Preparation
Recommended Prior Activities:
Materials You Provide: paper, pencils, pens
Physical Space: classroom
Grouping: large-group instruction
Overview
Human migration is the movement of people from one place in the world to another. Human patterns of movement reflect the conditions of a changing world and impact the cultural landscapes of both the places people leave and the places they settle.
Objectives
Students will:
- list and explain main types of migration
- describe categories of people who migrate
- list reasons for migrating
Teaching Approach: learning-for-use
Teaching Methods: brainstorming, discussions
Skills Summary
This activity targets the following skills:
- Critical Thinking Skills: remembering, understanding
- Geographic Skills: acquiring geographic information
Directions
1. Build background about human migration and types of migration.
Explain to students that human migration is the movement of people from one place in the world to another. Ask: What are some different types of human movements? Then tell students that people move for many reasons, and that types of human migration include:
- internal migration: moving within a state, country, or continent
- external migration: moving to a different state, country, or continent
- emigration: leaving one country to move to another
- immigration: moving into a new country
- return migration: moving back to where you came from
- seasonal migration: moving with each season or in response to labor or climate conditions
2. Discuss people who migrate.
Tell students that people who migrate fall into several categories:
- An emigrant is a person who is leaving one country to live in another.
- An immigrant is a person who is entering a country from another to make a new home.
- A refugee is a person who has moved to a new country because of a problem in their former home.
Have students provide specific examples of each to demonstrate understanding of the differences between the three terms.
3. Brainstorm reasons for migrating.
Ask: Why do people move? What forces do you think drive human migration? Then explain to students that people move for many reasons and that those reasons are called push factors and pull factors. Tell students that push factors include leaving a place because of a problem, such as a food shortage, war, or flood. Tell students that pull factors include moving to a place because of something good, such as a nicer climate, more job opportunities, or a better food supply. Ask: What effect does a region’s economy, climate, politics, and culture have on migration to and from the area? Have students brainstorm additional reasons for migrating, such as displacement by a natural disaster, lack of natural resources, the state of an economy, and more.
Informal Assessment
Check students’ comprehension. Make sure they understand the difference between emigrants, immigrants, and refugees.
Connections to National Standards, Principles, and Practice
National Council for Social Studies Curriculum Standards
- Theme 3: People, Places, and Environments
National Geography Standards
- Standard 9: The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface
adapted from National Geographic Xpeditions lesson “Human Migration: The Story of the Cultural Landscape”
