Geography · Grade 10

Active learning ideas

Impacts of Migration on Societies

Active learning lets students engage directly with the complexities of migration. When they step into roles as economists, policymakers, or community members, they move beyond abstract ideas to see real consequences and trade-offs. This approach builds empathy and sharpens analytical skills needed to evaluate competing claims about migration’s impacts.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• ON: Changing Populations - Grade 10
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.6

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Expert Impacts Groups

Assign small groups to research one impact type (economic, social, cultural) for sending or receiving regions using provided articles and data. Each expert then teaches their finding to a mixed home group. Home groups create a summary chart comparing all impacts.

Explain the economic benefits and challenges of immigration for host countries.

Facilitation Tip

During the Jigsaw, assign small expert groups to focus on either economic, social, or cultural impacts, then have them teach their findings to peers using clear evidence and examples.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a city planner. What are the top two economic benefits and top two social challenges of a significant increase in immigration for your city?' Students should be prepared to support their answers with reasoning.

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

Activity 02

• Formal Debate
• 45 min · Pairs

Policy Debate: Integration Strategies

Pairs prepare arguments for or against specific policies like language requirements or refugee sponsorships, using evidence from Canadian examples. Pairs present in a whole-class debate with structured rebuttals and audience voting on strongest case.

Assess the cultural contributions and tensions that arise from large-scale migration.

Facilitation Tip

For the Policy Debate, provide each side with a balanced set of resources and require students to cite data or case studies in their arguments to avoid oversimplification.

What to look for

Provide students with a short news article about a specific migration event. Ask them to identify one economic impact and one cultural impact mentioned, and to state whether the impact is on the sending or receiving region.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Migration Case Studies

Small groups analyze posters on cases such as Filipino workers in Canada or Mexican remittances home. They add sticky notes with impacts identified, then rotate to review and discuss patterns across cases.

Justify policies that aim to integrate migrant populations into new societies.

Facilitation Tip

In the Gallery Walk, post large maps or charts for each case study and ask students to annotate them with sticky notes that highlight key takeaways or questions.

What to look for

On an exit ticket, ask students to write one sentence explaining the concept of 'brain drain' and one sentence describing a policy that could help mitigate its effects in a sending country.

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

Activity 04

• Formal Debate
• 35 min · Individual

Data Mapping: Migration Flows

Individuals plot recent migration data on maps for Canada and a sending country, noting economic indicators. Pairs then compare maps and infer impacts in a shared class digital map.

Explain the economic benefits and challenges of immigration for host countries.

Facilitation Tip

For Data Mapping, provide students with raw migration flow data and guide them to create visualizations that reveal patterns such as urban growth or regional disparities.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a city planner. What are the top two economic benefits and top two social challenges of a significant increase in immigration for your city?' Students should be prepared to support their answers with reasoning.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers know that migration is best taught through multiple lenses—economic, social, and cultural—so students avoid seeing it as a one-sided issue. They use structured debates and data analysis to help students confront oversimplifications and recognize that impacts vary by context. Avoid presenting migration as purely positive or negative; instead, emphasize the trade-offs and the importance of evidence in evaluating claims.

Students should be able to explain how migration creates both benefits and challenges in sending and receiving regions using evidence from data, case studies, and policy debates. They should also demonstrate balanced perspectives by recognizing short-term burdens alongside long-term gains and cultural contributions.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Jigsaw: Expert Impacts Groups, watch for students who assume immigration only creates costs for host economies.

  Use the economic group’s data on tax contributions, job creation, and labor shortages to redirect their thinking. Ask them to calculate net fiscal impacts over time using the provided graphs to challenge the assumption.

• During Gallery Walk: Migration Case Studies, watch for students who conclude sending countries gain nothing from migration.

  Ask students to examine remittance data posted in the case studies and discuss how these funds support local economies. Have them role-play family scenarios to see how remittances fund education or healthcare, balancing the loss of skilled workers.

• During the Policy Debate: Integration Strategies, watch for students who claim cultural tensions always lead to conflict.

  Use examples from the case studies, such as multicultural festivals or community programs, to show how integration can foster cultural enrichment. Ask students to brainstorm local examples where diversity has led to positive outcomes rather than conflict.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Formal Debate
• Gallery Walk