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Population & Migration

Seventh graders study how and why people move around the world — the push factors that drive people to leave a place and the pull factors that draw them to a new one — and how migration shapes populations everywhere.

Grade 7Human Geography50 minutes1 class periodC3 InquiryExplicit teaching4 StandardsC3
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Explain migration.
  • ✓Explain push factors.
  • ✓Explain pull factors.
  • ✓Explain effects on population.
Essential Question

Throughout history, people have picked up and moved — sometimes across the world. What makes people leave their homes, and what draws them to new places?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Push or Pull?

Project this and sort each reason by whether it is a PUSH factor (drives people to leave) or a PULL factor (draws people to a new place).

🌏 Sort each — a push or a pull factor?Try it
💨 Push (drives them to LEAVE)
🧲 Pull (draws them TO a place)
Tap a reason, then tap a bucket.
The Lesson · C3 Inquiry Arc (Question · Investigate · Evaluate Evidence · Communicate · Take Action)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Question — Why People Move

5 min

People have always moved, sometimes across the world — why?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask why people move.
  • Introduce push/pull.
  • Set the inquiry.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Consider it.
  • Meet the factors.
  • Predict the idea.
2

Investigate — Push & Pull

11 min

Students investigate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Push or Pull?
  • Sort each factor.
  • Note the two kinds.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort them.
  • Note push.
  • Note pull.
3

Evaluate Evidence — Weigh the Evidence

12 min

Students analyze.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain migration.
  • Explain push factors.
  • Explain pull factors.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explain migration.
  • Explain push.
  • Explain pull.
4

Communicate — Make the Case

12 min

Students communicate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain a real migration.
  • Cite the factors.
  • Explain population effects.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explain it.
  • Cite factors.
  • Explain effects.
5

Take Action — Take Action

5 min

Students conclude.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain a migration story.
  • Explain its causes.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explain it.
  • Explain causes.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards (World Geography).

C3
D2.Geo.7.6-8

Explain how changes in transportation and communication influence human migration.

C3
D2.Geo.8.6-8

Analyze how population and settlement patterns change.

C3
D2.Geo.6.6-8

Explain how cultural and environmental factors shape migration.

C3
D4.6.6-8

Use reasoning to take informed action.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Push/pull factor cards.
  • Sentence frame: “___ is a push/pull factor.”
  • Share family migration stories.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with jobs and safety.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Use a two-column chart.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Analyze a migration map.
  • Explain refugees vs. migrants.
  • Trace a real migration.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🗺️Migration maps
  • 💻Push or Pull?
  • 📊Population data
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

migrationmoving from one place to live in anotherimmigranta person who moves INTO a countryemigranta person who moves OUT of a countrypush factora reason to leave a placepull factora reason to move to a placerefugeesomeone forced to flee dangerpopulationthe number of people in a placeurbanizationthe growth of cities
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is migration?
Moving from one place to live in another.
QUESTION 2
What is a push factor? Give an example.
A reason that drives people to leave a place — like war, no jobs, or famine.
QUESTION 3
What is a pull factor? Give an example.
A reason that draws people to a new place — like jobs, safety, or freedom.

Take action: a migration story.

Have students interview a family member or research a group’s migration and identify the push and pull factors involved. A printable migration sheet is in the Social Studies library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Population & MigrationFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Population & MigrationQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Population & MigrationPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: emigrant, immigrant, migration, population, pull factor, push factor, refugee, urbanization
  1. moving from one place to live in another
  2. a person who moves OUT of a country
  3. a reason to leave a place
  4. the growth of cities
  5. a person who moves INTO a country
  6. a reason to move to a place
  7. the number of people in a place
  8. someone forced to flee danger

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is migration?
  2. What is a push factor? Give an example.
  3. What is a pull factor? Give an example.
Answer key — Part A: 1) migration · 2) emigrant · 3) push factor · 4) urbanization · 5) immigrant · 6) pull factor · 7) population · 8) refugee
Part B: 1) Moving from one place to live in another. 2) A reason that drives people to leave a place — like war, no jobs, or famine. 3) A reason that draws people to a new place — like jobs, safety, or freedom.