1. Class Census By: Justin Dodd

2. Indicator 3.1.3 Keep and report records of investigations and observations using tools, such as journals, charts, graphs, and computers. Found at: http://dc.doe.in.gov/Standards/AcademicStandards/Sta ndardSearch.aspx

3. Definitions Census: is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population.

4. Background Information It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and door-to-door censuses (to be taken every 10 years according to United Nations recommendations), agriculture, and business censuses. The term itself comes from Latin: during the Roman Republic the census was a list that kept track of all adult males fit for military service.United NationsLatinRoman Republic

5. Student Activity 1. Ask yourself how many boys and girls there are in the class and record the answer in your science journal 2. Ask yourself how many students have on a blue shirt, a green shirt, or another color of shirt. Again, record the information in your journal. 4. Answer the following questions: “How many people live in Indiana compared to California? Which state grew the most in population over the last ten years? Where do the most children under the age of five live?”

6. Student Activity cont’d 5. “How can you find the answers to those questions?” Respond in your journal. 6.Can you think of ways to represent lots of information in a simple way. Using the information already collected, make a chart of how many boys and girls or how many of each color shirt there are in the class. Record the chart in your journals.

7. Student Activity cont’d Using the data in the chart, make a bar graph of the results. Draw the graph and record it in your science journals. Make sure you remember to include a title and label both axes. Do you know of any other kinds of graphs you could have constructed. Demonstrate how the same information can be shown in different types of graphs such as a horizontal bar graph or pie graph.

8. Student Activity cont’d 1. Think of one “census-type” question to investigate in the classroom. Brainstorm and write your ideas in your journals. 2. Now collect your own data and record it in your science journal. 3. Next make a chart and then a graph of your data in your journals. 4. Finally report to the class, sharing your question and the data you collected.

9. Assessment What is a way to report your findings about the United States census? A.Scatter Plot B.Box and whisker chart C.Bar/pie Chart D.None of the above

10. Further Resources For more information on the Census use these additional websites. – www.2010.census.gov www.2010.census.gov – www.census.gov www.census.gov – www.census.gov/schools/2010_census/index.htm l www.census.gov/schools/2010_census/index.htm l