Handling Data and the Northern Ireland Census
Key Stage 1
The census happens only once every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in Northern Ireland. The last census was in 2011 and counted 1,810,900 people living here. The next Northern Ireland census begins in March 2021 with Census Day on Sunday 21st March 2021.
These four lessons, developed by CCEA in partnership with Census 2021 and supported by NISRA:
- are packed with exciting, 20 to 30-minute activities using census data, stories, pictures, audio clips and animations;
- help younger learners to recognise and produce reliable data;
- focus on understanding the difference between urban and rural settlements and why specific places are special to us; and
- explore four key themes (Population, Settlements, Transport and Occupations).
Lesson 1: Where Do I Fit In? (Population)
Learners find out about the population of Northern Ireland, sort and talk about data, learn to use frequency tables and discover which names are most popular and who shares theirs.
Lesson 2: Settlements (Settlements)
Learners enjoy an Ulster-Scots fable with Billy Connolly, explore the meaning of the words urban and rural, and discuss what makes our favourite places special to us.
Lesson 3: The School Run (Transport)
Learners analyse census data to find the most popular way to travel to school, discover how important it is to organise your data clearly and identify where in the world children use a zip line to get to school.
Lesson 4: It’s Hard Work (Occupations)
Learners talk about changes to occupations and education over time and learn how some long gone occupations have left their mark on our language and even our names.
