Warm-Up Activities
Jump-start your class with these activities. Each one takes approximately 5 minutes to complete, demonstrates the value of data, and inspires discussion about a specific subject.
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How America Gets Renewable PowerThis 5-Minute Challenge helps students learn about the different renewable power sectors and answer questions about what energy sources are used.
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Black Education on the RiseThis 5-Minute Challenge warm-up activity highlights the educational attainment of the Black population age 25 and older with bachelor’s degrees or higher.
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Presidents' DayWith this warm-up activity, students can analyze an infographic on the birthplaces and inauguration dates of the 47 U.S. presidents to find trends in the data.
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A Week of Festive Fun With U.S. Census Bureau DataWe’ve gathered a variety of festive Census Bureau data and creative SIS holiday resources and activities to spread the joy of learning with your class.
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Festive-Sounding PlacesExplore fun places with holiday-sounding names throughout the country. Learn about their populations and answer questions about their geographic locations.
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Toy Makers by StateThis engaging warm-up activity allows students to use their imagination to start their own toy manufacturing company based on an informative map.
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Exploring Natural Disasters and Emergency PreparednessStudents will use emergency preparedness data collected by the Census Bureau to explain how prepared U.S. residents are for natural disasters.
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Exploring Changes in Population and the Impact of Natural HazardsStudents explore the changes in population of the 25 most populous Atlantic and Gulf Coastline counties from 2000 to 2019.
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Exploring Population PyramidsStudents can use these warm-up activities to explore population pyramids for the nation, U.S. college towns and U.S. military bases.
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What Is the Hispanic or Latino Population in Your State?Students explore the percent of Hispanic population throughout the U.S. and identify states with the smallest and largest percentages of this population group.
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National Pet DayIf your students could pick a career in the veterinary and animal care field, what would they choose? Try this warm-up activity and find out!
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Earnings by OccupationWho earns the most, male or female nurses? Students can discover the answer to this question and more by analyzing data on earnings by occupation and gender.
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Honoring Those Who ServedHow many veterans live in your state? Identify states/territories with the smallest and largest percentages of veterans in the United States.
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The Amazing Apportionment MachineThis activity asks teachers to share a quick video with students to help them answer questions about congressional apportionment.
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Apportionment MapThis activity has students analyze a map and answer questions about states and the amount of seats they have in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Irish-American Heritage MonthChallenge students’ knowledge on things associated with Irish Americans with this crossword puzzle and graph on counties with the largest Irish population.
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Census Word Find and Crossword Warm-Up ActivitiesExpand your students’ vocabulary of census-related words with our word find and crossword 5-Minute Challenges.
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Voter ParticipationWith this warm-up activity, students can discover the voting patterns of women and men in recent presidential elections.
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Population and RepresentationStudents can use an interactive map with historical apportionment data to discover population changes and population density for their state over decades.
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How Many U.S. Representatives Does Your State Have?Do nearby states have more or fewer U.S. representatives than your state? Students can have fun coloring a map while comparing state apportionment numbers.
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Test Your Population Knowledge With BracketologyGet ready for population madness with bracketology! This warm-up uses our Population Bracketology game to test students’ knowledge of our nation’s population.
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From College to Jobs: Pathways in STEM Warm-Up ActivityWith this warm-up activity, help students learn more about STEM occupations while using an interactive data visualization that illustrates the dynamic relations
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Irish-Sounding PlacesCelebrate Irish-American Heritage Month by discovering places in the United States that sound Irish.
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My Family TreeStudents can construct their own family trees and record the first census year in which they and their family members would have been counted.
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A Higher DegreeFor this activity, students examine and analyze the educational attainment of U.S. adults and how it’s changed over the years.
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Center of Population Story Map Scavenger HuntFor this activity, students use a story map, an interactive web tool with maps, text, and photos to learn about the nation’s centers of population.
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Exploring Centers of Population Through the DecadesThis 5-Minute Challenge warm-up activity has students explore an interactive story map to learn about the nation’s center of population.
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Love by the NumbersUse our Valentine’s Day Fun Facts to find some of the answers to the clues and complete the crossword puzzle.
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Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage MonthIn celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Heritage Month, students can analyze a graphic to learn about this population.
Page Last Revised - October 29, 2024