Demographics and Cross-Cultural Origins

Day 5

Goals:

1. Students will learn about the fluctuation in population of different peoples of the Caribbean region.

2. Students will make general predictions about the population of the different kinds of people in the Caribbean for the future.

3. Students will discuss on the affects of the mixing of people in the Caribbean and ultimately in the world.

Time:

30 minutes to 1 hour

Resources/Materials:

chalk, chalkboard, notebooks, pens, graph representing the population of Africans, Indians, Europeans (can break up Europeans if you choose), and Latin Americans beginning before the slavery era.

Procedure:

1. To begin this lesson, it might be useful to briefly discuss the population of the United States as it grew larger and larger when Europeans began to arrive. Begin by showing some numbers of the Native Americans that were here before the Europeans. Compare amounts of people to things students can relate to, such as their hometowns or big cities or states. This is to get an idea of the amounts of people here.

2. Display a graph that shows the population shifts in every century or half-century.

3. Next, explain to the students the population of the Arawak and Carib people, then Europeans, and Africans. Show the population growths separately from one another, then combine them on a map to illustrate how many people came to the Caribbean region rather than being originally from there. Suggestions: Illustrate the decline or growth in the Arawak people after their conflict with the Carib. Similar scenarios can make the tables more interesting.

4. Next, indicate by a pie graph or bar graph the demographics of people who are of mixed cultural origin in the Caribbean, such as people whose background is African and European, African and Indian, European and Indian, and other mixed backgrounds.

5. Using the tables and graphs that you have supplied to the students, have them make general predictions about the people of the Caribbean and what groups of people will make up the majority and minority of the region in the future. Students should record their predictions in their notebooks. First five steps - 30-35 minutes.

6. For the remainder of the class time, discuss the affects of the varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds of the people of the Caribbean. Ask the students what some benefits would be for having people from different backgrounds be together on the numerous Caribbean islands. "Why might that be a benefit?" This is intended to show students equality and education through diversity.

7. Connect this idea to the United States and its rich diversity of peoples. Appreciation of diversity is important and it is not to be feared. Students should write down ideas that are discussed. Note-taking will help the students organize the information and the ideas that are given by their classmates.

Assessment:

Assess the students by first collecting their notebooks to make sure that they were involved with what was going on in the classroom.

4 The student gives a position and the reasoning behind it, avoiding errors in his/her explanation.

3 The student gives a basic position in this/her prediction about population, the effects of cross-cultural relations, and its reasoning without covering up any errors in it .

2 The student articulates a position, but does not give any reasoning behind it.

1 The student does not give a position.

Curricular Strands:

Sociology - relationship of people

Math - graphs and predictions

History/Social Studies - varying people of the Caribbean

Communication - expression of ideas in discussion

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