Making Sense of the Storm: Analyzing and Interpreting Data

When we reach our Weather and Climate unit, the student notebooks fill with charts, graphs, and maps. They work to point out trends and ask questions. This is where the Science and Engineering Practice of Analyzing and Interpreting Data comes alive.
Start with Pre-Reading
Before students dive into a graph, we pause to pre-read it together. This step helps them slow down and make sense of what they are looking at. We look carefully at the title, the x-axis, the y-axis, and any labels or keys. We talk about what each part represents and what kind of data is being shown.
This simple routine helps students avoid jumping straight to conclusions. They learn to ask, "What is the graph trying to tell me?" before asking, "What does it mean?" That shift in order makes a big difference.
Seeing Beyond the Numbers
At first, students look at a weather graph the same way they would read a sentence, from left to right, searching for something to label "right." But with guidance, they start to notice relationships and patterns. They ask things like, "Why are some sections increasing and some sections remain constant?" or "What does that sudden drop in air pressure mean?"
That is the shift I am looking for. They move from describing to wondering, and from wondering to explaining.
Data Has a Story
Each graph we study tells a story. The challenge is helping students find it. Sometimes we compare climate data from Jeju and Cairo. Other times, we study how temperature and air pressure interact over several days. I ask students to look for patterns, to think about cause and effect, and to use evidence to support their ideas.
To help make this work accessible to all students, we use sentence starters such as:
"When  increases,  tends to..."
"The data suggests that..."
"This might mean that..."
These small supports help students focus less on decoding the graph and more on thinking about what the data actually means.
Talking Through the Patterns
Before they write, students discuss what they see. These conversations are where real understanding grows. When a student says, "I think the warm front caused that rise in humidity," and another replies, "But the wind direction changed first," I know they are thinking critically. They are testing ideas, revising them, and learning that scientific understanding is built through dialogue.
From Patterns to Predictions
By the end of the unit, students use real-world data to make their own short-term weather forecasts. They combine their understanding of air masses, fronts, and local data to predict what might happen next. Their final CER writing is not just about stating a claim; it is about showing how their interpretation of the data supports it.
Why This Practice Matters
Helping students analyze and interpret data is more than a science goal. It is a life skill. They learn that data is not something distant or abstract. It is evidence, something they can use to explain, predict, and understand the world around them.
When students start to see patterns in the clouds and connections in the data, science becomes more than facts on a page. It becomes a way of thinking, and that is where the real learning happens.