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Overview:
Around the world and in our own communities, people move in and out of places every day, and they have done so throughout human history. Their patterns of movement reflect the conditions of an ever-changing world and, in turn, impact the cultural landscapes of the places they leave and the places they settle in ways that often last well beyond their own lifetimes. These imprints on a region include its ethnic make-up, spoken languages, religious institutions, traditions, architectural styles, and other cultural markers—all clues to the past, present, and future of that area and generations of its people. Thus, an essential part of understanding a region is its migration story.
This lesson will help students understand key concepts of human migration through the examination of maps and census data. They will then research and document the impact of migration on a region's cultural landscape. Students will examine migration patterns on a global and national scale as a class and then apply that understanding to telling a migration story about their own community.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, demography, history
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 1: "How to use maps and other geographical representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report, information from a spatial perspective"
Standard 9: "The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human population on Earth's surface"
Standard 10: "The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics"
Time:
Two to three hours
Materials Required:
Objectives:
Students will
- use maps and census data to learn about the patterns of human migration;
- understand contemporary patterns of migration around the world;
- understand that past migrations have led to present population patterns;
- relate world and national migration patterns to their local state and community;
- document footprints or "cultural markers" left by migration on the cultural landscape; and
- research and tell the migration story of the local community.
Geographic Skills:
Asking Geographic Questions
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
To engage students in the migration topic, have them read the National Geographic magazine article Changing America. Ask students to discuss the quote from Kenneth Prewitt, former director of the U.S. Census Bureau, that "We're on our way to becoming the first country in history that is literally made up of every part of the world." The United States has often been referred to on two extremes—as a "melting pot" (which emphasizes integration or assimilation of immigrants) or a "salad bowl" (which emphasizes pluralism or multiculturalism)—and sometimes as something in between, such as a "kaleidoscope" (which emphasizes that both the immigrants and society adapt and change), but all of these labels highlight the prominent role of immigration in U.S. identity and culture.
Although the immigrant is perhaps more celebrated in U.S. history than anywhere else, in fact people are migrating all over the world and these patterns both reflect and impact conditions in the countries of exit and entrance.
Development:
Activity 1: What is Migration?
Before students examine migration patterns, they must understand what migration is and some of its key concepts. Have students study this Human Migration Guide PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) for background information on human migration and additional resources. Then have students explore the interactive Migration Station in Xpeditions Hall to understand how principles of migration work. You may also find it helpful to have students review this overview of human migration from the Population Reference Bureau or some of the other sources in the Related Links section.
In small groups or with the whole class discuss the following questions:
- What are some different types of human movements?
- Why do people move? Ask students to think about the forces that drive human migration.
- What effect does a region's economy, climate, politics, and culture have on migration to and from the area?
Explain to students that although many migrations occur within the borders of the same country, they will be looking at the more dramatic impact that migrations between countries and even continents can have on those places.
Activity 2: People on the Move
Have students examine the "People on the Move" map in the National Geographic: Geography Action!—Migration: The Human Journey Packet (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) and look at the current patterns of migration across the globe.
Discuss the following questions:
- From which continents are the most people emigrating?
- To which continents are the most people immigrating?
- What are some patterns of migration in North America? In the United States?
- Why do you think these patterns are happening?
Next, have students explore the census data behind this map and research data relating to their local area. Instruct students to use graph paper or a computer-based spreadsheet tool to create a chart comparing the data on current migration trends between the national, state, and local regions.
First, have students read the United States Population and Housing Narrative Profile: 2004 by the U.S. Census Bureau for overview narrative, taking particular note of the "Nativity and Language" and "Geographic Mobility" sections. (Note: For use of this lesson for countries other than the US, substitute that country's census bureau information or use the Global Data Source search tool from Migration Information Source.)
Next have students go to the Fact Sheet on the U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder. Tell students to review the highlights in the "Social Characteristics" section, as well as the associated maps and briefs, then click on "Show More." On the detailed page that opens, have students scroll down to "Nativity and Place of Birth" and examine data through "Language Spoken at Home," particularly focusing on "Region of Birth of Foreign Born."
After examining the national data, students should then look at state and local data to see how it compares. On the Fact Sheet page, have students type in their state in the search box in the upper right portion of the screen and examine the same data. Now have students follow the same process to find similar data for their local area (county, zip code, or metropolitan area).
To illustrate the data, students should print some thematic maps from the U.S. Census Bureau and/or create their own maps, using a blank Xpeditions map and the Mapmaking Guide (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) as a reference.
Discuss the following questions:
- How do the migration patterns of the state and local area compare to those in the U.S.?
- How do the migration patterns of the state and local area compare to each other?
- What factors might contribute to these patterns?
Activity 3: Past Moves, Present Patterns
While present migrations are changing the face of the future, past migrations have helped shape the present makeup of populations. The ancestry, or roots, of the people in a region tie them to the migrations of their ancestors and help explain the history of the region. Have students examine the "Past Moves, Present Patterns" map for the United States in the National Geographic: Geography Action!—Migration: The Human Journey Packet (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) and look at the tapestry of American ancestry, as shown by the most common ancestry by county.
As in Activity 2, have students explore the census data behind this map and research data relating to their local area. Instruct students to use the graph paper or computer-based spreadsheet tool to create a chart comparing the data on current migration trends between the national, state, and local regions.
First, have students go to the Fact Sheet on the U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder. Tell students to click on "See More" again and scroll down to "Ancestry."
After examining the national data, students should then look at state and local data to see how it compares. On the Fact Sheet page, again have students type in their state in the search box in the upper right portion of the screen and examine the same data. Next have students follow the same process to find similar data for their local area (county, zip code, or metropolitan area).
To illustrate the data, students should print some thematic maps from the U.S. Census Bureau and/or create their own maps, using a blank Xpeditions map and the Mapmaking Guide (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) as a reference.
Discuss the following questions:
- How do the ancestry patterns of the state and local areas compare to those in the U.S.?
- How do the migration patterns of the state and local areas compare to each other?
- How do the ancestry patterns of each area (U.S., state, and local area) compare to those of current migration trends?
- How do the general and social characteristics differ between the U.S., state and local areas?
- What factors might contribute to these patterns?
Closing:
Activity 4: Migration: A Community Perspective
Now that students have identified major groups of past and current immigrants in their local area, it is time for them to investigate what impact those groups have had and are having on the cultural landscape of their community. Remind students from their study of the Human Migration Guide (PDF language) in Activity 1 that migration causes the diffusion of cultural traits and ideas and leaves a lasting imprint on the location, evidenced in its ethnic make-up, spoken languages, religious institutions, traditions, architectural styles, and other cultural markers.
Have small groups of students investigate their community's migration story. Use the following National Geographic: Geography Action!—Migration: The Human Journey Project Checklist (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) to help organize the project. Depending on the depth of the available information, have students research the role one or all of the major immigrant groups of the past or present has played in the community's history. Students should conduct research using historical documents, newspaper articles, photographs, and other artifacts. Some possible places to look include the public library, a town or city historian, local museums, newspaper archives, the phone book (to identify ethnic restaurants, religious institutions, clubs, etc.) and the Internet.
In addition to their research into existing documents have students complete one or both of the following activities to create primary source community records of their own:
- Conduct interviews (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) with community members who could share information about patterns of movement to and from the community as well as personal histories. For more ideas, see the Tell a Migration StoryWith Interviews activity.
- Photograph (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) (or sketch if cameras are not available) people and places that represent migration patterns or cultural markers in the community. Examples could include an ethnic community, such as a "Chinatown," ethnic grocery stores, a religious community center, street signs, architectural styles, signs in other languages, people at a traditional festival, etc. Have students brainstorm locations and people first, and be sure to get permission to take photographs in businesses, libraries, etc. Then have students label photographs with the dates, places, and short descriptions of the migrations represented by each. For more ideas, see the Tell a Migration StoryWith Photos activity.
When students have completed their research, have them create and share presentations that depict the migration story of their community. Ask the local school, library, museum, community center, or city hall to exhibit student projects.
After all students have presented their reports, have students compare and contrast information. What are some similarities among the people interviewed? Differences? What trends do students notice? How does this information compare to what they learned previously about migration to their community?
Discuss with students some of the reasons that it is important to study migration. How does a community's pattern of migration make it unique? What can we learn about ourselves from this kind of information? Why is it important to preserve and pass on this information to future generations?
Suggested Student Assessment:
Student projects and presentations should be evaluated based on their understanding of the key concepts of migration, the quality of their research, and the synthesis of the components into a clear portrait of the community, both visually and orally. In their presentations, students should be able to convey their understanding of the concepts related to migration, patterns of migration, and the effect that migration has had on the cultural makeup of their community.
Extending the Lesson:
- Visit the EdNet Geography Action! Community to access lesson plan, audio files, live chats and classroom resources related to all aspects of migration. Geography Action! is an annual conservation and awareness program designed to educate and excite people about our natural, cultural, and historic treasures. Each year they celebrate a different topic related to conservation and the world.
- Whether they are among the tens of millions of people who have moved to a new country or have simply moved to a new town, people move for a variety of reasons, often because of positive aspects of the new place or negative aspects of the old. What are some examples of things that have pushed people to or pulled them away from North America? Ask students to think about real world examples of some of these situations. Have them consider historical (e.g., Africans brought to America for slavery) and current (e.g., refugees) examples, as well as situations that illustrate both voluntary (e.g., moving to another country to look for work) and forced (e.g., displacement by a natural disaster) migration. Have students brainstorm a list of push and pull factors. Ask students to think about some of the reasons people might want to move to or away from their state, city, or town. Possible answers could include the climate, job opportunities, natural resources, the economy, culture, etc.
- Have students research migration patterns within the borders of a country, state or town. To illustrate the data, students should print some thematic maps from the U.S. Census Bureau and/or create their own maps, using a blank Xpeditions map and the Mapmaking Guide (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) as a reference.
- Have students write a fictionalized account of a modern immigrant character. Ask students to use a journal format that includes information about the immigrant's family and background, and the reasons for traveling to a new home. They should also include details about their experiences during their journey and after their arrival.
- To further develop their understanding of migration, have students explore the Genographic Project web site. There, they can trace the progress of a worldwide study determining ancient migration patterns through the examination of the DNA of people from around the world.
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