A Statistical Look at Jewish History

Inspired by the release of the HERITAGE: CIVILIZATION AND THE JEWS DVD BOXED SET, this lesson is designed to complement the students' study of the history of the Jewish Diaspora. Using population figures from the last hundred years, students can understand the importance of percentages in studying trends and cultural phenomena. Ultimately, students will apply the skills they've learned to look at their own ethnic group and figure out how it is represented in the U.S. and around the world. Students will also examine their school community's ethnic composition and see how it compares to the national figures.

Grade Level:
6 - 10

Time Allotment:
5-7 class periods

Subject Matter:
Mathematics

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

Work cooperatively
Examine charts and graphs and be able to manipulate numbers to determine percentages
Gather primary and secondary data
Make predictions about the future using the current demographic information
Find a correlation between the data and critical events in history

Standards

National Standards

Mathematics Standard 6 Level 3, #5
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/outputSQL.asp
?Subject=1&Standard=6&Level=3&Benchmark=5
Uses data and statistical measures for a variety of purposes (e.g., formulating hypotheses, making predictions, testing conjectures).

Mathematics Standard 6 Level 3, #6
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/outputSQL.asp
?Subject=1&Standard=6&Level=3&Benchmark=5
Organizes and displays data using tables, graphs (e.g., line, circle, bar), frequency distributions, and plots (e.g., stem-and-leaf, box-and-whiskers, scatter).

New York Standards

Performance Indicator 2A
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/pub/math5to8.pdf
Understand, represent, and use numbers in a variety of equivalent forms (integer, fraction, decimal, percent, exponential, expanded, and scientific notation).

New Jersey Standards

Standard 4.5
http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/s4_math.htm#45
All Students will use Mathematical Processes of Problem Solving, Communication, Connections, Reasoning, Representations, and Technology to Solve Problems and Communicate Mathematical Ideas

Connecticut Standards

Content Standard 1: Number Sense
http://www.state.ct.us/sde/dtl/curriculum/Frmath.pdf
Students will use numbers to count, measure, compare, order, scale, locate and label, and use a variety of numerical representations to present, interpret, communicate, and connect various kinds of numerical information.

This lesson was prepared by: Anna Chan Rekate

Overview | Procedures for Teachers | Organizers for Students