Family Counts: Math Lesson
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Economics, History, Mathematics
Authors: Population Education
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This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this lesson, students will analyze fertility and mortality data for various time periods from historical records to determine how they have changed, then discuss the cultural and economic factors that influenced these changes.
- Students will compare the New Castle County, Delaware data to local and national data, providing their own family tree data for comparison.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- By providing their own data for one of the activities, students will feel connected to the lesson.
- Images of the original historical documents help the data and associated task feel authentic.
Prerequisites
- As mentioned in the Procedure section, the historical documents contain language that is now inappropriate and teachers should address this with students before starting the lesson.
- Students should know how to calculate averages and graph data points.
- Students should be ready to support students while they fill out the information for their own families, especially students who do not know one or both of their parents as this activity may upset them.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Teachers can strategically group students for the activity by pairing students who are strong in data analysis and calculation or systems thinking with those who need support in one or both of these areas.
- This lesson is suggested for APUSH classes, as it aligns with the AP U.S. History framework.
- This lesson can introduce the topic of population growth and its impact on resource use, global emissions, and climate change.
- Students can find fertility data from another country and compare it to the national data, discussing the differences.
- Social studies classes can make connections to the lack of equal rights for women in various countries around the world and how that affects their access to education, access to financial resources, or other social justice issues.
There is no climate science to review in this resource.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
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