Purpose: How much is a million? A million of anything can be difficult to conceptualize. Population is reported in large numbers - millions and billions. How do we bring meaning to these numbers for ourselves, as well as, to our students? This activity will bring a clearer understanding to these numbers in a fun, challenging and meaningful manner.

Geographic Standards: The geographically informed person knows and understands:

Standard 9:

The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on the Earth's surface.

Geographic Skills:

1. Ask geographic questions
2. Acquire geographic information
3. Organize geographic information
4. Analyze geographic information
5. Answer geographic questions

Geographic Themes: Location

Materials:

• Materials found in the immediate environment to use for counting
• Classroom supplies
• Index Cards
• Calculator
• World map
• Population Data

Student Objectives: The students will be able to:

1. participate in classroom discussions.
2. calculate using measuring concepts.
3. write fact or fiction statements.
4. identify places on a world map.
5. analyze data.
6. evaluate their learning through classroom discussions and learning log.

Procedure:

1. Have the students share their thoughts on a million. What is a million? What would you like to have a million of? How much space would a million people occupy?
2. Select items found in the home and/or school environment to use in a fact or fiction statement. Have the students develop fact or fiction statement using the concept of a million. For example: Fact or Fiction. It takes 150 Tablespoons of uncooked medium grain rice to make a million grains of rice. Encourage students to develop statements using a diversity of measuring concepts.
3. Have the students write their statement(s) on index cards.
4. Encourage the students to challenge one another by sharing their statement with others. The students should attempt to see if this statement is indeed fact or fiction.
5. Engage the students in a discussion of what they have now learned about a "million." What generalization can be made about what is a million? What would their school community or community look like if there were a million people?
6. Have the students use resource materials to find the population of five cities, states or countries. You may use a particular theme like the most populous U.S. cities, the most polluted states/countries, the most industrialized countries, etc. to focus on.
7. Have the students organize the above information from the least populated to the most populated. Do the students have a clearer understanding of the largeness of these numbers?
8. Plot the location of these five sites and the population on a world map. What information can be found?

Assessment:

• Analyze the students' understanding of a million through the Fact or Fiction Statement. Create rubrics.
• Student participation in classroom discussion
• Learning Log entry