Purpose: What shape is your population in? How do we organize information on population that is easy to understand? How do we organize data to show the age structure of a particular population? What information can be interpreted through a population pyramid? How does one make connections between the population pyramid, where these people live, the physical environment, and the use of resources? What does the information tell us about the present and the future? This exercise will allow students to organize and interpret population patterns through a "population pyramid" and student conducted research.

Geographic Standards: The geographically informed person knows and understands:

Standard 3:

How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface.

Standard 9:

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

Standard 10:

The characteristics, distribution and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.

Standard 12:

The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.

Standard 18:

How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.

Geographic Skills

• Ask geographic questions
• Acquire geographic information
• Organize geographic information
• Analyze geographic information
• Answer geographic questions

Geographic Themes: Place, Location, Movement, Human Environment Interaction, Region

Materials

• Population Data
• Worksheet for organizing a Population Pyramid
• Overhead Transparency from Page 9 of the 1998 GAW Teacher's Handbook
• Calculator
• Resource Materials on a particular community, city, state, and/or country being studied
• Classroom supplies
• World Map

Student Objectives: The students will be able to:

1. participate in classroom discussions.
2. analyze and interpret data from a Population Pyramid.
3. develop a Population Pyramid.
4. participate in and complete a research paper of a particular place.
5. share information and generalizations with others.
6. organize the population data and information.
7. predict population trends for the future.

Procedure:
Part I

1. Have the students discuss the information from the Population Pyramid found on page 9 of the 1998 GAW Teacher's Handbook. Which age group has the largest percentage of people? Which bar represents the ages of the students in your classroom? Where is there a greater percentage of people - in the class's age group or the age group above? What percentage of the population is male/female? What percentage of the population is female and older than 80? What does the population pyramid tell us?
2. Select a particular community, city, state, or country to study. Locate the population data of that particular site. Have the students create a population pyramid like the one on the transparency.
3. Discuss the information gathered from the population pyramid just created. Use questions from Step 1.
4. Attach this population pyramid, the population pyramid of Nigeria, and the population pyramid of the United States to a world map. Compare/Contrast the data from each of the population pyramids. Are there historical factors that have influenced the populations of these sites?
5. Have the students research the settlement patterns of the above three sites. Where have the people settled? Are they near natural resources? Are there physical features that have created barriers for settlement? Are there physical features that encourage or influence where people settle? What do people do for a living?
6. Compare and contrast the findings with the three sites. Is there a pattern in where people settle? Where do the majority of the people live in each of the three sites?

Part II

1. Have the students develop population pyramids for different countries. Select a theme such as the most industrialized countries and have the students create population pyramids for each of these countries. Post these population pyramids on the corresponding site on the world map. What generalizations can be made? Is there a pattern of population differences among the continents? Verify these generalizations with the use of available resource materials and people.

Part III

1. Have the students create a population pyramid of a particular country that has a pressing issue, such as China. What information can be gotten from this population pyramid? What implications are there for the future? Should government step in to help plan for the future?

Assessment
Create rubrics for student products and discussions.