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Return to Five Lessons in Black History |
The African American Population in U.S. History
Subjects
Grade
Brief Description
Charts, graphs, and maps help students learn about the growth of the African-American population throughout history.
Objectives
The following are among the many skills these activities will teach/reinforce (depending on the activity and the grade in which it is used):
Keywords
African American, Black History, February, census, population, map, chart, table, graph, directions, sequence, ABC order, alphabetical order, map key, making inferences, percent, percentage
Lesson Plan
This lesson plan provides resources for teachers to use in group activities or to create student work sheets. The resources challenge students to use real population data to learn about the history of the African-American population. Each chart or map below is accompanied by a handful of questions. You might use a projector to project these charts or the map onto a wall, then ask the questions as an oral activity; or use the data/questions below to create a student work sheet.
Activity 1: The African-American Population Through the Years (Grades 5-12)
The following chart shows the total population of the United States since 1860. It also shows the African-American population in each of those years.
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Sample Questions:
Bonus Question
The following activity is for students who have been taught the concept of percent.
Option: You might teach students to use an online calculator, like one of these:
Percent Calculator #1 Percent Calculator #2
Ask: What percent of the total U.S. population was African American? Calculate the percent of African Americans in the total U.S. population for each year on the chart. (Answers appear in the Assessment section below.)
Activity 2: African-American Population By State (Grades 4-8)
The following chart shows ten states with the largest populations of African-American people in the year 2000. The states are listed in ABC order. Your task is to arrange the states in order from the state with the largest African-American population to the state with the 10th largest population. (Answers appear in Assessment section below.)
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Extension Activity
Use the online Create-a-Graph tool or your favorite graphing software to create a graph illustrating the above data.
Activity 3: Read a "U.S. African-American Population in 2000 Map (Grades 3-12)
For this activity, project, or provide a clear copy of, the African-American Population Map (scroll down to page 6). The map shows, county by county, the percentage of African Americans in the United States. Give students time to study the map. Then pose some true or false statements about the map. Following are some sample questions for a variety of grade levels.
For Grades 3-5: Tell students that the colored areas on the map show counties within states that have African-American populations of 5 percent or greater. Students then respond to general statements about the map.
For Grades 6-up: Students study more closely the shadings of color on the map. They use the maps color key to respond to specific statements about the map. You could start this activity with true-false statements for grades 3-5 (see above), and then add the following statements or others that you write. In addition, you might write a few statements about the African-American population of the state in which you and your students live.
Assessment
Grade students on the number of correct responses for each activity.
Activity 1: The African-American Population Through the Years (Grades 5-12)
Questions and answers appear in the Lesson Plan section above.
Bonus Question:
The African- American population represented the following percents of the entire U.S. population in each year listed. (All percents are rounded.)
Activity 2: African-American Population By State (Grades 4-8)
In 2000, the states, in order of their African-American populations from largest to smallest were as follows: New York, California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Maryland, Louisiana
Activity 3: Read a "U.S. African-American Population in 2000 Map (Grades 3-12)
All correct responses appear as part of the activity in the Lesson Plan section above.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.7 Evaluating Data
NL-ENG.K-12.8 Developing Research Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.9 Multicultural Understanding
MATHEMATICS: Number and Operations
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-NUM.3-5.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-NUM.6-8.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
GRADES 9 - 12
NM-NUM.9-12.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems
MATHEMATICS: Measurement
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-MEA.3-5.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-MEA.6-8.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
GRADES 9 - 12
NM-MEA.9-12.1 Understand Measurable Attributes of Objects and the Units, Systems, and Processes of Measurement
MATHEMATICS: Data Analysis and Probability
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-DATA.3-5.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-DATA.6-8.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
GRADES 9 - 12
NM-DATA.9-12.3 Develop and Evaluate Inferences and Predictions That Are Based on Data
MATHEMATICS: Problem Solving
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-PROB.PK-12.2 Solve Problems That Arise in Mathematics and in Other Contexts
NM-PROB.PK-12.3 Apply and Adapt a Variety of Appropriate Strategies to Solve Problems
MATHEMATICS: Connections
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-CONN.PK-12.3 Recognize and Apply Mathematics in Contexts Outside of Mathematics
MATHEMATICS: Representation
GRADES Pre-K - 12
NM-REP.PK-12.2 Select, Apply, and Translate Among Mathematical Representations to Solve Problems
NM-REP.PK-12.3 Use Representations to Model and Interpret Physical, Social, and Mathematical Phenomena
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Geography
GRADES K - 12
NSS-G.K-12.1 The World in Spatial Terms
NSS-G.K-12.2 Places and Regions
NSS-G.K-12.4 Human Systems
TECHNOLOGY
GRADES K - 12
NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts
NT.K-12.5 Technology Research tools
Click to return to this week's Lesson Planning article, Lessons in Black History.
See additional lessons and resources on Education World's special Black History Month archive page.
Updated 2/07/2012