Algebra Correlation with Education Inequality
Provided by: Skew the Script|Published on: May 28, 2025|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Civics, Mathematics
Authors: Skew the Script
Location: North America > United States
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson from Skew the Script, students will understand negative and positive correlations, the correlation coefficient, and the difference between correlation and causation while analyzing the relationship between poverty, attendance, and test scores.
- Students will watch a video lecture, complete practice problems, and participate in class discussions.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This lesson includes many opportunities for students to practice and interact with the content, including a form to reflect on their learning, a worksheet to practice the concepts, and an interactive activity to work with the terms.
- This resource does an excellent job of integrating real-life and relevant topics with math concepts that may otherwise be abstract and difficult to understand.
Prerequisites
- Teachers will need to create a free account and enter their school location to access the materials.
- This topic may be uncomfortable for students experiencing poverty. Teachers should be ready to support students who struggle to participate in the discussion.
- Students should understand how to read graphs and calculate slope.
Differentiation & Implementation
- To make connections to climate change, students can discuss education, especially for women and girls, as a climate solution.
- Students can discuss the connection to the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 1: No Poverty and Goal 4: Quality Education. Students can discuss the interdependence of these and the other goals.
- Students can discuss other policies or programs to address the lurking variables, such as quality of schools, hunger, or loss of study time due to the need for students to work or care for siblings.
This resource from Skew the Script introduces students to the concepts of correlation and causation. It includes a short video lesson, approximately 10 minutes long, that explains correlation using helpful examples. Along with the video, a worksheet is provided for students to follow along. Additionally, there is a PowerPoint presentation containing many of the same slides as the video, as well as extra slides that offer further explanations. An Excel file is also included, which contains data that can be manipulated into different graphs to illustrate various correlations. However, it is important to note that there are no references cited to attribute the values used in the examples, and the data could not be verified. Despite these issues, this resource serves as a useful classroom tool for teaching about correlation and causation.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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