CreatingASurvey(OriginVSRace)

//Learning About Percentages in Census Figures//** [|Interdisciplinary Connections]
 * The Minority Majority
 * Grades:** 6-8, 9-12
 * Subjects:** Geography, Mathematics, Social Studies

Review the [|Academic Content Standards] related to this lesson. Students will: 1. Respond to a sample census, then reflect on why questions of race and national origin are different. 2. Learn about recent changes in the U.S. population by reading and discussing "Hispanics Now Largest Minority, Census Shows." 3. Brainstorm categories that would best define the student population in their school, then create a census to be tested out on the class, then administered throughout the entire school; conduct the census in class and compile the results. 4. Individually, create a summary report of the census conducted in class, calculating the percentages of each category recorded.
 * Overview of Lesson Plan:** In this lesson, students design a census class and school, then tabulate the results.
 * Suggested Time Allowance:** Two 90 min. Project Blocks
 * Objectives:**

-student journals -pens/pencils -paper -classroom blackboard -copies of "Hispanics Now Largest Minority, Census Shows" (one per student) -copies of "Table DP-1 Profiles of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000" http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/dp1/2kh00.pdf (one per student) -copy of sample short form from 2000 Census http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/d61a.pdf (optional) -resources about the U.S. Census(geography textbooks, library references, computers with Internet access) 1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Upon arriving in class, students respond to the following prompt (written on the board or copied in a handout prior to class): "Please answer the following questions about yourself: 1. What is your sex? Male Female 2. What is your age and your date of birth? (Month/Day/Year) What was your age on April 1, 2003? 3. Are you Spanish/Hispanic/Latino? No, not Spanish/Hispanic/Latino Yes, Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano Yes, Puerto Rican Yes, Cuban Yes, other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino - Print group below: 4. What is your race? Mark the race(s) to indicate what you consider yourself to be. White Black, African Am., or Negro Asian Indian Chinese Filipino Japanese Korean Vietnamese Native Hawaiian Guamarian or Chomorro Somoan Other Pacific Islander - Print race below: American Indian or Alaska Native - Print name of enrolled or principal tribe below: Some other race - Print race below: After a few minutes, explain to the students that the "census" questions they have just answered have been adapted from the "short form" of the 2000 U.S. Census ([| http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/d61a.pdf]) [You may want to print and pass around a copy of this form so students have an opportunity to look at it.] Why do you think the Census Bureau asks respondents to answer questions about one's "Hispanic origin" and one's "Race"? How are these different? Next, distribute copies of "Table DP-1 Profiles of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000" ([| http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/dp1/2kh00.pdf]) and review the results shown in the "Race" and "Hispanic or Latino And Race" categories. Be sure that students understand the definitions for Hispanic or Latino" and "Race" provided by this summary report of the 2000 Census. According to this report, "People who identify with the terms 'Hispanic' or 'Latino' are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the questionnaire-'Mexican,' 'Puerto Rican,' or 'Cuban' - as well as those who indicate that they are 'other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino.' Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race." The concept of "Race" alone, on the other hand, is "used by the Census Bureau [to] reflect self-identification by people according to the race or races with which they most closely identify. These categories are sociopolitical constructs and should not be interpreted as being scientific or anthropological in nature. Furthermore, the race categories include both racial and national-origin groups." 2. As a class, read and discuss the article "Hispanics Now Largest Minority, Census Shows," focusing on the following questions: a. According to the latest figures from the Census Bureau, how does the population of Hispanics compare to blacks in the U.S.? b. How is this different from earlier census figures? c. On what are the new numbers based? d. How much has the Latino population grown, according to the new figures? e. How does this growth compare to the growth in the black, and to white, non-Hispanic populations? f. According to the article, what accounts for the growth in the Hispanic population? g. Why have black and Hispanic groups sometimes felt in opposition to each other, according tot he article? h. Why does William H. Frey of the University of Michigan say "What these numbers reveal is a bit of a conundrum"? i. Why has the population growth of Latinos grown faster than many people anticipated? j. How is the population of Latinos expected to change in the next decade, according to the article? 3. Explain to the students that they will be creating their own census that will best account for the diversity of their class's population (and eventually the population of the entire school). As a whole, the class should begin by brainstorming the demographic categories that would best define students at their school (gender and age, grade level, race, country of origin of ancestors, neighborhood, favorite music genre and snack food, etc.). Then, divide students into groups, according to the categories they have created. (For example, if there are five categories, there should be five groups.) Allow each group to create one or more questions for a class census that would allow census takers to accurately poll respondents. Remind students that these questions should gather specific information, not just answers such as "yes" or "no." Each group should consider the following questions before writing the final draft of their census questions (written on the board for easier student access): --Does this question warrant a "yes" or "no" answer? --What information will this question reveal about the respondent? --Why is this information important for your school census? --How do you think students are likely to respond to your questions? Do these predictions suggest multiple-choice answers that you can include? --Does a respondent need to give away confidential information to answer the question? If so, how can it be reworded so that respondents can remain anonymous? After students formulate questions (about 10 minutes), ask a representative from each group to write their questions on the board. When all the questions have been recorded, explain that the class will be taking the census to ensure that the questions are clear and easy to understand. Ask students to take out a sheet of paper and record the question and their own response, then pass the paper forward. Divide the response pages among the groups and ask each group to compile the results on a single sheet of paper. Collect the results from each group and tally the numbers on the board, following each question that was written there. Ask students to record these tallies, as they will be necessary to complete the homework. Also, record the number of students attending class(total sample size) and ask students to record this, as well. For a future class, consider distributing your census to the entire school. The teacher, or a student, should type up the census, photocopy it, and distribute copies to other teachers interested in having their students participate. (To reach the entire student body, the teacher may want to distribute through homeroom teachers and ask that surveys be returned to the teacher's mailbox or classroom.) Compile the results in a future class, and be sure to answer the following questions: What is the estimated sample size (the school population according to school records)? How many students responded to the census? The difference in these figures represents a margin of error for conclusions about the entire student body. How can this margin of error be improved? 4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Individually, students will respond to the following prompt (written on the board for students to copy before leaving class): "Using the census results tabulated in class, create a census report, similar to "Table DP-1 Profiles of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000." For each census category, calculate the percentage of responses as a proportion of the total class size. What results surprised you the most. Explain why." --Why is it important for people to participate in the census? --Why is answering the U.S. Census required by law? --How is ancestry different than race? --According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 1990 U.S. Census droppped the following ancestors from its list on the "long form" questionaire: German, Croatian, Ecuadoran, Cajun, Irish, Thai, and Slovak. In 2000, the Census Bureau added Cambodian and Nigerian. Do you think these accurately reflect changes in the U.S. population? Why or why not? Students will be evaluated based on initial survey response, thoughtful participation in class discussions, careful consideration creating census questions, active participation tallying census figures, and thoughtful completion of a census report with accurate population percentages. minority, ethnicity, demographers, advocacy, anticipated, benchmark, status, multiculturalism, conundrum, migration, migrants, spur, spurt, intermarry, categorizing 1. Map the results of your class (or school) census, showing student populations in different neighborhoods, or locations of ancestral origin around the world. 2. Research the sites of origin for "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino" cultures around the world. Locate each country that would be included as an origin for people who identify themselves as "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." For each country, answer the following: What is the population of this country? How does population compare to the population of people in the U.S. that identifies with this country of origin? **Interdisciplinary Connections:** Journalism- Research the differences in culture and terminology between "Spanish," "Hispanic," and "Latino." Similarly, explore the difference between "Black," African-American," and "Negro." Create a survey and ask people which terms they prefer, then write an article exploring the differences. What reason are given for using these different terms? What significance does each term carry for a person? Language Arts- Read a book about the experience of a Hispanic or Latino teenager assimilating to a new life in the United States, and write a review. Titles to consider include "Down Theses Mean Streets," by Piri Thomas, "How the Garcia Sisters Lost Their Accents," by Julia Alvarez, and "The House on Mango Street," by Sandra Cisneros. U.S. Census Bureau ([|http://www.census.gov]) includes news releases about the bureau and information about the 2000 Census plans and operations. United States Historical Census Data Browser (http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/census/) is an online database of data that describes the people and the economy of the U.S. for each state and county from 1790 to 1970. Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives (http://latino.si.edu/) is dedicated to promoting the history and culture of Latinos in the Americas.
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 * Attribution**

This lesson was adapted from a lesson plan from [|www.newyorktimes.com] titled “The Minority Majority: //Learning About Percentages in Census Figures.//” The full URL is given below: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20030123thursday.html