ESL CONNECT | Data Visualisation B2

Charts That Changed the World

This B2 lesson helps students understand how data visualisation can explain complex information, persuade people and sometimes mislead them.

Lead-in:

What makes a chart powerful: accuracy, beauty, simplicity or emotional impact?
Which type of chart do you find easiest to understand?
Can a chart be accurate but still misleading? How?
When have you seen a chart influence people’s opinions or decisions?

Open video on YouTube

Prep Part 1

Match the key words before watching the first part.

Questions

1

If data visualisation is everywhere,...

2

If an idea is sneered at,...

3

If a chart is devised,...

4

If deaths are clustered around a place,...

Answer options

Watch Part 1

Watch from 0:00 to about 1:31. Focus on Playfair and John Snow.

Watch on YouTube

Open the first part of the video.

Open video

Tapescript Gap Fill: First Minute

Listen to the first minute of the video. Complete the tapescript with the 8 missing words.

Complete the text

This is a pie . And this is Scottish political economist William Playfair, who created the world's first pie chart, along with some of the first line and bar . Data visualisation is everywhere today, but when Playfair first created them over 200 years ago, using to represent numbers was largely sneered at. How could drawings truly represent solid scientific ? But now data visualisation has become an art form of its own. Here are five charts that have, in their own way, changed the . One of the best known uses of data visualisation was devised in London in . At the time, it was widely believed that infectious diseases like were spread through the air. Surgeon John Snow felt differently. He was convinced that infections could be spread by dirty .

Missing words

Use each word once.

Comprehension 1

Click each question to reveal the answer.

Scottish political economist William Playfair.

They were largely sneered at because people doubted that drawings could represent scientific data.

They believed it was spread through the air.

He believed infections could be spread by dirty water.

Deaths from cholera were clustered around a water pump on Broad Street.

Vocabulary from Part 1

1Playfair created the first pie .

2Using drawings for numbers was once .

3Snow marked each cholera case with a .

4The pump was shut down and the outbreak .

Prep Part 2

Match the ideas before watching the second part.

Questions

1

If something has sweeping impact,...

2

If a chart challenges stereotypes,...

3

If data is used for misinformation,...

4

If a graphic is iconic,...

Answer options

Watch Part 2

Watch from about 1:31 to the end. Focus on Nightingale, Du Bois, misinformation and climate stripes.

Watch on YouTube

Open the second part of the video.

Open video

Comprehension 2

Click each question to reveal the answer.

That unsanitary hospital conditions were killing more soldiers than the battlefield.

A sort of uneven pie chart showing the causes of soldiers’ deaths.

They showed educational, social and business accomplishments of Black Americans after slavery was abolished.

It was based on fiction and used to support eugenics and racist propaganda.

They show how the planet has warmed since 1850 using blue and red colours.

Vocabulary from Part 2

1Nightingale used a visual to improve sanitary .

2Du Bois’ charts challenged racial .

3The Kallikak family tree was used for .

4The warming stripes show changing global .

Vocabulary Review

Review key B2 vocabulary from the video.

Word / phrase	Meaning	Example
data visualisation	using charts or graphics to show data	Data visualisation is everywhere today.
sneer at	mock or reject as not serious	Early charts were sneered at.
devise	create or invent	Snow devised a famous map.
outbreak	a sudden spread of disease	A cholera outbreak occurred in Soho.
clustered	grouped close together	Deaths were clustered around a pump.
sweeping impact	large and important effect	Nightingale’s work had sweeping impact.
stereotype	an unfair fixed idea about a group	Du Bois challenged stereotypes.
misinformation	false or misleading information	Data can be used for misinformation.
propaganda	information used to influence people politically	The chart was used in propaganda films.
iconic	very famous and easily recognised	The warming stripes are iconic.

Vocabulary Gap Fill

Complete the sentences using words and phrases from the vocabulary table.

1Using charts and graphics to present information is called .

2A sudden spread of disease is known as an .

3When points are grouped closely together, they are .

4False or misleading information is called .

5A graphic that is famous and easily recognised can be described as .

Grammar: Cause, Effect and Impact

Use B2 structures to explain how charts influence decisions and society.

Structure	Use	Example
led to + noun	result	Snow’s map led to the pump being shut down.
helped to + verb	positive contribution	Nightingale’s chart helped to improve hospitals.
was used to + verb	purpose in the passive	The Kallikak chart was used to support eugenics.
by showing + noun phrase	method	Du Bois challenged stereotypes by showing achievements.

Grammar Exercise 1: Complete the sentences

1Snow’s map led to the pump being .

2Nightingale’s chart helped to hospital conditions.

3The Kallikak chart was used to eugenics.

4Du Bois challenged stereotypes by achievements.

5The warming stripes help people climate change.

Grammar Exercise 2: Reveal the correction

Snow’s map led to the pump being shut down.

Nightingale’s chart helped to improve hospitals.

The chart was used to support eugenics.

Du Bois challenged stereotypes by showing achievements.

Grammar Exercise 3: Sentence Transformations

Use “led to”.
Because of Snow’s map, officials shut down the pump.

Use “helped to”.
Nightingale’s chart improved hospital conditions.

Use “was used to”.
People used the Kallikak chart to spread misinformation.

Use “by showing”.
Du Bois challenged stereotypes with evidence of achievements.

Discussion

Use the vocabulary and grammar from the lesson.

Why can visual information be more persuasive than numbers alone?
Which chart in the video helped people the most?
Which chart caused the most harm?
How can people check whether a chart is misleading?
Should charts always have titles and legends?
What modern issue needs a chart that could change the world?

Useful Language

Explaining impact	Evaluating charts	Giving opinions
It led to... It helped to... It was used to...	The chart is effective because... It could be misleading because... The data shows...	I’d argue that... From my perspective... The most powerful example is...

Role Play: Chart That Changes Minds

Practise presenting a data visualisation and explaining its impact.

Situation: A team must choose one chart to present to the public about an important issue.

Student A: Data Designer

Explain what the chart shows, why it is simple and why people will understand it.

Student B: Public Official

Ask questions about accuracy, possible misunderstanding and public impact.

Challenge

Use at least four phrases from the grammar section.

Data designer language	Public official language
This chart shows... It could lead to... It helps people understand...	Could it be misleading? What evidence supports it? How will people respond?