With four children in elementary, middle, and high school, I know what a struggle it is to find engaging family activities during school vacations. The U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistics in Schools (SIS) program may be just the ticket, offering a range of resources designed to entertain kids while teaching them about their world and improving their statistical literacy!
Statistics in Schools Activities
SIS activities teach students of all ages fun facts and sweet statistics! For example, did you know there were 2,836 baked goods stores in the United States? Discover how many states have holiday- and winter-themed named places like Sugarland, Texas, Snowflake, Ariz., and Wintergreen, Va. – and learn their populations. SIS brings these and other Census Bureau data to life through kid-friendly activities highlighting the nation’s people, places and economy. With over two hundred free learning activities and resources, parents have plenty of options to entertain kids and keep them learning at home over long school breaks.
SIS’s fun facts also feature cool stats linked to different holidays and observances. Each fun facts handout comes with an easy-to-use teaching guide with suggestions of activities.
Holiday Fun Facts
Kids can find a sample of interesting nuggets in our Holiday Season Fun Facts, including countries that exported the most Christmas decorations to the United States (in case you’re wondering, China topped the list, providing a whopping 92% of them in 2021). Here are ways you can use the fun facts:
- Lead your elementary school student in a creative writing activity about your family’s holiday traditions
- Have middle schoolers use their artistic and analytic skills to create a flyer advertising a toy shop
- Have high school students discuss and decide which holiday decorations the U.S. may export to other countries.
Another fun holiday activity is to plan virtual road trips to amusement parks and places in your state and around the country that have festive-sounding names like Rudolph, Wisconsin!
You can turn the statistics into a fun family competition. Over Thanksgiving, my husband said he would cook dinner if I could tell him the state expected to raise 37.5 million turkeys.
I was also thankful for SIS’s Kahoot game, Harvests and Hayrides: Fall Fun With Census Bureau Data, which is filled with dozens of fall-themed statistics. That’s where I discovered that Minnesota was expected to raise 37.5 million turkeys!
These educational games teach students about engaging real-world topics, boost their statistical literacy and introduce them to the quality data provided by the Census Bureau. Inspire your students to test their knowledge with our winter and holiday-themed facts.
The Importance of Statistical Literacy
Statistical literacy is key to navigating academic and public life. Did you know that 10.4% of workers in Massachusetts used public transportation to get to work? Your children can use our State Facts for Students data tool to discover this and other fun facts like the number of dentist offices in each state, household computer use and the median age of the population in the country and their state. For a more structured learning experience, use one of the lessons specifically designed for the data tools.
Have kids start their day with a quick warm-up activity, which takes five minutes or less to complete and gets their brain cranking. For example, they can celebrate observances like National Crossword Day (Dec. 21) with these vocabulary-building word challenges while sipping a cup of hot cocoa.
SIS is the gift that gives all year round, as it helps prepare students for our data-driven world. Share our standards-based lessons and resources with your favorite educator and PTA family. There are lessons for all grade levels that integrate data and statistical literacy into all subjects – geography, history, social studies, English, sociology and math. Make 2023 your year by staying connected and subscribing to monthly SIS updates!
Sala Green is a Program Analyst at the United States Census Bureau and a mom of four, former teacher, and trivia parent.
