FILL IN YOUR FUTURE(Community Involvement) Grades 5-6 Skills and Objectives: * Students will explore the theme of Census 2000. * Students will elaborate on a Census 2000 slogan. Suggested Groupings-Small groups Getting Started: 1. Introduce the lesson by telling students that they will use their creative thinking skills to discuss a Census 2000 slogan: "This is Your Future. Don't Leave It Blank." In addition, ask your students to design a billboard around the slogan. * Ask students to think about what the census slogan means. Have students share their ideas infor with the class. Explain that this slogan emphasizes the need to fill out and return their census questionnaires so that the needs of individual communities and the nation, now and in the future, will be based on accurate information. Many federal, tribal, state, and local programs use census information to allocate funds and to determine the need for roads, schools, etc. * Explain to students that the number of congresspersons representing their state in Washington is determined by state population totals gathered by the U.S. Census. If one state's population increases while another state's decreases, the first state could gain a representative in Congress while the second state could lose one. This reassignment of congressional seats based on changes in state population is called reapportionment. Voting districts can also be changed based on census data. The principle of "one person, one vote" requires that congressional and state districts have approximately equal population totals. 2. Touch upon media literacy with your students. Choose a few advertisements from magazines, and discuss with them what makes these advertisements appealing and successful. * What makes a good advertising slogan? Have students give some examples and explain their answers. (Answers will vary. Students should understand that a good slogan gets to the point and is easy to remember.) * Where might you see billboards? (Possible answers: on a highway; on a building or barn.) Why would a billboard be an effective way to advertise? (Possible answers: because it is large and eye-catching.) 3. Students can visit the U.S Census Bureau Web site (www.census.gov) or the library for information they could use in writing copy for their billboards. Using the Activity Worksheets: * Distribute copies of the Lesson 3 Activity Worksheets (pages 10 and 11) to your class and introduce students to the lesson. Wrapping Up: * As a class, discuss students' billboard designs. Ask students how they chose their designs? What factors did they consider? * Where could you place your billboard? Where would the most people see it? (Answers will vary.) * How could the census affect your future? (Possible answers: new schools, roads, or hospitals could be built; my school district might receive more funding for books and programs.) Extension Activity: * Have older students select a specific target group and direct their billboard designs to that group. Then, have them present their designs to an adult group (PTA, school board, etc.) and display them throughout the community to encourage participation in the census. Chalkboard Definitions slogan: a brief, catchy phrase used in advertising. congressional representative: an official elected to the House of Representatives. data: factual information. billboard: a large, outdoor sign used for advertising. Lesson 3 Activity Worksheet FILL IN YOUR FUTURE * The U.S. Constitution says the government must do a census every ten years. Filling in the census form is important because it's like filling in the future. Consider these census facts: * The census count determines how many Congressional representatives your state gets. * Information from the census helps state and local governments decide where new roads, parks, schools, and other services are needed. * Businesses use census data to help locate their factories and stores. I By law, all the information collected in the census is kept confidential. To help people understand the importance of completing and returning their census forms, the U.S. Census Bureau has created a slogan for Census 2000: "This is Your Future. Don't Leave It Blank." Imagine you have been asked to advertise this slogan. How would you present this idea on a billboard? 1. Copywriting As a group, discuss the Census 2000 slogan. Then in your own words, explain what you think the slogan means. How could you persuade people to fill out their census forms? What could you say? 2. Designing Work with your group and use your ideas to design a billboard featuring the Census 2000 slogan. What illustrations or symbols would help get the message across? * Use the space below to sketch your billboard design. MAKING PLANS(Community Involvement) Grades 7-8 Skills and Objectives: * Students will use real-life problem-solving skills to choose a site for a new school. Suggested Groupings-Small groups, individuals Getting Started: 1. Ask students how they think census information is used. Explain that federal, tribal, state, and local governments, and businesses use census information on age, gender, language, housing, employment, income, and transportation to tailor services to a community's needs. This information is an integral part of urban planning decisions. Census data are often organized by census tracts (see "Chalkboard Definitions" box). * Tell students they will do a site-planning exercise by using census-style data and other factors to pick a new school site. Ask: What factors would you consider in selecting a site for a new school? 2. You may wish to do the following as a warm-up activity: * Write these categories on the chalkboard: 1. Children aged 6-12 2. Adults aged 65+ 3. Households without cars * Ask students to name the category or categories that would most affect plans for the following: A. A new bus route (2, 3) B. A new middle school/jr. high school (1) C. A new community center (1, 2, 3) How might a person from each of the age categories feel about each plan? For example: How would adults 65 and older feel about a new school being built near them? 3. Discuss with students how information about other characteristics (such as gender, language, employment) can help local governments serve their constituents. If necessary, give an example, such as using census information on languages spoken in the home as a guideline for hiring bilingual workers at social service agencies. Using Activity Worksheets: * Distribute copies of the Lesson 4 Activity Worksheets (pages 13 and 14) to the class and introduce students to the lesson. * Invite students to come up with their own examples of how census information might be used. Students could look on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site (www.census.gov) or in the library for additional categories of census data. Wrapping Up: * Have groups compare the sites they chose for a new school. Most groups probably chose Site B based on what is nearby (convenient transportation, residential housing, a large school-age population) and what is not nearby (industrial areas, a highway, other existing schools). * You might wish to stage a mock Town Meeting to discuss students' site selections. At this meeting, add a cost consideration to the selection process. Propose to students that it will cost twice as much to build a school on Site B, as it will to build on Site A or C. Building a school on Site B would mean raising taxes. Ask students to rethink their site selection with this in mind. Would their decision remain the same? Why or why not? Extension Activity: Have groups brainstorm for other planning decisions that could be made from the data in this lesson, for example: a new playground or children's hospital. Chalkboard Definitions census tracts: small, relatively permanent subdivisions of counties that generally have 2,500 to 8,000 residents. Tract boundaries usually remain the same from census to census, allowing people to compare data from several censuses. statistics: a collection of numerical data. Lesson 4 Activity Worksheet MAKING PLANS One way that census data are gathered and organized is by census tracts. Census tracts are small areas within counties that generally have between 2,500 and 8,000 residents, averaging 4,000 per tract. Local governments can use tract statistics to make decisions, such as which areas could use a new bus route, or which neighborhoods need more playgrounds. What if you were a local government official? How would you use census-style data to make plans? Give it a try. A local school district has to decide where to build a new middle school/junior high school. The planning chart below helps you analyze each site. Use the School Planning Map and the Census Table on page 14 to fill in the chart below and choose the best site for the new school. For each factor on the chart, rank the sites from 1 (best) to 3 (worst). Explain your reasoning for the ranks you choose. Then add up the rankings for each site to see which one comes out with the lowest total. That's your site! Planning Chart Factors to Consider: School-Age Populations for site A, B, and C, and reasoning. Schools should be located near areas where lots of kids live. Which sites are near tracts with large school-age populations? Existing Schools for site A, B, and C, and reasoning. Should schools be close together, or spread out among areas with lots of children? Industrial Areas for site A, B, and C, and reasoning. Factories can cause noise and air pollution. How might this affect a school? Transportation for site A, B, and C, and reasoning. How will kids get to school? Are there roads leading to the site, or will the community have to build new ones? Is it dangerous to put a school near a large highway? Totals from columns Site A, Site B, and Site C. School Planning Map (Map with symbols pictured) Census Table Tract 314 has 1,673 children ages 6-12. Tract 315 has 2,170 children ages 6-12. Tract 316 has 863 children ages 6-12. Tract 317 has 1,397 children ages 6-12. Tract 318 has 1,169 children ages 6-12. Tract 319 has 942 children ages 6-12. Map Key (triangle pictured)-Existing Middle School/Junior High School (letters a, b, and c inscribed in circles pictured)-Possible New School Sites (diagonally striped bar pictured)-Industrial (dotted bar pictured)-Commercial (horizontally striped bar pictured)-Residential (interstate highway symbol pictured)-Interstate Highway (local road symbol pictured)-County Road * Which site did you choose? Explain why you picked this site.