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Learning Activity: Analyze impacts of population growth

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(CNN Student News) -- Students will analyze the potential effects of rapid population growth on American life.

Procedure

Discuss with students the U.S. Census Bureau report stating that on October 17, 2006, the U.S. population reached 300 million. Ask: When did the U.S. population hit 100 million? When did the U.S. population hit 200 million? What aspects of life in the United States do you think are most or least affected by such vast and rapid increases in population?

Organize students into small groups, and refer them to the show transcript and related Web sites. Have students compare American life in 1967 with American life in 2006, specifically in terms of population numbers, lifestyle, family life, cost of living, current events and pop culture.

Then, encourage students to hypothesize to what extent, if at all, population increases have impacted the U.S. economically, politically, socially and environmentally. Ask: What ripple effects, if any, have increases in population had on the ways we work, the ways we live, the ways we are governed and the ways in which we interact with our geography and our environment? Have students illustrate their hypotheses in the form of graphic organizers (e.g. charts, graphs, mind maps, etc.).

After the groups have presented their findings, discuss what life in the U.S. may be like when the population reaches 400 million. Challenge students to write or produce fictional news stories announcing that the U.S. population has reached 400 million. In their reports, students should compare American life at that time to what it was like in 2006. Have them hypothesize what, if any, aspects of American life may change as a result of another increase of 100 million people.

Correlated Standards

NCSS Themes

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

II. Time, Continuity and Change: Students will learn about the ways human beings view themselves in and over time.

III. People, Places and Environments: Students will make informed and critical decisions about the relationship between human beings and their environment.

IV. Individual Development and Identity: Students will explore the influences on individual development and identity including culture, groups and institutions.

VI. Power, Authority and Governance: Students will understand the historical development of structures of power, authority and governance and their evolving

VII. Production, Distribution and Consumption: Students will learn about how people organize for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and

Keywords

census, population, demography

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