Getting To Know Your Neighbor

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Getting To Know Your Neighbor

Activity Description

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 2022. 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.

Suggested Grade Level

5-6

Approximate Time Required

75 Minutes

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to use an online tool to identify and describe the demographic characteristics of the people in their community.
Students will be able to identify the types of services or businesses that are in demand based on the demographic characteristics of their community.
Students will be able to analyze and help create a visual representation of data on demographic characteristics.

Materials Required

The student version of this activity, 6 pages
Data from the QuickFacts online tool
-Option 1: A computer with Internet access for each student or small groups of students (preferred)
-Option 2: A teacher computer with Internet access and a projector to display Web sites
-Option 3: Copies of printed QuickFacts data for each student or small groups of students for the county
where the school is located (one page of data per student or small group)

Activity Item

This activity uses the following online tool:

QuickFacts
www.census.gov/quickfacts

For more information to help you introduce your students to the U.S. Census Bureau, read “Census Bureau 101 for Students.” This information sheet can be printed and passed out to your students as well.

Download Teacher Version

Download Student Version