Geography · Grade 8

Active learning ideas

Types of Migration: Internal and International

This topic benefits from active learning because students often view migration as abstract until they connect it to real places, policies, and people. Mapping flows, debating trade-offs, and analyzing real cases help students move from vague ideas to concrete understanding of how geography, economics, and society interact in migration decisions.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• ON: Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability - Grade 8
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2

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

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 45 min · Small Groups

Mapping Activity: Migration Flow Maps

Provide world and Canada maps. Students in groups mark arrows for rural-to-urban, international, and seasonal migrations using colored markers, labeling causes and impacts. Groups share one example with the class, discussing patterns. Conclude with a class mural combining all maps.

Differentiate between the causes and impacts of internal versus international migration.

Facilitation Tip

Before assigning the Mapping Activity, have students brainstorm three personal or family moves they know of to ground the task in lived experience.

What to look for

Present students with three short scenarios describing migration. Ask them to label each scenario as 'Internal Migration', 'International Migration', or 'Seasonal Migration' and briefly explain their reasoning for one of the labels.

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

Activity 02

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Pairs

Role-Play: Policy Debate Simulation

Assign roles as migrants, policymakers, or community leaders. Pairs debate a policy like rural incentives versus urban expansion. Each side presents arguments based on provided case studies, then vote on outcomes. Debrief on real Canadian policies.

Analyze how government policies influence patterns of international migration.

Facilitation Tip

During the Role-Play Simulation, assign roles two days in advance so students can research their positions and prepare evidence-based talking points.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How might a government policy that favors skilled workers over family reunification impact the diversity of a city like Calgary?' Facilitate a class discussion where students use key vocabulary to support their arguments.

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

Activity 03

• Jigsaw
• 40 min · Small Groups

Case Study Carousel: Real Migrations

Prepare stations with cases like Syrian refugees to Canada or Alberta oil boom rural shifts. Small groups rotate, noting causes, impacts, and predictions in journals. Regroup to compare internal versus international differences.

Predict the long-term demographic changes resulting from significant rural-to-urban migration.

Facilitation Tip

After the Case Study Carousel, ask each group to present one surprising impact they discovered to highlight diversity of outcomes.

What to look for

Ask students to write down one significant 'push factor' that might cause someone to leave a rural area in Canada and one 'pull factor' that might attract them to a Canadian city. Then, have them identify one potential long-term demographic change for the rural area.

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

Activity 04

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Individual

Gallery Walk: Demographic Futures

Students individually sketch future maps showing migration effects, like Toronto overcrowding. Post on walls for whole-class gallery walk with sticky note feedback. Discuss predictions tied to sustainability.

Differentiate between the causes and impacts of internal versus international migration.

Facilitation Tip

Before the Prediction Gallery Walk, model how to read demographic data by walking through a sample graph together as a class.

What to look for

Present students with three short scenarios describing migration. Ask them to label each scenario as 'Internal Migration', 'International Migration', or 'Seasonal Migration' and briefly explain their reasoning for one of the labels.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach migration through a balance of data and human stories. Start with local examples, like seasonal farmworkers in Leamington or new arrivals in Scarborough, to make patterns tangible. Avoid presenting policies as neutral; instead, frame them as choices that create winners and losers. Research shows that when students analyze conflicting interests, they develop deeper spatial reasoning and empathy for complex social issues.

By the end of these activities, students should confidently classify migration types, cite specific causes and impacts, and use geographic evidence to support their reasoning. They will demonstrate this through accurate flow maps, balanced role-play arguments, and nuanced case study reflections that show cause-effect relationships.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Mapping Activity, watch for students who assume all migration arrows represent permanent moves. Redirect them to label seasonal flows with dashed lines and include icons for temporary housing like migrant worker camps.

  During the Mapping Activity, have students use color-coding to distinguish permanent, temporary, and seasonal moves, and require a legend that explains their symbols before sharing maps with peers.

• During the Role-Play Simulation, listen for oversimplified claims that rural-to-urban migration always benefits cities. Redirect groups by asking them to calculate the cost of housing shortages in their city budgets.

  During the Role-Play Simulation, provide each group with a simplified city budget sheet and require them to present at least one economic or social cost during their debate.

• During the Policy Debate Simulation, observe students who underestimate the role of family reunification policies. Redirect them to the case study on Syrian refugees in London, Ontario, to ground abstract policies in real outcomes.

  During the Policy Debate Simulation, assign one group to research Canada’s family reunification policy and present its impact on specific Ontario communities before the debate begins.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Gallery Walk