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Learning Activity: Hispanic-Americans by the numbers

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(CNN Student News) -- Students will research demographic data related to Hispanic-Americans and display this information using charts, tables or graphs. Students will then analyze the meaning and significance of this data.

Procedure

Point out to students that Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15) celebrates the culture and traditions of U.S. residents who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, "September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries--Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively."

Refer student groups to the U.S. Census Bureau Web site listed to access demographic information related to Hispanic-Americans. Have each group select a different topic from the list and research the statistical data related to its topic. Next, instruct each group to express its information in the form of a chart, table or graph. Then, have each group trade its completed chart or graph with that of another group. Direct each group to analyze the meaning and significance of the other group's data and share its findings with the class.

Correlated Standards

Extension: Instruct students to write essays that explore the following question: How have Hispanic-Americans contributed to U.S. culture? Have students share their essays and discuss how Hispanic-Americans have influenced their own community.

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies

Standard I. Culture: Students will learn about culture and cultural diversity.

Standard V. Individuals, Groups and Institutions Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.

The Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/) are published by the National Council for Social Studies (http://ncss.org/).

Standard for Mathematics

Standard 6: Understands and applies basic and advanced concepts of statistics and data analysis

Level III Grade : 6-8

Benchmark 4: Reads and interprets data in charts, tables, plots (e.g., stem-and-leaf, box-and-whiskers, scatter), and graphs (e.g., bar, circle, line)

Benchmark 6: Organizes and displays data using tables, graphs (e.g., line, circle, bar), frequency distributions, and plots (e.g., stem-and-leaf, box-and-whiskers, scatter)

Level IV Grade : 9-12

Benchmark 1: Selects and uses the best method of representing and describing a set of data (e.g., scatter plot, line graph, two-way table)

McREL: Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education (Copyright 2000 McREL) is published online by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) (http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks), 2550 S. Parker Road, Suite 500, Aurora, CO 80014

Keywords

Hispanic-Americans, U.S. Census Bureau, minority population, demographic, culture, Hispanic Heritage Month

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