Internally Displaced Persons and Refugee Camps

Active learning helps students grasp the complex realities of IDPs by moving beyond abstract definitions to tangible, human experiences they can analyze and critique. By engaging with real-world cases and design challenges, students connect geographic patterns to individual lives, which builds empathy and critical thinking about global systems.

• 10th Grade
• Geography
• 4 activities
• 25 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the geographic factors, such as conflict, climate change, and resource scarcity, that contribute to internal displacement within a country.
2. Compare and contrast the evolution of refugee camps into semi-permanent settlements with the development of formal urban areas.
3. Design a sustainable infrastructure solution for a long-term displacement camp, considering water, sanitation, and shelter needs.
4. Evaluate the ethical obligations of host countries and international bodies toward internally displaced persons and refugees.

Case Study Analysis

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Case Study Analysis: Zaatari Camp, From Emergency to City

Provide groups with data on Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan: its founding in 2012, population growth to 80,000+ residents, evolution of markets and informal infrastructure, and current services. Groups map the camp's evolution, identify what made it transition from emergency camp to semi-permanent settlement, and evaluate whether this transition represents success or failure of the international humanitarian system. Groups present to the class.

Prepare & details

Explain how refugee camps evolve into permanent urban settlements.

Facilitation Tip: During the Zaatari Camp case study, have students track how a camp evolves over time by annotating a timeline with specific geographic and social changes.

Setup: Groups at tables with case materials

Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template

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

Concept Mapping

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Concept Mapping: Internal Displacement Patterns

Provide pairs with IDMC (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre) data on the top 10 countries by IDP population. Pairs map the displacement, identify whether each crisis is conflict-driven or climate-driven, and note the geographic relationship between IDP concentration and the source of displacement. Class discusses what patterns distinguish conflict displacement from climate displacement geographically.

Prepare & details

Analyze the geographic factors contributing to internal displacement.

Facilitation Tip: For the mapping activity, assign each pair a different region to ensure varied perspectives on displacement patterns.

Setup: Tables with large paper, or wall space

Materials: Concept cards or sticky notes, Large paper, Markers, Example concept map

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Case Study Analysis

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Design Challenge: Improving Long-Term Camp Conditions

Groups receive a brief describing a long-standing refugee camp facing specific challenges (inadequate water supply, lack of economic opportunities, poor shelter quality). Using a fixed budget and a menu of interventions (solar water pumping, skills training programs, improved shelter materials, expanded health clinic), groups design an improvement plan. Groups present plans and receive feedback on feasibility and geographic appropriateness.

Prepare & details

Design solutions to improve living conditions in long-term refugee camps.

Facilitation Tip: In the design challenge, set a clear time limit for brainstorming to keep students focused on feasibility and resource constraints.

Setup: Groups at tables with case materials

Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template

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

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 25 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Should Camps Become Cities?

Present the dilemma: if a camp has existed for 15 years and has schools, markets, and social infrastructure, should it be formalized as a permanent settlement? Students individually argue a position; partners debate using geographic and legal considerations; class discusses what formalizing camps implies for the international norm of eventual repatriation and what it means for host countries.

Prepare & details

Explain how refugee camps evolve into permanent urban settlements.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

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

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should emphasize the legal gap between IDPs and refugees by comparing the 1951 Refugee Convention with the non-binding UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Avoid framing camps as purely humanitarian spaces; instead, highlight their unintended urbanization and the political complexities of long-term displacement. Research shows that students retain more when they confront contradictions in the humanitarian system, so use case studies to reveal how policy gaps shape daily life in camps.

What to Expect

Students will explain the legal and geographic differences between IDPs and refugees, analyze how displacement patterns vary by region, and evaluate the trade-offs in designing long-term camp solutions. Success looks like students using geographic evidence to support arguments and proposing nuanced solutions to real humanitarian challenges.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Mapping: Internal Displacement Patterns activity, watch for students assuming that all displacement is caused by conflict.

What to Teach Instead

Use the mapping activity to redirect students toward environmental and economic factors by having them overlay climate data, land-use maps, and conflict zones to identify co-occurring pressures that displace people.

Common Misconception

During the Design Challenge: Improving Long-Term Camp Conditions activity, watch for students treating camps as purely temporary structures.

What to Teach Instead

Have students refer to the Zaatari Camp case study’s timeline of urban development to ground their designs in the reality of protracted displacement, requiring them to justify how their solutions account for permanence.

Common Misconception

During Think-Pair-Share: Should Camps Become Cities?, watch for students idealizing camps as self-sustaining communities without addressing legal barriers.

What to Teach Instead

Use the legal protections gap highlighted in the mapping activity to push students to consider what responsibilities host governments and international actors retain, even in permanent settlements.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After the Mapping: Internal Displacement Patterns activity, give students a map with a hypothetical displacement scenario and ask them to label three geographic or climatic factors contributing to the crisis and one legal or political barrier to IDPs reaching safety.

Discussion Prompt

During the Think-Pair-Share: Should Camps Become Cities? activity, assess students by having them reference evidence from the Zaatari Camp case study in their arguments, focusing on how urban characteristics developed and what trade-offs those changes created.

Quick Check

After the Design Challenge: Improving Long-Term Camp Conditions activity, present students with a list of characteristics and ask them to categorize each as typical of a temporary emergency camp, a semi-permanent settlement, or a long-term city-like camp, justifying their choices with examples from the challenge.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to research a specific climate-induced displacement event and present a 2-minute policy pitch on how to address it.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence stems for the Think-Pair-Share to help students articulate their positions, such as 'I agree/disagree because...' followed by a specific example.
• Deeper exploration: Have students compare Zaatari Camp’s evolution to another long-term camp, such as Dadaab in Kenya, by analyzing aerial imagery and economic reports.

Key Vocabulary

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)	A person who is forced to flee their home due to conflict, violence, or natural disasters but remains within their own country's borders.
Refugee Camp	A temporary settlement established to provide shelter and basic services for people who have been forced to flee their homes, often across international borders.
De Facto Urbanization	The process by which informal settlements, like refugee camps, develop urban characteristics such as markets, governance, and infrastructure over time, even without official planning.
Climate Migration	The movement of people, either within a country or across borders, primarily driven by the impacts of climate change, such as sea-level rise, desertification, or extreme weather events.