

10/12 Sleep vs. GPA Statistics

10/19 U.S. Recorded Music Sales and Revenue

10/26 Hurricane Frequency 

11/2 Halloween Spending

11/9 The Digital Life of American Teens

11/16 Diversity Among California Universities

11/30 Animal Cruelty in the U.S.

12/7 Mass Shootings in the U.S.

1/4 Fall in stock prices of SeaWorld since Blackfish release

1/11 America's Sugar Consumption

1/25 Snowfall Accumulation East Coast

2/1 L.A. Metro Ridership/Commuter Patterns in the U.S.

2/8 Super Bowl Viewership

2/15 Net Favorability of Candidates among Latino Voters

2/22 Drug Use Among Teens

2/29 Violent Crime In Anaheim, CA

3/7 Delegate Counts After Super Saturday

3/21 Mental Illness in Children, Eating Disorders

4/4 Estimated Yearly Budget to Attend College Full-Time

4/11 The Most Ideal Number of Children to Have

4/18 Kobe Bryant's 20-year career Avg Points per game

4/25 Most Popular Names in U.S.

5/2 Blood Alcohol Content, Drunk Driving Fatalities Decline

5/16 Summer Employment for American Teens Decline




Topics covered for the 2014-5 academic year:


9/2-9/5 MLB Postseason Standings

9/8-9/12 Obesity in the U.S.

9/15-9/19 iPhone Sales (U.S. & Global)

9/22-9/26 U.S. Poverty Rate

9/29-10/3 U.S. Auto Sales; travel by car, global

10/6-10/10 Crime Rate Indexes, LA vs. Anaheim

10/13-10/17 Average Sport Spectator Attendance Global; Avg. Value NFL & MLB Franchises

10/20-10/24 Avg. Daily Attendance at Loara H.S.

10/27-10/31 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Donation totals

11/3-11/7 Fast Food Sales, Global

12/1-12/5 UC Admission Rates

12/8-12 Disneyland Annual Attendance & Cost

1/5-1/9 Death by Firearms vs. Motor Vehicles in U.S.

1/26-1/30 Skills students need to be successful for life

2/2-2/6 Superbowl 30-second Ad Cost

2/9-2/13  Global Music Revenue & Most Popular Music Genres in U.S.

2/17-2/20 How much a Typical American Reads in a Year

2/23-2/27 Recycling Rates

3/2-3/6 Hit-and-Run Fatalities & Illegal Street Racing

3/16-3/20 Loara High School CAHSEE Results 2014

3/23-3/27 Newspaper Circulation Decline

4/6-4/10 Suicide Rates in the U.S.

4/13-4/17 Drought in California

4/20-4/24 Trends in Mail Volume, U.S.

4/27-5/1 L.A. City Worker Salaries

5/4-5/8 Technology Adoption since 1800s

5/18-5/22 E-Cigarette Use Among Teens

Topics covered for academic year 2013-14:


9/3-9/6 Teen Birth Rates

9/9-9/13 U.S. Video Rental Spending

9/16-9/20 Anaheim Violent & Property Crime Index

9/23-27 Life Expectancy

9/30-10/4 California Bullet Train Survey

10/7-10/11 Drug Use Among Teens & Among All Ages

10/14-10/18 Attitudes Toward Gay Marriage

10/21-10/25 Blood Alcohol Content Chart & Underage Drinking

10/28-11/1 Halloween Spending and Celebration

11/4-11/8 Trends in Obseity Among U.S. Children

11/12-11/15 Average Tuition Costs for UC & CSU schools

11/18-11/22 Top earning degrees & 20 most popular college majors

12/2- 12/6 Black Friday Sales

12/9-12/13 Texting Among Teens and Monthly Text Usage

1/7 - 1/11 Time Teens Spend Watching TV/other activities

1/27-1/31 Super Bowl Mobile App Usage 2012 & 2013

2/3-2/7 Super Bowl 30-second Ad Spot Costs 1967 to 2012

2/11-2/14 Winter Olympics Medal Count (Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014)

2/18-2/21 Fatalities & Injuries Statistics Caused by Teen Driving

2/24-2/28 Pregnancy, Birth, & Abortion Rates among teens aged 15-19 years old

3/3-3/7  Earnings and Job Growth for High School Graduates with No College Degree

3/10-3/14 Homeless Counts in California Counties

3/17-3/21 Global Music Revenue Sales (Dig vs CDs)

3/24-3/28 Plane Crash Statistics

4/7-4/11 Coachella Bands Performing 2014

4/14-4/18 School Shootings in the U.S.

4/21-4/25 Game Console Sales

4/28-5/2 E-Cigarette vs. Traditional Revenue & Use Among Students