Writing for Change

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Writing for Change

Activity Description

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.

Suggested Grade Level

Approximate Time Required

120 minutes

Learning Objectives

Students will cite evidence from a video to explain how students at a high school in New York City got the attention of a government agency.
Students will use persuasive writing skills to write a letter to a leader in their community with the goal of sparking change.

Materials Required

The student version of this activity, 14 pages
Teacher computer with Internet access and speakers and a projector to display Web sites

This activity uses the following online resource:

Stats in Action: Park East High School Video
www.census.gov/library/video/sia_park_east_hs.html

Activity Items

The following items are part of this activity. The items and their sources appear at the end of this teacher version.

Item 1: Race and Ethnicity
Item 2: 2020 Census Questionnaire Excerpts
Item 3: American Community Survey Questionnaire Excerpts
Item 4: Improved Race and Ethnicity Measures Reveal U.S. Population Is Much More Multiracial