The Statistics in Schools (SIS) program of the U.S. Census Bureau provides data, tools, and activities that educators can incorporate into their lessons to help teach statistics concepts and data analysis skills to students. The activities and resources are segmented by subject (English, geography, history and social studies, mathematics and statistics, and sociology) and grade (from pre-k through high school) so statistics education can be brought to any classroom.

Here are the top 10 reasons the SIS program is good for the classroom:

   SIS resources for pre-K through 12th grade teachers are free.

Educators can access, at no charge, more than 200 downloadable activities and resources on the website: census.gov/schools. The activities on the website are searchable by grade, school subject, and topic.

Experts from the U.S. Census Bureau contributed to the program.

The Census Bureau, which launched SIS, is the primary source of economic and demographic data for the United States. Census Bureau statistical experts were involved in the creation of the program activities, making SIS uniquely qualified to support statistics education.

The program promotes cross-curricular education.

SIS uses a broad array of Census Bureau data to provide activities and resources for courses in English, geography, history and social studies, mathematics and statistics, and sociology.

SIS offers a number of resources and tools, including:

• Activities
• Maps
• News articles
• Videos
• Games
• Infographics and data visualizations
• Data tools that reveal population statistics by sex, age, ethnicity, and race

SIS activities were developed by teachers, for teachers.

Educators and subject matter experts from across the country created and reviewed the activities to make sure they are useful.

SIS activities can supplement existing curriculum.

The activities and resources are designed to support, not replace, existing lesson plans.

The program helps teach students the crucial skills they need to thrive in an increasingly data-driven world.

Research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the number of jobs related to statistics is expected to increase by more than 30% between 2014 and 2024.

SIS reaches students by using technology to teach statistics.

SIS includes a number of tools that students can use to access data such as State Facts for Students, which allows students to discover information about their state; QuickFacts, an application that displays tables, maps, and charts of frequently requested statistics; and Census Business Builder, an easy way to access and use key demographic and economic data.

The program can be extended or modified easily.

Not all students have the same skill levels or interests, or learn in the same way. Therefore, SIS gives educators ways to modify activities to meet the unique needs of every classroom. For example, some activities can be tailored using local data.

SIS matches activities with relevant education standards and guidelines. These include the following, organized by subject: