The objectives of this learning activity, which compares students' estimates for selected death rates with government census figures, are to orient college students to sociology's methods and content and to increase their comprehension of their first reading assignment on Durkheim's study of suicide. (Author/RM)

Discusses how teachers can use U.S. census data in secondary U.S. history classes. Four census-based activities dealing with the themes of social mobility among Detroit and Alabama Blacks, definition of megalopolis, poverty in Boston, and Irish immigrants in Walpole, Massachusetts, in 1850 are described. (AM)

Using the U.S. Bureau of the Census's National Travel Survey as the primary data source, the exercises described will help high school or college level students develop basic geographic skills, including data interpretation, map construction, and spatial analysis. They will also familiarize students with broad patterns of recreation travel. (RM)

In this lesson, students study census data showing the names and occupations of early settlers of the English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, to discern how life changed in the Jamestown settlement in the first few years after it was founded. Learning objectives of the lesson plan are: (1) to gain experience gathering information from primary…

The Small Area Statistics (SAS) are a standard set of census statistics for small areas throughout Great Britain. The SAS are a valuable teaching resource with many different applications. As an illustration, how the SAS were used to prepare college students in an urban geography course for fieldwork is described. (RM)

Historical demography--the study of population in the past, its relation to the environment and economy, and the effects that inter-relationship had on the broad development of society--is an approach that can make the study of history dynamic. The historical development and methodology for historical demography are discussed. (RM)

Outlines background information on census taking in North America, including the constitutional mandate for the U.S. census and the first census in 1790. Delineates the way that the data for the 1990 Census will be collected. Includes text of a letter written by George Washington concerning an undercount in the 1790 census. Concludes with a…

Surveys changes in the content of the U.S. census from 1790 to 1990. Focuses on how the information collected changed with the growth and development of the country. Lists principal topics covered in the population census since 1790, and in the housing census since 1940. Includes facsimiles of 1910 and 1990 census forms. (LS)

Argues that using census data allows students to practice doing history, and points out the growing importance of quantitative social history as a rationale for including more census data in history courses. Describes information to be found in various census products, suggesting ways history teachers might use census data in the classroom. (LS)

Every 10 years since 1790, the U.S. government has taken a census to enumerate the population to apportion seats in the House of Representatives. In each decennial census, citizens from the famous to the unsung and the infamous appear. They include favorite figures of literature, such as Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder, who were not just…

Uses microfilm copies of the 1880 and 1900 census records which tallied information about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family to teach about using census data. Suggests activities that develop vocabulary skills, teach document analysis, utilize map skills, and require research and synthesis skills. (LS)