Do you teach U.S. History? If the answer is yes, you’ll want to follow along with PopEd this fall. We’re excited to spend the months of September and October diving into the history of U.S. demographic trends and exploring all the ways those trends have intersected with society, culture, and the environment over the years. And most importantly, we can’t wait to help you bring these important U.S. history topics to life for your students. Our blog and socials channels (Facebook, X, and LinkedIn) will be full of unique, effective, and free resources for teaching U.S. History, and APUSH, in your classroom.
How Has the U.S. Population Changed?
There have been significant demographic shifts in the U.S. population over time and there is a plethora of related data to explore. When the first U.S. census was conducted in 1790, the country’s population was fewer than 4 million people. Today, over 330 million people call the United States home. In 1800, the average U.S. family had 7 children. Today, that number has fallen to less than 2, with the majority of population growth resulting from immigration. And for generations, population settlements have shifted geographically depending on opportunity, availability of transportation, and urbanization.
Needless to say, these dramatic changes are intertwined with our rich and complex national history—from our dark past of slavery and human displacement, to the rise of women’s rights, to national and global conflicts, and improvements in public health and environmental protections. Exploring the historical, cultural, and environmental events that influenced demographic changes over the years, and vice versa, fosters deeper understanding our country’s past and gives us a glimpse of what may lie ahead.
Free U.S. History Teaching Resources
We be unpacking some of these U.S. History topics through blogs, a free teacher webinar, lesson give-aways, and lots of resources on our socials. Here’s a peek of what’s to come:
- Mark your calendar for October 22nd from 4:30-5:30 pm ET! We’ll host a free teacher webinar where we’ll facilitate a series of hands-on, standards-aligned PopEd lessons for teaching U.S. History. Our webinars are interactive and fun, and all educators will walk away with access to our teaching kit, 330 Million in the U.S.A. We hope to see you online – Register today!
Our blog will cover a lot of ground. Some of the topics we’ll explore include how U.S. population pyramids have changed over time, the history of U.S. environmental law, and how the Trail of Tears impacted the distribution of Indigenous populations. Blogs are great reading for both secondary level students, as well as U.S. History teachers.- There is a wealth of U.S. History resources out there for teachers. Our social channels will be full of teaching materials from reputable organizations. Posts will highlight places to find lesson plans and classroom materials (like this illustrated timeline of the history of the U.S. farm bill from the Library of Congress), and relevant and interesting articles for both you and your students (like this article about economic inequality from PEW Research Center).
- We’ll be highlighting lots of free PopEd teaching resources, like this infographic on the history of U.S. immigration trends.
Follow #PopEdUSHistory on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn to see all of our relevant posts in one place.
U.S History teachers – we look forward to supporting you this fall! And if you don’t teach U.S. History but teach U.S. government, Geography or general social studies classes, there will be plenty for you as well.