U.S. flag

                    An official website of the United States government

                        Here’s how you know
                    Here’s how you know**Official websites use .gov**
                                
                                A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
                    **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                                
                                A **lock** (A locked padlock) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
 
 Skip Header

    Activities
    
        Resources
    
        Standards
    
        About

				
				
                

                Search data, events, resources, and more

                Search

          
        
            
            
	
	
	Search

	

	Search

            Menu

	Activities

                        Bring your classroom to life with real world data.  Select an activity that supplements what you are currently teaching in subjects including English, Math, Geography and History.

                    

                    Activities Overview
                        
                            Math
                        
                            History/Social Studies
                        
                            Geography
                        
                            Sociology
                        English
                        
                            Home and Distance Learning Activities
                        
                            Grades K - 2
                        
                            Grades 3 - 5
                        
                            Grades 6 - 8
                        
                            Grades 9 - 12
            
                Resources

                        Increase the data literacy of your students with resources that display data in fun ways.  Choose from monthly Fun Facts, 5-Minute Challenge warm-up activities, maps, videos and more.

                    

                    Apportionment Resources
                        
                            Constitution Day
                        
                            Data Access Tools
                        
                            Fun Facts
                        
                            Games
                        
                            Historical Documents and Images
                        Kahoot! Games
                        
                            Learn About the Decennial Census
                        
                            Maps
                        
                            Monthly Highlights
                        
                            Videos
                        
                            Visualizations
                        
                            Warm-Up Activities
            
                Standards

                        Statistics in Schools activities are based on relevant education standards and guidelines that outline the foundational knowledge and skills students should have at certain levels.

                    

                    Overview
                        
                            Math
                        
                            History
                        Geography
                        
                            Sociology
                        
                            English
            
                About

                        Statistics in Schools is a free Census Bureau program that uses the data to create resources for K-12 students in a variety of subjects.

                    

                    About Us
                        
                            Program Benefits
                        
                            Census 101 for Students
                        Teacher's Guide to Tools
                        
                            Newsroom
                        
                            Partner with SIS
                        
                            Contact Us


      
    
    Activities
                
                    Resources
                
                    Standards
                
                    About
                

                Activities
                    
                        Resources
                    
                        Standards
                    
                        About

                  
                
                    Activities Overview
                        
                            Math
                        
                            History/Social Studies
                        
                            Geography
                        
                            Sociology
                        
                            English
                        
                            Home and Distance Learning Activities
                        
                            Grades K - 2
                        
                            Grades 3 - 5
                        
                            Grades 6 - 8
                        
                            Grades 9 - 12
                
                    Apportionment Resources
                        
                            Constitution Day
                        
                            Data Access Tools
                        
                            Fun Facts
                        
                            Games
                        
                            Historical Documents and Images
                        
                            Kahoot! Games
                        
                            Learn About the Decennial Census
                        
                            Maps
                        
                            Monthly Highlights
                        
                            Videos
                        
                            Visualizations
                        
                            Warm-Up Activities
                
                    Overview
                        
                            Math
                        
                            History
                        
                            Geography
                        
                            Sociology
                        
                            English
                
                    About Us
                        
                            Program Benefits
                        
                            Census 101 for Students
                        
                            Teacher's Guide to Tools
                        
                            Newsroom
                        
                            Partner with SIS
                        
                            Contact Us
 
 //
            Census.gov
                    /
		
            
            Statistics in Schools
                    /
		
            
            English Worksheets
                    /
		
            
            Narratives and Names
 Narratives and Names
 Skip Navigation
 Narratives and Names
 Activity Description
 Hello, my name is...

		This activity serves as an introduction to a narrative writing assignment. To provide context for this activity, teachers will give students an overview of the Census Bureau. Then, students will complete a Quickwrite about their name and its history. After that, students will examine and answer questions about census data on popular last names, listen to a story about names, and complete a Quickwrite about that story. To further prepare for their narrative writing assignment about names (which is not part of this activity), students will jot down their thoughts in a graphic organizer.
 Suggested Grade Level
 4-5
 Approximate Time Required
 160 minutes (potentially split across different days)
 Learning Objectives
 Students will be able to explain what the U.S. Census Bureau does, what type of data it collects, and what the data help explain.
Students will be able to reflect on their own name using descriptive details as part of a creative writing exercise.
Students will be able to use a graphic organizer to identify a topic, determine the series of events they want to tell (and in what order), develop characters, note important details, and describe a problem and solution in preparation for writing a narrative.
 Materials Required
 The student version of this activity, 9 pages
An age-appropriate story about a name (see the “During the Activity” section for ideas)
Teacher computer with Internet access and a projector to display Web sites
 Activity Items
 The following items are part of this activity. The items and their sources appear at the end of this
teacher version.
Item 1: Top 15 Most Popular Last Names by Rank
Item 2: Top 15 Last Names With the Largest Frequency Increase
 Download Teacher Version
 Download Student Version
 Share  Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn
 
 Teacher Notes Blooms Taxonomy 
 Students will **analyze**census data and information to learn how trends in last names are good indicators of changes in the population.
 Subject English
 Topics Human population characteristics
Narrative writing
Quickwrites
 Skills Taught Analyzing data
Brainstorming
Comparing time periods
Completing a graphic organizer
Identifying an essay topic
Making comparisons
Understanding the sequence of events
 
 
 Thumbs Up ImageYes
            Thumbs Down ImageNo
 Top
 Back to Header Receive Updates
	        To sign up for updates please enter your email address.
        
        Enter your email address
	        Subscribe

	


            

            Stay Current
                            
                            America Counts
                                
                                    Director’s Blog
                                
                                    Deputy Director’s Blog
                                
                                    Random Samplings
                                
                                    Research Matters

                        Stay Connected
                            
                            Contact
                                
                                    Support
                                
                                    Jobs

                    Follow

	            Information Quality

                    |
	            
                    Data Linkage Infrastructure

                    |
	            
                    Data Protection and Privacy Policy

                    |
	            
                    Accessibility

                    |
	            
                    FOIA

                    |
	            
                    Inspector General

                    |
	            
                    No FEAR Act

                    |
	            
                    U.S. Department of Commerce

                    |
	            
                    USA.gov

            Measuring America's People, Places, and Economy