Students will learn about their state as they collect and organize business information using State Facts for Students, a U.S. Census Bureau data tool. Students have the opportunity to examine data about kids their age, as well as a variety of other facts selected to appeal to young students. Students will create a bar graph to represent how the numbers of selected business types have changed between 2010 and 2021.

Students will compare data for two states using comparison symbols and both rounded and unrounded (exact) numbers. Students will then write their own question to compare the data.

Students will examine how human actions and population changes can affect the environment. Students will examine a series of photographs that compare famous landmarks (Times Square, the Saltair Pavilion in Utah, Laguna Beach, and Niagara Falls) across time, and then they will identify human-generated changes in the physical environment, such as the addition of bridges and roads. Students will also examine U.S. Census Bureau population and housing data to see how population changes can contribute to changes in the physical environment. In addition, students will describe the impact of these changes on the environment.

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.

Students will learn about Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the telephone, understanding its impact on the U.S. population and the ways that phones have changed over time.

Students will analyze census data and graphs that demonstrate how certain aspects of the lives of African-Americans have changed since civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. Students will select a fact from these data, facts from other sources, and a historical photograph to include on a poster about King.

In this activity, students will look at historical images to learn about three types of Native American dwellings — teepees, pueblo adobe structures, and hogans. Students will make observations about the types of dwellings in the images. Then students will discuss their observations as a class.

This activity will help students understand that people’s perceptions of the world—places, regions, and environments—are constantly changing with new experiences and information. Students will examine Census Bureau data about Los Angeles, and about the rest of California and the United States, to challenge or confirm these perceptions.

Students will use a U.S. Census Bureau data tool called State Facts for Students to analyze the population data of their state. They will write the data in several forms, round the numbers, and then compare their state’s population with that of a nearby state.

Students will learn how the U.S. Census Bureau helps emergency responders provide support during natural disasters. Then, the teacher will set up various stations around the room to encourage peer-to-peer learning in small groups. Students will rotate from station to station, completing tasks such as creating an emergency preparedness kit, determining the states with the highest risk for hurricanes, and reviewing a series of photos of houses to determine which are most likely to survive a natural disaster.

Students will participate in an online scavenger hunt based on a story that a geographer named Gina, who loves to travel, has escaped to an undisclosed location. It is their mission to bring her back to the school. Students must follow a series of clues about the location including landmarks, weather, and population—and use a U.S. Census Bureau data tool called State Facts for Students to answer questions that lead them one step closer to finding Gina.

Using an interactive map that links to data sheets, students learn about their state as they collect, organize, analyze, map, and graph a variety of information in “State Facts for Students.” They have the opportunity to examine data about kids their age, as well as a variety of other facts selected to appeal to young students.

The U.S. Census Bureau publishes lessons that integrate census statistics. While lessons are categorized by subject, teachers may find good lessons applicable to their students in multiple subject groups. For instance, the lesson title "Immigration Nation" is filed under the Math section, but would work great in a geography classroom.

This Census Bureau page contains frequently updated stories in the form of short blog-style posts. Each story highlights a unique demographic topic and is supported by data and visuals. Use these as part of whole group instruction, or design small-group activities with America Counts to get students doing geography.

The Census Bureau publishes a number of interactive maps that allow students and teachers to explore up-to-date census data, as well as historical data, migration patterns, and many other demographic topics. Use this page as inspiration for both whole-group and small-group activities.

US Census Bureau International Database houses key demograhpic data for most countries in the world. Data can be displayed numberically in tables, or graphically as population pyramids and line graphs.

Part of the Census. Bureau Interactive Maps collection, this Census Flows Mapper is worth highlighting on its own. Use it with students to allow exploration of internal migration patterns of United states.

The Quick Facts page allows teachers to access, explore, and compare basic Census data at multiple scales. As an example, compare Census data in the same table for the U.S.A (national scale), your state (sub-national scale), and your county or city (local scale). This data can be used to frame lessons on demographic patterns. Explore the data available and use what interests you and your students. This data can help develop several of the Foundational Geography Skills, as well as the Guiding Questions, found in the UEN standards document.

The Census Bureau publishes a large and continually updated video library. While many videos are not relevant to the K-12 classroom, use the filters to find useful videos like From Pyramids to Pillars: Two Centuries of Change in the U.S. Population, 1860-2060. You can also check these videos out on the Census Bureau YouTube page.

This activity is designed to be part of a unit on the U.S. Constitution, as it focuses on U.S. voting trends. Students will analyze bar and line graphs showing the percentages of people (by race, age, sex, region, and education) who voted in elections between 1964 and 2020. Students will use these data to respond to the question “Who votes in American elections?”