Geography · Year 7

Active learning ideas

International Migration: Push and Pull Factors

Active learning helps Year 7 students grasp the complexity of international migration by moving beyond textbook definitions to lived experiences. When students analyze real cases, sort factors, and role-play decisions, they connect abstract concepts like push/pull forces to personal stories and global patterns.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9G7K05

• 25–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Global Migration Case Studies

Divide class into expert groups to research one case, such as Syrian refugees or Australian skilled workers, noting push and pull factors with evidence. Regroup into mixed teams to teach findings and build a class matrix. Conclude with whole-class synthesis of patterns.

Explain the primary push and pull factors driving international migration.

Facilitation Tip

During Jigsaw: Global Migration Case Studies, assign each group a distinct case study and provide guiding questions to structure their research before sharing with peers.

What to look for

Provide students with a scenario describing a person's reason for moving. Ask them to identify if it is a push or pull factor, and if the migration is voluntary or forced, explaining their reasoning in one sentence for each.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Pairs

Sorting Cards: Push and Pull Factors

Provide cards with real-world scenarios like drought or job ads. In pairs, students sort into push or pull categories, justify choices, then share with class via sticky notes on a board. Extend by ranking factor strength.

Analyze the role of economic opportunities in determining migration pathways.

Facilitation Tip

For Sorting Cards: Push and Pull Factors, prepare two clear columns on the board for students to categorize cards, modeling the first two examples to reduce ambiguity.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If you were offered a well-paying job in another country but had to leave your family behind, would you go? Why or why not?' Facilitate a class discussion exploring the push and pull factors involved in personal migration decisions.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Migration Maps

Small groups create wall maps showing origin and destination countries with labeled factors for different migrations. Class walks the gallery, adding peer questions or examples on sticky notes. Debrief identifies common pathways.

Differentiate between voluntary and forced migration and their causes.

Facilitation Tip

In the Gallery Walk: Migration Maps, post large maps at stations and have students rotate in small groups to annotate push and pull factors directly on the maps using sticky notes.

What to look for

Display a map showing major migration routes. Ask students to label 2-3 countries that are primary destinations (pull factors) and 2-3 countries that are primary origins (push factors), briefly stating one reason for each.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 35 min · Pairs

Role-Play: Decision Simulations

Pairs receive family profiles facing push factors and evaluate pull options from countries like Australia. Role-play discussions, vote on migration choices, then report rationales to class. Use props for engagement.

Explain the primary push and pull factors driving international migration.

Facilitation Tip

During Role-Play: Decision Simulations, assign roles with access to limited information to simulate real constraints, and debrief afterward to connect emotions to the push/pull framework.

What to look for

Provide students with a scenario describing a person's reason for moving. Ask them to identify if it is a push or pull factor, and if the migration is voluntary or forced, explaining their reasoning in one sentence for each.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teaching migration works best when students confront the human side of data. Avoid treating push and pull factors as simple checkboxes; instead, use case studies to show how factors overlap and change over time. Research suggests that role-plays and debates build empathy and critical thinking, helping students move from surface-level labels to nuanced understanding. Keep discussions focused on evidence from case studies rather than assumptions.

Successful learning looks like students distinguishing between voluntary and forced migration, explaining how multiple factors interact, and applying this understanding to settlement patterns in Australia. They should confidently discuss why people move and what shapes their choices.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role-Play: Decision Simulations, watch for students assuming all migration is voluntary when roles limit their choices or present forced scenarios like war or persecution.

  Use the role-play debrief to explicitly contrast voluntary moves (e.g., seeking better education) with forced moves (e.g., fleeing conflict), highlighting how the simulation’s constraints mirror real-life limitations.

• During Sorting Cards: Push and Pull Factors, watch for students categorizing only economic reasons as push or pull factors while overlooking social or environmental influences.

  Have students justify their card placements in small groups, then challenge them to find at least one social or environmental example among the cards and explain why it matters.

• During Jigsaw: Global Migration Case Studies, watch for students assuming pull factors always lead to successful outcomes for migrants in destination countries.

  Use the jigsaw’s case study summaries to prompt students to identify challenges migrants face after arrival, such as discrimination or high costs, and discuss how these offset the pull factors.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Role Play
• Gallery Walk