Procedure

1. Students receive a graph, table, or figure to interpret.

2. Identify (“What I See”): Students identify what they see regarding changes, trends, or differences depicted in the graph.

3. Students draw arrows and write a “What I See” comment for each arrow. Instruct students to be concise with their comments and focus on only what they observe. (They should not try to explain the meaning at this point.)

4. Interpret (“What It Means”): Students interpret the meaning of each “What I See” comment by writing a “What It Means” comment next to it. (They should not try to interpret the whole graph yet.)

5. Students write a caption in paragraph format. Have them start with a topic sentence that describes what the graph shows. Next, have them join each “What I See” comment with its corresponding “What It Means” comment to make a WIS-WIM sentence. Students should build a coherent paragraph out of their WIS-WIM sentences.