Article
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Infographic,

What Happens Every 60 Seconds

From the March/April 2020 Issue
Featured Skill: Main Idea and Supporting Details,
Common Core Standards
  • Anchor Standards
    R.1, R.2, R.5, R.7, W.1, W.4
  • Grade 4
    RI.4.1, RI.4.2, RI.4.5, RI.4.7, W.4.1, W.4.4
  • Grade 5
    RI.5.1, RI.5.2, RI.5.5, RI.5.7, W.5.1, W.5.4
  • Grade 6
    RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.5, RI.6.7, W.6.1, W.6.4
TEKS Standards
  • Grade 4
    4.9f; 4.12a
  • Grade 5
    5.9f; 5.12a
  • Grade 6
    6.8f; 6.11a

Presentation View
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Apple makes $105,130

694,444 hours of YouTube videos are watched

Your heart pumps 1.5 gallons of blood

More than 5 million pounds of garbage are created

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6,000 bolts of lightning strike Earth’s surface

You blink 15-20 times

More than 57,800 photos are posted on Instagram

16 million texts are sent

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3 dogs are adopted from shelters in the U.S.

4.8 million searches are typed into Google

4,500 McDonald’s hamburgers are eaten

250 babies are born

Write to Win

If this happens in 60 seconds, what happens every 24 hours? Calculate each fact to cover one day. Write a paragraph about which fact you find most surprising. Send your work to “60 Seconds Contest” by May 1. Five winners will each receive a Storyworks prize. See our Contest Page for details.

Need help getting started? Use this helpful activity.

This article was originally published in the March/April 2020 issue.    

Activities (2)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
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Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Can't-Miss Teaching Extras

Did you know that a baby is born every 9 seconds? Check out the U.S. Census Bureau website, which has a ticker that tracks the U.S. and world populations. It’s fascinating to watch the numbers grow!

Now that students have learned about what can happen every minute—just imagine everything that happens every day! The wild facts in the book Every Day on Earth: Fun Facts That Happen Every 24 Hours will blow you away.

More About the Story

Skills

reading for information, evaluating    

Complexity Factors

Purpose

The infographic provides statistics on how much or how often a variety of activities take place in 60 seconds.

Structure

Information is presented using text, numbers, and images.

Language

The language is simple.

Knowledge Demands 

The text refers to tech companies (Apple and Google) and includes some large and complex numbers.  

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

1. Reading and Discussing 

Project the infographic as students follow along in their magazines.

Prompt students to use the headline, subhead, and central image to identify the topic of the infographic.

Ask: Is the purpose of the infographic to

  • explain something to you?
  • convince you of something?
  • tell you how to do something?

Have students look over the labels and images surrounding the central image. Ask:

  • How are they related to the central image? (They provide details about the main idea.)

Break students into groups to read each section of the infographic and discuss what they find interesting, surprising, or convincing.

Come back together as a class and ask volunteers to summarize the main idea and supporting details from the infographic.

2. Writing

Preview the writing prompt in the “Write to Win” box.

Download and distribute the guided-writing activity that goes along with the infographic.

Have students respond to the writing prompt. If you wish, send their responses to our infographic contest. 

Ideas to Engage and Inspire

Have students create their own infographics! Download our “Make Your Own Infographic” activity.

Text-to-Speech