Students explore the Census of 2020 by making a connection between shepherds counting their sheep and counting the population of the United States. Grades K-2

census: official process of counting the number of people in a country, city, or town and collecting information about them

forage: bulky food such as grass or hay typically consumed by livestock

graze: to feed on grass

population: the number of people who live in a place

predator: an animal that preys on others

shepherd: a person who cares for sheep

Sheep are very gentle animals that can be easily frightened. They flock together for protection because they cannot protect themselves well. Sheep have many natural predators, animals that hunt and kill other animals for food. They include coyotes, wolves, and domestic dogs. Sometimes larger animals, like mules or llamas, are kept in pastures with sheep to scare off possible predators.

The people who raise and care for sheep are called shepherds. Sometimes, shepherds have dogs to take care of the sheep. The dogs learn to round up the sheep, and when one wanders from the flock, the dog brings it back. There are many different breeds of sheep. Some are raised for meat and others primarily for wool. Sheep are valuable because they often graze land that other livestock cannot. Sheep eat grass and hay. Grasses and other plants that are eaten by animals are called forage.

In order to keep accurate records and to prevent sheep from straying, ancient shepherds performed frequent head counts of their flocks. In some parts of the world, farms were granted access to common grazing land—land that everyone could use. To prevent overgrazing, it was necessary for each farm to keep accurate, updated head counts. A count was the first task performed in the morning and the last performed at night. A count was made after moving the sheep from one pasture to another and after any operation involving the sheep, such as shearing, foot-trimming, etc. Before the Industrial Revolution, shepherds in England, Scotland, and Wales used their own numbering system for counting their sheep, with counting words to 20, but no higher. For every 20 sheep, the shepherd would place a mark on the ground, move his hands to another mark on the crook, or drop a pebble in his pocket. Twenty sheep was a score (5 score sheep = 100).

Just as a shepherd counts sheep, it is also necessary to count people. The decennial census is a count of every person living in the United States that occurs every 10 years. The purpose of the census is to get an overall look at communities across the United States, in order to better serve them. The census is used to help determine funding for schools and roads, congressional representation, and more.

Filling out the census is the law, not just our civic duty. The Constitution mandates that the country counts its population once every 10 years. The 2020 Census will mark the 24th time that the United States has counted its population since 1790. Everyone residing in the U.S. gets counted in the census—children, seniors, minorities, immigrants (legal and illegal), tribal communities, homeless, homeowners, renters, students, workers—everyone. It is important that every person be counted to make sure the government can provide money to each community for things like roads and parks. Census Day is April 1, 2020.

In addition to the census, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is responsible for conducting the Census of Agriculture. The Census of Agriculture counts the agricultural production in the United States. From 1840 to 1920, the Census of Agriculture was taken every 10 years, just like the census of the U.S. population. Since 1925, the Census of Agriculture has been taken every five years, in the years ending in 2 and 7. In addition, NASS field offices in every state produce a wide variety of reports throughout the year, along with an annual report. These reports are used by producers, researchers, the news media, people involved in financial markets, and many others. These reports are compiled only for the top agricultural commodities from a sampling of state producers contacted at random. In contrast, the Census of Agriculture reports on every agricultural commodity produced in the state based on surveys collected from every producer.

1. Ask the students if they have ever heard the suggestion of counting sheep as a way to help people fall asleep.
2. Show the video Counting Sheep, and invite the students to count along.
3. Explain to the students that counting sheep is a good way to fall asleep, but they will be exploring a different reason people count sheep.

Activity 1: Counting Sheep

1. Use the information in the Background Agricultural Connections section of this lesson to discuss why ancient shepherds needed to count their sheep and the systems they used to keep track of their counting.
2. Divide the class into groups, and provide each group with a bowl of plain popcorn and a Sheep Counting Map. Tell the students that the popcorn represents sheep.
3. Have the students count their "sheep," first by ones, then by twos, fives, tens, and then by twenties, using systems they have designed. 
4. Remind the students of the systems used by ancient shepherds described in the background (tally marks, knots on a string, pebbles, etc.) to count their sheep.
5. Instruct the students to use tally marks (or the system they choose) to record the number of sheep onto their papers.
6. As a class, find the total number of sheep for each group and for the class. Remind the students that a score of sheep is 20 sheep. How many scores of sheep does each group have? How many does the class have? 

Activity 2: Lincolnshire Counting Words

1. Provide each student with a copy of the Lincolnshire Counting Words and practice saying the words.
2. Have students count their popcorn "sheep" as you read the words and use their popcorn to keep track of each score (20) of sheep by sorting their popcorn on the Counting Sheep Mat.
3. Listen to the traditional Irish song, The Lincolnshire Shepherd, or read the words from The Lincolnshire Shepherd reading page.
4. Discuss the rhythm of the counting words and why the rhythm would be helpful when counting.
5. Ask the students to write numbers on their counting sheet when they hear that number word. After the song, discuss what numbers they heard and wrote down. (Tan=2, Tethera=3, etc.).
6. Discuss counting words in other languages, and use them to count the popcorn "sheep."

Activity 3: Classroom Census

1. Count the number of students in the class and record the number on the board. Explain that the number is the size of the class or the population of the classroom.
2. Take a survey of the students, asking them to raise their hands if they have ever touched a sheep (at the fair, on a farm, etc.). Record their answers on the board.
3. After the answers have been recorded, explain to the students that this is a survey and that surveys are used to gather information about groups of people.
4. Discuss the United States census by explaining that just as shepherds count their sheep, it is also helpful to count all people in the United States. Include the following points in the discussion:
   • The census is taken once every 10 years. 
   • The next census will begin in April 2020.
   • The U.S. Census Bureau counts the population of states and communities, which means the number of people who live in those places. This helps the government decide how much funding (money) each area needs for roads, schools, parks, etc.
   • It's important that everyone, both adults and children, be counted in the 2020 Census so that communities receive the proper funding for things they need.
5. Listen to the Everyone Counts song.
6. Use the Classroom Census activity sheets to take a class census. Discuss the average age of your class. Ask, how many are older than the average? How many are younger?
7. Visit the United States Census Bureau website and click on your state to access some of the data the Census Bureau collects and compare it to the data the class collected. Scroll through all the data to show students what kinds of data the Census Bureau collects.

After conducting these activities, review and summarize the following key concepts:

• In order to keep accurate records and be alert of stray sheep, it is important for shepherds to count their sheep often.
• Just as a shepherd counts sheep, it is important to count people.
• In the United States, a census to count people is conducted every 10 years.
• It is important that every person be counted in the census to make sure the government can provide money to each community for things like roads and parks.
• The Census of Agriculture counts agricultural production every 5 years.