Time Frame: 55-60 Minutes
Overarching Goals
In this teaching unit, teachers can collect and activate the collective knowledge of students about population-related topics. The students learn about what demographers research, what the individual components are of demography, and what relation demography has to other subject areas, such as politics, health, economics, history, biology and geography. Through this introduction, students will discover why demography is relevant to their lives.
Overarching Skills
- Encourage critical thinking
- Observe, analyse, interpret
- Develop one’s own point of view
Materials
Overview of the Activities
Activity 1: Activation of Prior Knowledge on the Topic of "Demography" (10 Minutes)
Based on targeted questions, collect the students’ prior knowledge on the topic of "demography" and take note of the things they name in a mind map (chalkboard, whiteboard, poster). A possible catalyst for the discussion could be a current cartoon about the topic from the daily news. The teacher should lead the collection of ideas, and supplement and explain, if necessary, technical terms.
Activity 2: Introduction Through the Video What is Demography All About (5 Minutes)
This video provides a short overview about the research field of demography and the app A Life Journey. The app is a fun, interactive option to learn more about demography and demographic change in Europe. The video is available online: https://youtu.be/pCuW6FUBIEA.
Activity 3: Introduction to Demography (25 Minutes)
The students can work on the worksheets in three small groups. Each group should receive a question or set of questions and the corresponding text. The groups should write down the important information from the texts, answer the questions, and then summarise their answers into succinct points that are understandable for the class. The results should be presented by each group, collected on a shared worksheet and made available to all students.
Activity 4: Working with the App A Life Journey (20 Minutes)
Either individually or in partners, the students should look at the following chapters in the app A Life Journey: "What are my chances of reaching 100?", "Is there a formula for healthy ageing?" and "Can demographers predict the future?" In these chapters, they will learn more about the following topics:
- What does "life expectancy" exactly mean?
- The life span and its limits;
- How can we increase our chances of living longer and healthier?
- The differing life expectancies in European countries;
- How will the European population look in the future?
- What are the biggest demographic challenges we face in the future?
*To use the app in the classroom, the students need access to an iPhone or an iPad. The app can be downloaded for free from the App Store.*