HEAD COUNT Literacy article During and Post-reading

FORMAT  Before we read, we should look at the format of the article.  What’s the title?  What does the lead say (the part right under the title)?  Are there any pictures in the article? Yes, it’s okay to look at the pictures before you read.  What kinds of pictures are there? Graphs? Maps? Photographs?  What information do these visual images seem to be about?

READ THE ARTICLE  After we’ve looked briefly at the article’s format, we should read the article.  Read the first paragraph.  What is this paragraph about? What would you say is the main focus of this paragraph?  Read the second paragraph.  What is this paragraph about? What would you say is the main focus of this paragraph?  Read the third paragraph.  What is this paragraph about? What would you say is the main focus of this paragraph?

GRAPHS, CHARTS, MAPS, AND PICTURES Look at the first chart in the article. There is a number 1 next to it. It is the one with the man standing on top of the world. Let’s examine this chart.  What is this chart explaining?  What information could we learn from reading this chart? There is a LOT of information in this one chart.

GRAPHS, CHARTS, MAPS, AND PICTURES  Look at the sign “Welcome to TEXAS.”  What does the caption say?  What does that even mean?  Can you imagine if we lived on a planet the size of Texas? We would be really crowded.

VISUAL IMAGES  Look at the bottom of the page. There is a list of the ten most populated countries. Let’s look at it.  Notice that there is a symbol of a man next to the chart. One man = 15 million people on this chart.  China has 1.3 billion people.  India has 1.2 billion people.  Where do we find the other eight countries?  What are those other countries?

CHART NUMBER 2  Look at chart number 2  Look at the title. It says... Is being fueled by high fertility in poor regions.  What is being fueled by high fertility in poor regions? Hint: Look back at number 1  Now look at the map of the world’s countries. What do those numbers on the countries mean? Hint: look on the side at the key. (Children per women)  Now, what information can we learn from this chart?  How many children does the average woman in the U.S. have? India? Germany? Brazil? Niger?  Which country has the lowest number of children per woman being born? The highest?

CHART NUMBER 3  Look at chart number 3.  The title of this chart says “...and by increases in life span.”  What is the beginning of this sentence? Hint: look back at number 1.  What information is this chart giving us?  In 1950, how many working-age people were there for every person over 65?  How many working-age people will there be for every person over 65 in 2050?  Why does that matter?

CHART NUMBER 4  Look at chart number 4.  The title of this chart says, “So the need for development will become even more critical”  What information does this chart give us? Hint: read the words in the shaded areas.  In 1950 there were about 3 billion people in less developed countries. There were about 1 billion in developed countries.  In 2050 there will be 1.5 billion people in developed countries, while the remaining population will be in less developed countries.  Look back at the title. What does this chart show us needs to happen before  How many people lack a hygienic toilet, according to the information in this chart?

REPRESENT  Look at the last chart in the article.  It is titled, “The most representative example of our 7 billion…”  How much of our world population lives in China?  How much of the world is Christian?  What percentage of males are there in the world?  How many of us live in a town or city?  What is the median (middle) age of the world’s population?  How much $$ do most of the people in the world make?  How much of the world does not use the Internet?

QUESTIONS FOR COMPREHENSION  Answer the questions for the article. These are on a separate paper.  We already talked about most of the answers. There are a few you may have to use your brain to figure out. Don’t worry. You’ll do fine. Just take your time and think about it.

ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS  For the answers, click here: