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300,000,000 in the USA

300,000,000 in the USA Wall Chart and Lesson Plans

2006 marks an historic milestone for our nation -- 300 million people. Over the past century, the population has tripled, making the United States the fastest growing developed country in the world, and the third largest overall. Reaching this marker offers an opportunity to reflect on our past, examine current trends and articulate our hopes for the future of American society.

The story of the American populace, from the first U.S. Census in 1790 to the addition of our 300 millionth resident, is an epic about growth and change. Our demographics have shifted with industrialization, changing gender roles, improvements in health, and waves of immigration from every part of the world. We have transformed our landscapes from wilderness to sprawling metropolitan areas and become the world’s largest consumer of most of the Earth’s natural resources. Our numbers and lifestyles have far-reaching impacts on local and global environments, economies, and cultures.

The wall chart provides a glimpse into our national population history, our diversity as a people, and the challenges we face in creating healthy, sustainable communities. This colorful flat map is available to order for a low price and will be delivered in a poster tube.  To purchase, please check our Product Catalog page!

The hands-on activities below complement and expand upon the wall chart. The lessons are designed to broaden students’ awareness of population issues and to encourage dialogue about our nation’s future while addressing the thematic strands in the Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (www.ncss.org). The user-friendly lesson plans, are appropriate for middle and secondary grades and can be downloaded at no cost. See our teachers' guide for more ideas about the activities!

Wall Chart Correction
The population icon on for Charleston, West Virginia is accompanied by an incorrect statistic. Charleston is the fastest shrinking city in the United States, but the correct rate is -3.2% over the last 2 years. We regret this error.

Documentation of Sources
The data imbedded within the case studies, statistics, and charts of the wall chart have been extensively researched. If you would like to see the source of a specific piece of data, please click here for a complete set of references.

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Activities - Even more are coming soon!

• 300 Million Reasons: So many of today’s headlines are connected to population pressures. Students collect and analyze newspaper articles on local and national issues for their population connection, challenges and solutions.
• Connecting the Dots: Students map the changing size and density of the country's population over the past 200 years in this timely geography activity.
• A Family Perspective: Students chart family-size trends over several generations and discuss factors that influence family-size decision-making.
• Global Warming Begins at Home USA: How much CO2 to do you spew? Students collect data and compute word problems to calculate their household’s contribution of atmospheric greenhouse gases.
• The Good Old Days: In this lively simulation, U.S. presidents from 1800, 1850, 1900, 1950 and 2006 compare resource use, wealth, health, education and more with some interesting facts and symbols of quality of life.
• A Hill of Beans: A powerful visual and auditory demonstration helps students compare the lifetime use of resources of an average American with an average citizen of one of the world’s poorest nations.
• Looking to the Future: In creating a futuristic news telecast and a letter to a friend 50 years from now, students think about what their future might look like, given current realities, hopes and dreams.
• A Matter of Timing: Students draw models of family populations and use these to identify trends in population size influenced by family timing.
• Mysteries of the U.S. Pyramids: Students construct and interpret population pyramids (age-sex distribution charts) and discuss differences in population characteristics at different points in U.S. history and make projections for the future.
• A Nation of Immigrants: Try this classroom simulation to find out why people migrate and have students propose immigration policies that considers core values, economics and more.
• Population Clock in the USA: How many people do we add to our population every year? Day? Minute? Students multiply ratios, divide units of time, and subtract death rates from birth rates to calculate population growth rates.
• School Days: In this simulation, find out how changing educational opportunities for American youth have affected all sorts of demographic trends over the past century.
• The Stork and the Grim Reaper: In a short demonstration, students observe how populations grow when the birth rate exceeds the death rate.
• USA Population Circle: Students experience the pace of population growth by simulating U.S. growth over our history.