Waukesha Times

Author Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic visited Burleigh Elementary on October 10 to engage with 170 third graders. The visit was part of the promotion for her new children's book, "Daphne Draws Data," and included a graph-drawing activity with high school students from Elmbrook’s LAUNCH Future Teachers strand. The book features Daphne the Dragon and aims to teach young learners how data visualization can help solve problems.

"I always thought that data was a really interesting way to look at the world and help people answer questions," said Knaflic in response to a student's question. "This book was an opportunity to share my passion for data with my own children as well as children around the world."

After reading her book, Knaflic encouraged students to work in small groups to create graphs using data from a survey they had taken the previous week. These groups were facilitated by Future Teachers who employed various teaching strategies.

"This was a great learning experience for our 3rd grade students and our high school students," stated Chris Thompson, Elmbrook’s Chief Strategy Officer and event coordinator. "We are grateful to Cole and our LAUNCH Future Teacher students for making data visualization fun and impactful for our Burleigh Viking learners."

Knaflic is known for her best-selling "Storytelling with Data" series and drew inspiration from her own children for this latest book. Elmbrook expressed gratitude towards Boswell Books for providing copies of the books, continuing their tradition of hosting authors to promote literacy among students.