Exploring Our World: Junior Cycle Geography · 1st Year

Active learning ideas

People Moving Home

Active learning works because students connect deeply with human experiences when they explore real-life scenarios. By mapping family moves, acting out decisions, and sorting emotions, they see geography as stories of people, not just facts. This builds both geographical understanding and empathy.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary Curriculum - Myself and the Wider World
• NCCA: Primary Curriculum - Human Environments

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 35 min · Pairs

Mapping Activity: Family Move Timelines

Students draw simple timelines or maps marking places their family has lived, noting reasons like 'new job' or 'near school' and one feeling per move. Pairs compare maps, then share one example with the class. Display maps on a wall 'migration gallery' for ongoing reference.

Why might a family move to a new house in the same town?

Facilitation Tip

In Mapping Activity, give each student two sticky notes: one for a push factor, one for a pull factor, to place on their timeline to visually separate causes.

What to look for

Give students a card with a scenario (e.g., 'A family moves from Cork to Galway for a new job'). Ask them to identify one push factor and one pull factor related to this move, and one emotion they might feel.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 45 min · Small Groups

Role Play: Moving Scenarios

Prepare cards with scenarios, such as 'family moves for dad's job in Dublin' or 'escape war in home country'. Small groups act out the scene, discuss reasons and feelings, then report back. Debrief as a class on common themes.

Why might a family move to a new town or country?

Facilitation Tip

During Role Play, assign roles in pairs so students must negotiate decisions together, making the consequences of each move more concrete.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you had to move to a new town tomorrow. What are two things you would miss about your old home and two things you might look forward to in a new place?' Facilitate a brief class discussion.

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

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Emotion Sort: Moving Feelings

Provide cards with emotions (happy, scared, sad) and moving situations. In pairs, students match and explain choices, like 'sad when leaving friends'. Groups present matches and vote on most common pairings.

How do people feel when they move to a new place?

Facilitation Tip

For Emotion Sort, provide blank cards so students can add their own emotions beyond the prepared set, normalizing individual experiences.

What to look for

Display a world map. Ask students to point to a country they know people have moved to from Ireland and a country people have moved from to Ireland. Briefly discuss the reasons for these movements.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Think-Pair-Share
• 40 min · Whole Class

Class Survey: Local Moves

Students survey classmates anonymously on 'Has your family moved? Why? How did you feel?'. Tally results on a chart, discuss patterns. Extend by plotting moves on an Ireland outline map.

Why might a family move to a new house in the same town?

Facilitation Tip

In Class Survey, ask students to interview a family member about a local move and bring one reason to share, making the activity personally relevant.

What to look for

Give students a card with a scenario (e.g., 'A family moves from Cork to Galway for a new job'). Ask them to identify one push factor and one pull factor related to this move, and one emotion they might feel.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach this topic by grounding abstract concepts in personal stories and concrete choices. Research shows role-play and mapping build spatial reasoning, while emotion sorting validates student experiences, reducing resistance to difficult topics. Avoid making assumptions about students' own moves or those of their families, as this can exclude or upset some learners.

Successful learning looks like students describing multiple reasons for moves beyond housing, identifying push and pull factors in scenarios, and recognizing varied emotions in moves. They should use geographical terms accurately and reflect thoughtfully on personal and community impacts.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Role Play: Moving Scenarios, watch for students assuming all moves are for larger homes or better schools. Redirect by asking, 'What else might cause a family to leave a place they love?' and prompt pairs to consider job loss or illness.

  Use the scenarios provided in the role-play to guide students toward multiple realistic reasons, like a parent’s job transfer or needing to live closer to elderly relatives.

• During Emotion Sort: Moving Feelings, watch for students assuming all moves create excitement. Redirect by asking, 'What might someone feel if they had to leave friends behind?' and have students find cards that reflect sadness or worry.

  Have students pair emotions with scenarios from earlier activities to show how feelings depend on context, normalizing varied experiences.

• During Mapping Activity: Family Move Timelines, watch for students thinking long-distance moves are the only significant relocations. Redirect by asking, 'How far is too far for a move to still feel local?' and have students mark local moves on their maps with a different color.

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Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share
• Role Play