LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Interpreting population statistics

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/09/g68/statistics.html

A lesson plan for Grades 5–7 Mathematics and Social Studies

Provider: National Geographic

About this resource

Appropriate grades
5–7
Subjects
mathematics (statistics), social studies (general)
Provider
National Geographic

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Creative Commons License

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In this lesson from the National Geographic Xpeditions website, students are introduced to population statistics such as birth, death, and literacy rates. They compare these indicators for several countries, graph the results, and hypothesize what their graphs reveal about the countries.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 5

  • Goal 1: The learner will apply key geographic concepts to the United States and other countries of North America.
    • Objective 1.05: Explain how and why population distribution differs within and between countries of North America.

Grade 6

  • Goal 1: The learner will use the five themes of geography and geographic tools to answer geographic questions and analyze geographic concepts.
    • Objective 1.03: Use tools such as maps, globes, graphs, charts, databases, models, and artifacts to compare data on different countries of South America and Europe and to identify patterns as well as similarities and differences among them.
  • Goal 2: The learner will assess the relationship between physical environment and cultural characteristics of selected societies and regions of South America and Europe.
    • Objective 2.02: Describe factors that influence changes in distribution patterns of population, resources, and climate in selected regions of South America and Europe and evaluate their impact on the environment.

Grade 7

  • Goal 1: The learner will use the five themes of geography and geographic tools to answer geographic questions and analyze geographic concepts.
    • Objective 1.03: Use tools such as maps, globes, graphs, charts, databases, models, and artifacts to compare data on different countries of Africa, Asia, and Australia and to identify patterns as well as similarities and differences.
  • Goal 2: The learner will assess the relationship between physical environment and cultural characteristics of selected societies and regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia.
    • Objective 2.02: Describe factors that influence changes in distribution patterns of population, resources, and climate in selected regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia and evaluate their impact on the environment.

Mathematics (2004)

Grade 5

  • Goal 4: Data Analysis and Probability - The learner will understand and use graphs and data analysis.
    • Objective 4.01: Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including stem-and-leaf plots) to solve problems.
    • Objective 4.02: Compare and contrast different representations of the same data; discuss the effectiveness of each representation.

Grade 6

  • Goal 4: Data Analysis and Probability - The learner will understand and determine probabilities.
    • Objective 4.03: Conduct experiments involving simple and compound events.
    • Objective 4.06: Design and conduct experiments or surveys to solve problems; report and analyze results

Grade 7

  • Goal 4: Data Analysis and Probability - The learner will understand and use graphs and data analysis.
    • Objective 4.02: Calculate, use, and interpret the mean, median, mode, range, frequency distribution, and inter-quartile range for a set of data.
    • Objective 4.05: Solve problems involving two or more sets of data using appropriate statistical measures.