Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
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Workshop 6 Reflect on how you teach the census in your classroom. How would you teach it differently with primary sources? Now consider these lesson ideas contributed by Primary Sources teachers:
I began by introducing students to the census documents. This was the first time they had seen census documents, so we had a whole-group discussion about the categories and how the data might be used. I also used the activities from Primary Sources, Activity One: How Would You Fill Out the Census Form? and Activity Two: What Resources Are Needed in a Community?, to help students become more comfortable using the census. Once the students were familiar with the census documents, we used them to shed new light on old topics; for example, immigration laws and statistics. I divided students into small groups and asked each group to first examine and then compare and contrast the different census documents. Using this information, the groups prepared for a whole-group discussion on the validity of the census and how the results shape national policy and everyday life. Finally, they each wrote a brief position paper in which they assessed whether the census is necessary, useful, and influential in setting government policy. Student work was guided by the following questions:
To conclude, I gave students excerpts from the 1920s immigration laws and asked them the following questions:
Tip: You can get your students more involved with the census by using data from your own city. Go to the Resources Page for census data on U.S. cities.
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Workshop 6: Introduction | Before You Watch | Lectures & Activities | Classroom Applications | Resources |
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