These data sets include astronomical constants, physical and orbital data for the planets, selected moons, future total solar eclipses, and related data regarding nearby stars, chemical elements, and constellations.
Teachers will engage students in a discussion about what the Census Bureau does and what types of information it collects. Then students will read and annotate informational texts from the Census Bureau and work with a partner to answer questions about the texts. Students will also analyze an infographic of people with different professions to determine how each of those people might use the data gathered by the Census Bureau; students will be asked to use evidence from the infographic text to support their answers. Students will then complete a wireframe (similar to a graphic organizer) for an online resource about how census data can help their own community.
Students will learn about how the U.S. government classifies race and ethnicity. The teacher will play a video of students at Park East High School in New York City who contacted the U.S. Census Bureau to start a conversation about the way race and ethnicity are identified in census surveys. Students will also read a blog post explaining how the Census Bureau has changed the way it collects data on race and ethnicity. In the last part of the activity, students will write a letter that could be sent to a leader in their community with the goal of sparking some type of change.
Using State Facts for Students, a data access tool from the U.S. Census Bureau, students will explore data about their state and voice their opinions on how the population has changed over time. Students will work in small groups to share their opinions, practicing oral communication and small-group discussion skills.
Students will read an informational text about variations in college completion rates for people born in different years. To help students better understand the text, the teacher will model how to annotate the first half. Students will then annotate the second half themselves. After that, students will answer a series of questions about the text, drawing inferences from what they’ve read and citing textual evidence to support their responses.
The teacher will facilitate a class discussion for students to share their opinions about young adulthood before they start the activity. After some teacher modeling, students will read, annotate, and answer questions about a technical document—including tables and graphs—to gather evidence to support conversations with their classmates about young adulthood. Then, students will write a paragraph about how their generation defines young adulthood.
This activity teaches students about the setting of Harper Lee’s famous novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which takes place during 3 years (1933–1935) of the Great Depression. Part 1 of this activity can be used before students start reading the novel to help them understand what life was like in the 1930s. In this part, students will examine and answer questions about census documents that feature unemployment numbers and related information. Part 2 can be completed after students have read the first few chapters of the novel. In this part, students will write a piece using the RAFT technique (role, audience, format, topic) to show what they learned about the 1930s and what they have read so far.
This activity serves as an introduction to a narrative writing assignment. To provide context for this activity, teachers will give students an overview of the Census Bureau. Then, students will complete a Quickwrite about their name and its history. After that, students will examine and answer questions about census data on popular last names, listen to a story about names, and complete a Quickwrite about that story. To further prepare for their narrative writing assignment about names (which is not part of this activity), students will jot down their thoughts in a graphic organizer.
Students will learn about the nature and importance of qualitative research as a complement to numerical data — specifically how sociologists use in-depth ethnographic research to study specific places and groups. After students investigate census data on the demographics of their school’s ZIP code, they will observe a location at their school (e.g., a student center or cafeteria). Students will record their notes, understanding the importance of reflexivity in field research. Then they will write a short paper about their field study.
Students will explore census data, including infographics and reports, to better understand rates of poverty in the nation.
Students will use tables and visualizations of data about geographic mobility to explore rates and patterns of migration within, and immigration to, the United States. Using Census Bureau data tools, students will learn about past reasons for migration and immigration and understand the internal and external stresses of fluctuations in population.
Students will look at data showing how the “millennial” generation differs from other generations. They will analyze and evaluate social changes evident in the data. Then they will work with a partner to compose a newsletter.
Students will learn why families are important social institutions and how family structures, household sizes, and living arrangements have changed substantially since the 1970s. In part 1, students will work in groups of three to four to analyze census data so that they may understand these changes. In part 2, students will watch a clip from the show “Modern Family” and compare their observations with census data.
Students will use images, U.S. Census Bureau data, and interactive maps to visualize and calculate arithmetic (population), agricultural, and physiological densities at local, regional, and national scales. They will also transfer their calculations to bar graphs.
Students will use U.S. Census Bureau data to learn how population pyramids describe population structures and to calculate age range population percentages for a selected state that will help them create a population pyramid.
Students will learn about and review key geography and census terms, discover how the U.S. Census Bureau organizes space geographically, and understand why census data are collected in this way.
Students will learn how the U.S. Census Bureau helps emergency responders provide support during natural disasters. Then, the teacher will set up various stations around the room to encourage peer-to-peer learning in small groups. Students will rotate from station to station, completing tasks such as creating an emergency preparedness kit, determining the states with the highest risk for hurricanes, and reviewing a series of photos of houses to determine which are most likely to survive a natural disaster.
To introduce demographic characteristics to students, teachers will help them create a population pyramid. Then, students will use an online tool called QuickFacts to find census data on demographic characteristics for a county in 2017. They will compare it to older data from the same county to find changes and trends over time. They will then use QuickFacts to examine data about their school’s county. Students will use this information to help them understand how business owners and community leaders use data on demographic characteristics to make decisions.
Students will participate in an online scavenger hunt based on a story that a geographer named Gina, who loves to travel, has escaped to an undisclosed location. It is their mission to bring her back to the school. Students must follow a series of clues about the location including landmarks, weather, and population—and use a U.S. Census Bureau data tool called State Facts for Students to answer questions that lead them one step closer to finding Gina.
This activity will help students understand that people’s perceptions of the world—places, regions, and environments—are constantly changing with new experiences and information. Students will examine Census Bureau data about Los Angeles, and about the rest of California and the United States, to challenge or confirm these perceptions.