Grade Levels: 6-8, 9-12

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Census, and supports the standard of explaining how a democracy relies on people’s responsible participation. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ask students:

  • What does it mean to be a U.S. citizen? 
  • What are the different rights and responsibilities of citizens?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read the description on the Census topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Assign Related Reading and have students read one of the five articles. Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Assign Census Quiz, prompting students to apply essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND

Students express what they learned about the census while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a PSA persuading people to participate in the census.
  • Make-a-Map: Create a concept map identifying and explaining different ways the U.S. government uses census data.
  • Creative Coding: Code a digital museum exhibit featuring artifacts and symbols representing how the U.S. census has changed over time.

More to Explore  

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of U.S. governmental systems with these topics: Population Growth, Democracy, and Voting

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments