Geography · Grade 7

Active learning ideas

Push and Pull Factors of Migration

Active learning transforms abstract geography concepts into tangible experiences. For push and pull factors, students need to internalize how personal decisions interact with global systems, which hands-on activities make possible. Students grapple with real-world complexity when they sort, debate, and map migration stories rather than just memorize definitions.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• ON: Natural Resources around the World: Use and Sustainability - Grade 7

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

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 35 min · Small Groups

Card Sort: Identifying Push and Pull

Prepare cards listing factors like 'war' or 'job opportunities'. In small groups, students sort them into push or pull categories, then justify choices with examples from news articles. End with a class chart comparing voluntary and forced migration.

Explain what motivates people to leave their homes for uncertain futures elsewhere.

Facilitation Tip

During the Card Sort, circulate and listen for students’ reasoning as they argue whether a factor belongs on the push or pull side, using these moments to clarify misunderstandings.

What to look for

Provide students with a list of 5-7 migration scenarios (e.g., seeking employment, fleeing war, escaping drought, joining family). Ask them to write 'P' for push factor or 'L' for pull factor next to each scenario and briefly explain their choice for two of them.

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

Activity 02

• Jigsaw
• 45 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Migration Stories

Assign groups one real case, such as Canadian oil boom migrants or Pacific Island climate refugees. Each expert shares findings on factors involved, then regroups to synthesize patterns across cases. Use maps to plot origins and destinations.

Analyze how migration changes the cultural landscape of the destination country.

Facilitation Tip

For the Jigsaw Case Studies, assign groups a specific migration story and require each student to contribute one push factor and one pull factor from the narrative before sharing with their home group.

What to look for

Present students with images or short video clips depicting different migration situations. Ask them to identify the primary push or pull factors evident in each visual and share their reasoning with a partner.

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

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 40 min · Pairs

Role-Play Simulation: Migration Decisions

Provide family profiles facing push factors. In pairs, students draw pull factor cards and debate relocation choices, recording pros, cons, and outcomes. Debrief as a class on uncertainties in real migrations.

Evaluate the role environmental degradation plays in creating climate refugees.

Facilitation Tip

In the Role-Play Simulation, pause mid-simulation to ask observers to identify which characters are facing forced migration and justify their answers using evidence from the scenario cards.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If you were a farmer whose land was becoming unfarmable due to climate change, what factors would you consider before deciding to migrate, and what would make you choose one destination over another?' Facilitate a class discussion on the complexities of these decisions.

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

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 50 min · Whole Class

Flow Map: Tracking Migrations

Students individually research a migration wave to Canada, then in whole class create a large map showing push/pull arrows. Add data labels and discuss cultural impacts on destinations.

Explain what motivates people to leave their homes for uncertain futures elsewhere.

Facilitation Tip

During the Flow Map activity, ask students to include at least one environmental and one economic factor on their map to ensure balanced examples.

What to look for

Provide students with a list of 5-7 migration scenarios (e.g., seeking employment, fleeing war, escaping drought, joining family). Ask them to write 'P' for push factor or 'L' for pull factor next to each scenario and briefly explain their choice for two of them.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should anchor lessons in student curiosity by starting with local examples before expanding globally. It’s important to normalize struggle when students realize that even attractive pull factors come with hidden costs. Research shows that role-play and case studies build empathy and critical thinking, but only when teachers step back to let students lead the analysis rather than lecturing about outcomes.

Students will confidently distinguish push from pull factors and recognize the difference between voluntary migration and forced displacement. They will analyze migration narratives critically and visualize human movement as a response to layered pressures. Success means moving beyond textbook examples to articulate real-world consequences in their own words.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Role-Play Simulation, watch for students who default to calling all migration voluntary.

  Use the simulation’s forced migration scenarios to explicitly label characters as refugees or internally displaced persons and ask students to explain how their circumstances limit choice, referencing the scenario cards.

• During the Jigsaw Case Studies, watch for students who assume pull factors always lead to positive outcomes.

  Have each group identify one unexpected challenge faced by the migrants in their story and add it to their case study notes before presenting to the class, ensuring balanced evidence is shared.

• During the Flow Map activity, watch for students who overlook environmental factors.

  Prompt students to add a climate-related push factor to their maps and justify its inclusion by connecting it to real data, such as drought or sea-level rise predictions for their chosen region.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Jigsaw