How many of you speak a different language? How many of you are from a different country? Who has parents that are from a different country? Many people live in the US, in North Carolina, in Raleigh and in our community. It is important to know that our communities are diverse, or made up of many different types of people and cultures. As part of the third grade curriculum you are to understand that America is made up of people who have diverse cultural backgrounds. Let's find out what 'culture' means. http://kids.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/english/search?query=culture (The word and definition are written in a double entry reading log on a dry erase board.) Our federal government, state government and city government keep track of what percent of the population is from another country through a census. To understand this better let's visit a website that tells us more about the census. http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/kids/kids.html Looking at this website we can see how many people live in the US. Now let's click on "Why" to read about the census. Why does the government care so much about having this information? Let's click on "Facts". What is the abbreviation for North Carolina? Click on our state. Looking at the chart, what information does it give us? How many people live in Raleigh?