An excellent resource for decade-by-decade statistical data

The U.S. Census Bureau has an excellent feature that gives students accurate and concise statistical information about the United States.  The feature is called Fast Facts.  The Fast Facts features are designed to show a statistical as well as a cultural portrait of America in a given decade.  Here is the page for the 1930s.

As you can see, each page begins with a bulleted list of cultural highlights, followed by a two column table.  The left table lists key statistical data of the decade (population, population density, percent increase in population from the prior decade) along with a list of the ten largest urban areas as measured in that year's census.

Classroom connection: We could divide our class into groups and assign each group a Fast Facts report to analyze.  For now after winter break, we could assign the Fast Facts reports for the Gilded Era decades (1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, and 1910).  Then, we could create mixed groups where each student had studied a different decade.  These mixed groups could then create a graphic that show the changes that occurred in America during those decades.