The ability to understand graphic representations of data and information has become an important component of literacy and an important skill for young readers to develop. Particularly in the social sciences, elementary students will find the content they are reading accompanied by diagrams, graphs, and other visual methods of presenting information. At the link below, you will find content on various types of visual representations your students may be expected to encounter in their studies and how to help them interpret these representations.

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/diagrams-timelines-and-tables

Often, the best way to represent numerical information in the social sciences is in graphic form. Putting data in visual form makes it easier to see. To give an example, historical trends over time can be quickly grasped in a line graph. To add more detail to this example, the link below shows the many ways time trends can be represented. Click each representation for an explanation of method and use.

https://datavizcatalogue.com/search/time.html

Geography is a branch of social science that is especially reliant on information translated to visual form.

Maps
A map is a graphic representation of a portion of Earth's surface drawn to a particular scale. Maps use colors, symbols, and labels to represent features found on Earth's surface. Maps can show features on the ground (such as cities and highways), and their location and the distance between them. Maps can also show variations in elevation and existing vegetative cover.

Photographs
Photographs allow geographers to see actual features of the landscape. They can be taken on the ground (ground perspective) and from the air in an airplane (aerial perspective) or from high above the earth by a satellite. Satellite photography reveals topography and may also be used to study weather.

Graphs
Graphs represent quantitative relationships between variables, and provide a framework for statistical analysis. In geography, these variables may consist of populations (of people, plants, or animals), locations and their characteristics, time, and amounts. Types of graphs include bar graphs, line graphs, and pie charts.

Geographical Information System (GIS)
GIS is a massive database for storage, separation, and analysis of geographical data. GIS can layer information specific to particular questions: this makes patterns and relationships more visible by excluding extraneous data. It can provide database, model, and map views.

The National Geographic link below outlines types of geographic visual information and what students should know about them.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/geographic-skills/3/