Ireland's Online Resource for Parents & Teachers
Census 2011 for Schools
In the lead up to the 2011 census, sets of resource materials have been developed for schools to assist teachers and students to learn about the census and to understand how it impacts in our daily lives and in the context of some of the subjects studied at primary and second level.
These have been developed and piloted by primary and secondary teachers and in association with professional development services. The aim of these lessons is to create awareness of the census and its benefits amongst young people and to demonstrate how they can use census information as part of their studies in addition to providing an opportunity to teach skills in the collection, representation and interpretation of data.
By learning about Census 2011 and by engaging in related activities to solve real problems, students will value the importance of census statistics in helping to build our future as a nation. Each lesson has been developed specifically to incorporate the principles of the school curriculum.
Census School resources are available for both primary and second level as follows:
Primary Students
A set of topic-based lessons featuring Census Charlie has been developed to help children understand what the census is about and to learn how and why a census is conducted.
These have been developed and piloted by primary teachers for use in classes from first to sixth class. The aim of these lessons is to enable children to understand the census process and to teach skills in the collection, representation and interpretation of data. Census Charlie has lots of activities to make the learning fun.
Each lesson has been developed specifically to incorporate the principles of the Primary School Curriculum.
Census Lesson Packs include:
- Comprehensive teacher notes and lesson plans
- Census information and key messages
- The Census Story
- Census flashcard/fact cards
- Sample Classroom Census forms
- Graph templates and tally sheets
- ICT tasks
- Integration and linkage ideas
- Assessment tasks
- Home/school links
- Extension activities.
Second level
Resources are available for the following subjects:
- History
- CSPE
- Geography
History resources
This includes a set of History resources which has been developed by secondary teachers and is aimed at both teachers and students of junior and senior history. It addresses the use of old census records and the information these contain. The resources have been designed to be used by students at the following levels:
- Junior cycle: Using the 1901 and 1911 census. This resource is aimed specifically at First and Third year groups. Students can benefit in two areas from the use of census materials. In first year, the work of the historian is introduced, and students should find that the 1901 and 1911 census material is easy to engage with. In third year, the census material can be used to illustrate changing life-styles in Ireland from 1900. The single units on the 1901 and 1911 census returns of the family of Thomas Bateman (Dublin), and the 1901 return for Mary Anne Collins (County Cork) are suitable for use in first or third year
- Transition Year: Using the 1901 and 1911 Census. Students can undertake a more detailed examination of census materials, prior to undertaking a personal project based in part or in whole on the 1901 and 1911 census. The section on Evidence and Enquiry: Using the 1901 and 1911 census in the History classroom is suitable for use in whole or in part in the transition year classroom. Transition Year students will also draw on a series of exercises based on the census taken for Dunlavin, County Wicklow.
- Leaving Certificate. Students have the opportunity to use the 1901 and 1911 census materials for the research study report. Students can base their study on the 1901 and 1911 materials. Advice is given on how to proceed with a research study report using census materials, and some exemplars are given how evidence from the census can be used in the presentation of the “extended essay” using census information, including the 1901 census
Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) resources
This module has been written to enable students and teachers of Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) to explore the use of a Census in general and to raise awareness about Census 2011, in particular, in schools. It focuses on the concept of community development and how census information enables local authorities and central government to plan future developments. It also includes an Action Project - students can carry out their very own Class/Year Group Census and present the results.
The resource aims to:
- Raise awareness about Census 2011.
- Enable students to understand a Census.
- Show students how Census information is used.
- Take part in a Census Action Project.
Duration: 6 - 10 classes
Geography resources
This material has been developed to enable geography students and teachers to explore the use of the Census in the context of the geography curriculum. The first lesson gives an overview of the census and introduces the student to mapping in the context of the census. The subsequent lessons will guide students to explore the census results in the context of analyzing data for different geographical areas. This guides students through the use of the SAPMAP mapping tool, which is available along with extensive census publication data on the Census Publications page of the CSO website at www.cso.ie/census, to find the census data geographically by small areas and to analyse, compare and contrast data and report on selected population attributes. Outputs from the exercise include population pyramids, graphical representation of data and reporting of analysis and conclusions.
The school resources are available online at www.census.ie.
If you require further information on the census, please visit the Census 2011 website at www.census.ie or contact:
Central Statistics Office
Unit 4 Swords Business Campus
Swords, Co. Dublin
Lo Call 1890 313414 or
Email: censuspublicity@cso.ie
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