In this assessment, we watch the beautiful work of Chris Jordan and pause it with key questions.
Here is the video (you can download it as well here:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats.html
Source URL: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats.html
Teacher's Note: I recommend watching the whole video to make sure each stat is appropriate for your class. I usually omit the 7th statistic as it is about breast augmentation.
The questions I ask for the assessment change throughout the day, but they are always based on the stats he gives. I like to offer several scaffolded questions after each stat. For example, when he mentions that 1 million plastic cups are used every 6 hours on airline flights, I might ask:
Here are some other sample questions: The Art of Statistics Sample Questions
After we go through all the questions, I skip the breast augmentation and show a bit of his closing speech, which is about the importance of big numbers in our lives. You can find a lot of other fantastic pieces of art on his page:
http://www.chrisjordan.com/gallery/rtn/#unsinkable
I usually add a homework assignment where I ask students to analyze his art with a question of their own.