Read About Slow Reveal Graphs

This site was created by Jenna Laib (@JennaLaib on twitter).

Getting Started

Articles & Books

Jaclyn Borowski & Sarah D. Sparks
“Graphs Are Hard for Students to Digest. Can a ‘Slow Reveal’ Help?” (EducationWeek: July 31, 2023.)

Sarah D. Sparks
“Teaching About Data Can Mean Leading Challenging Discussions” (EducationWeek: July 31, 2023.)

Theresa Wills
Teaching Math at a Distance, Grades K-12: A Practical Guide to Rich Remote Instruction (Corwin, 2020). (Chapter 7)

Kristen Taurence, Tamara Shreiner, and Bradford Dykes (Grand Valley State University)
“Revealing the Power of Data Visualizations in Social Studies Through Slow Reveal Graphs”  (Statistics Teacher, March 23, 2022)

Chris Hunter
“Slow Reveal Graphs” (Vector, Spring 2020, Volume 61, Issue 1)

Blog Posts

The following posts are a good primer on this routine. You can also read some of my additional thoughts on the Slow Reveal Graphs blog here: Blindspots and Asynchronous Slow Reveal Graphs.

Brian Bushart @bstockus
(Oct 2016) (May 2017) (August 2017)
Brian describes his initial thoughts around slow reveal graphs (numberless graphs), and describes some classroom case studies.

Chris Hunter @ChrisHunter36
(New York Times: What’s Going On In This Graph?)
Chris describes using the graphs during professional learning with teachers, including making content area connections. He also introduces the beautiful New York Times feature “What’s Going On In This Graph?”

Jenna Laib @jennalaib
(“Why is the math teacher here for social studies?”)
Jenna offers a vignette describing the use of a slow reveal graph to launch 4th grade work around colonialism and slavery in the Caribbean. 
(Notice, Feel, Wonder, and Act: How Can Data Inspire Us to Help?)
Jenna describes using the Notice/Feel/Wonder/Act framework to lead a slow reveal graph with her sixth grade students. This blog post includes video clips from two class sessions.
(Using Videos to Reflect on Practice, Student Identity, and Agency)
Jenna shares videos from an enactment of a slow reveal graph to explore issues of student identity and agency within her classroom.
(Using Slow Reveals to Illuminate Tiny but Powerful Details in Graphs)
Jenna shares how using the slow reveal technique helped students attend to subtle but significant details within a lesson co-authored with social studies teacher Kevin Olivera.

Ben Orlin, author of Math With Bad Drawings and Change is the Only Constant @benorlin
(What Graphs Reveal (If You Give Them Time))
Ben walks through some of the graphs on the site, ‘thinkaloud’ style, and shares the ‘magic’ behind the routine.
“Students have sharp eyes. They’ll catch things you missed, interpret features in ways you would never have guessed. They’ll build on each other, quibble with each other, learn from each other.
Perhaps best of all, there’s no shame in changing your mind.”

Brian @_b_p
(One graph. Ten minutes. An important conversation.)
Brian describes using a slow reveal with his high schooler students in the Bronx. “Through this graph of incarcerated Americans, I’ve myself learned that periodically presenting an interesting graph or data can be another way to build in time for important discussions around social justice and empowering students through math.”

Kassia Wedekind @kassiaowedekind
(Playing Around with Data, Part 1) (Part 2)
(Students as Reasoners in the Hands-Down Conversation)
Kassia describes her experiences experimenting with this routine in the elementary classroom, including in one “hands down” conversation.

Andy Cotgreave @acotgreave
(The importance of data storytelling in the next decade of data)
Andy writes about the power of using storytelling techniques to engage and help adults make sense of data. He references ‘Slow Reveal Graphs.’

Chase Orton @mathgeek76
(Grade 2) (Grade 1)
Chase describes using slow reveal graphs in lesson studies with grade 2 and grade 1 teachers. The lessons continue with the routine to have students generate mathematical statements and questions about the fully revealed data.