Turn a Graph into a Story

Help students interpret data by imagining the human story behind it.

Teaching context:
Great for English, Geography or Civics lessons that combine critical thinking and data analysis.

Basic AI Prompt:
Create a story based on this graph.

Enhanced AI Prompt:
Write a short story inspired by a graph showing a sharp population drop in a rural town. Include reasons for the decline and emotional impacts on characters.

Spice it up:
Ask AI to generate a writing prompt and matching graph together as a two-part visual and narrative exercise.

Lesson implementation:
Use this prompt to build students’ creative and analytical thinking. Present the graph first and ask students to describe it in literal terms. Then challenge them to imagine the backstory — who is affected and why? Use the AI-generated story as a model and ask students to write their own versions.

This technique works especially well with census data, climate graphs, or economic trends. It can be part of a broader unit on cause and effect, or cross-curricular tasks exploring human impact. Great during Literacy Week or data literacy projects. Pair with Google Sheets or Gapminder for graph generation.

Got ideas on different ways to use this prompt? Share them with the class in the comments below!

Also, if you liked this, you'll love 250 AI Prompts for English Teachers in our books section!