STUDENT MATERIALS
How can maps contribute to our understanding of local water quality issues?
“What Makes a Map?”
In this activity, you will decide what a good map looks like by analyzing some poor examples. First, you will look at some “bad” maps. Later on in the activity, you will read an article about how some maps “lie,” either intentionally or unintentionally.
“Examples of Bad Maps” sources
“Google Maps: Identifying Test Sites”
In this activity, you will identify local bodies of water on a map and answer questions about them on a corresponding handout.
“Correlation and Causation”
In this activity, you will learn about the difference between correlation and causation. First, you will read about examples of data correlation and answer corresponding questions. Later, you will read about different kinds of correlation, as well as the mistakes people often make when trying to interpret correlations, and answer corresponding questions. Finally, you may be asked to explore the Spurious Correlations website.
“Tales of Correlation” handout
“Geographic Correlation and Causation” article
“The Basics of Correlation and Causation” handout
“Exploring Data Correlations”
In this activity, you will explore how well sets of publicly available data correlate with the water quality data they collected. Throughout the activity, you will use online databases (and other resources) to access data sets.