August 30, 2010 | Updated We know it can be hard to find the right infographic to complement your curriculum without packing a lunch and making a day of it – especially when it comes to social studies, current events and politics, history and economics. So we’ve tried to do the work for you.
Below are some of what we consider the best Times infographics in these areas. But there are many more. To find an infographic suited to a specific curricular element, try the multimedia archive and relevant blogs, such asEconomix.
For more about infographics in general, look at yesterday’s post, Teaching With Infographics | Places to Start. And since we’ll be adding new posts all week with subject-specific examples, visit posts tagged with the word“infographics” to find the whole collection.
Current Events and Politics
- Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill – The multimedia collection on the spillincludes an animation that shows what caused the oil rig failure and interactive maps showing how the oil slick spread and where it has made landfall.
- 2010 Midterm Elections – The Politics section has clickable maps showing information and statistics on the races for the House and Senateand for governor. Students can consider the import of the electoral college by looking at “How Much Is Your Vote Worth?” And for a humorous take on electoral politics, see the Op-Art piece “The Electoral Map.” And students can consider ballot design with “How Design Can Save Democracy.”
- Government Budgets and Economic Policy – “Obama’s 2011 Budget Proposal: How It’s Spent” runs down how funds are disbursed and compares 2011’s proposed budget to 2010 spending, “Budget Forecasts, Compared With Reality” shows how accurate past White House budget projections have been, “Bulls, Bears, Donkeys and Elephants” compares the stock market index under Republican and Democratic presidents and “Can a President Tame the Business Cycle?” shows how seven economic indicators, such as minimum wage and personal savings, changed under each president since Truman. When it comes to tracking the government bailouts, see “Adding Up the Government’s Total Bailout Tab” and “The Bailouts: An Accounting.”
- The Supreme Court – “Measuring the Conservatism of the Roberts Court” plots the current Court’s decisions on the political spectrum, and“How Your Views Compare With the Court” allows users to measure their opinions on major issues against public opinion and the Roberts Court.
