POPULATION ISSUES FOR GCSE

GO TO THE GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION'S WEBSITE

GCSE POPULATION LINKS

• For an excellent introduction to the whole issue, use the UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND BRIEFING KIT. The US CENSUS site is another good source of information and resources.
• The POPULATION REFERENCE BUREAU (PRB) is an American site which looks at the various aspects of world demographics. There are a number of resources available by clicking the EDUCATORS tab at the top of the screen.
• The NEW INTERNATIONALIST is often concerned with population issues as part of its brief.
• The POPULATION INSTITUTE is a good base for further explorations, and the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC have a site. Good site also from SLIPPERY ROCK.
• Population pyramids are an excellent way of showing population structure. They can be drawn for you at the PYRAMID DRAWING site.
• To compare countries throughout the world and rank them, try the excellent YOUR NATION, which allows an excellent comparison on a huge number of indicators. This works well with groups, or can be used to find basic statistical summaries.
• Another aspect of population change is MIGRATION. A very important current issue is the increase in Asylum seekers moving into Europe or the UK. For information on this, try the HOME OFFICE, or ASYLUMAID.
• There are, of course, some areas which have problems with not enough people. Some of the islands in the Scottish Highlands are experiencing depopulation, just as the area experienced involuntary exoduses at the time of the Clearances. The recent BBC drama 'Two Thousand Acres of Sky' had its real life corollary recently when the island of Muck advertised for a young family with children to move to the island as its population was declining. An article in the Times of March 2001 also mentioned some other islands where there were similar issues: it also mentioned what would at one time have been my ideal job: postman for the Island of Raasay off the coast of SKYE, and looking across to Ben Tianavaig and Glen Sligachan.
• Another excellent collection of links is obtained from the POPNET page. This is a huge source of world population information which can be searched. There is a useful World Map which can be clicked on to choose the area you're interested in.
• Try also XIST - as in 'exist': lots of graphs and statistics. There are some useful population sites around, pity the subject is so dull....
• Want to know how many people there are at the moment ? There are several POPULATION CLOCKS. There's one HERE.
• A recent new site, and one which was publicised by a flyer at my school is that produced by lecturers at SOUTHAMPTON UNIVERSITY, which apparently has a wealth of useful statistics. Check out these links...
• So you've got a lower set and you want to demonstrate some of the basic principles of population growth ? Take them to the ACTIVE SCIENCE site, where they can see it from the point of view of rabbits and predators. OK it says 8+ on the age range, but then Key Stage 3 pupils are 8+. There are downloadable PDF format worksheets which make it a very useful extra, or of course you can recommend it to your science colleagues.
• THIS SITE offers the chance to look at how the populations of a range of countries have changed over the last 2 years. An excellent addition to the Population clock sites that are available from several locations.
• Various UN sites exist. Plus the IPPF.
• Try the POPULATION INSTITUTE.
• Try POPULATION ACTION for more useful information too.
• How about one better than ZERO Population growth and head for NEGATIVE Population growth.
• For a very useful concept diagram on the factors which affect Population Density, go HERE.

Thinking of having a baby ? An American site offers the chance to see the benefits of using what is called a BABY THINK IT OVER simulator. It is a lifelike doll which has to be looked after in a similar way to a baby, so that people can see the effort that is involved.

Some of these sites may be filtered out on your school network due to the subject matter.

Try the KEY STAGE 3 LINKS (this section is larger than GCSE...)

A GREYING POPULATION

"Old age is not so bad when you consider the alternative"  Maurice Chevalier

One of the sure things to come out of the Census will be an increasing proportion of elderly people. In 1900, 1% of the population was over 65, now it is 7%. By 2050 it will be 20%. The over 85's are the fastest growing age group in Britain.

Italy is likely to be the first country to have over 60's outnumbering children.

There are many results of this change in the dependency ratio, not the least the possible raising of the retirement age. It'll be just my luck to limp my way to 60 and find I have to hang on in there until I'm 70. Better start saving now.

Sure enough: in February 2002) came the first news in the papers: the latest recommendations are to raise retirement age to 67. Can you imagine still teaching aged 67 ? The average time that a male teacher lives for when they retire is just 18 months! I'd like a bit longer than that to catch up on all those things you never had time for - like having a life and travelling. Plus I might even have chance to read a book.

Japan is the country with the greatest number of centenarians. Japan is home to the world's oldest woman, aged 115. There are apparently almost 18,000 Japanese over the age of 100, 84% of whom are women!

The update in September 2001 provided the detail that for the first time, there are more people over the age of 60: 21% of the population, than there are under the age of 16: 20%. There are also well over a million people past the age of 85.

POPULATION MIGRATION   

Migration is a vital part of changing populations. It can be forced or voluntary, temporary or permanent.

There is a useful site for Asylum seekers, refugees and displaced people at FORCED MIGRATION.

LESSON PLANS

1. Using Population data and Population Pyramids. (Recommended)

An online lesson analysing population data is available HERE. I recommend that you visit this website and use the lesson as a useful Geography ICT lesson. Produced by Noel Jenkins.

BECTA have also produced an online lesson using Population Data, as part of their drive to make Interactive ICT resources available. There are 4 sections to the lesson to work through.

In NORFOLK ? Go HERE for demographic information.

2. POPULATION CLOCKS and others...

Collecting data from population clock sites and producing a piece of written work. These may take a long time to load, potentially.

WORD document lesson plan HERE

3. Defining key terms

Put these on an OHT, and use textbook such as Key Geography, The Wider World etc. (or even a non Waugh one) to provide a definition - this could be illustrated, or pupils could have to identify them without using key words (a sort of Taboo approach):

BIRTH RATE

DEATH RATE

INFANT MORTALITY

NATURAL INCREASE / DECREASE

CARRYING CAPACITY

OPTIMUM POPULATION

OVERPOPULATION

MIGRATION

EMIGRATION

IMMIGRANTS

LIFE EXPECTANCY

4. USA TO MEXICO MIGRATION

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

The border between the USA and MEXICO is perhaps the most busy crossing point in the world. Over 30 million people cross each year, some legally, others illegally. The border is known as the "Tortilla Curtain".

As part of this lesson, we use materials from the Key Geography series, plus a 10 minute clip from the 'Full Circle' series which features Michael Palin at the border on one of his tours (his own website will feature more...), plus a Powerpoint presentation which gives information on a piece of creative writing - some slides adapted from a presentation from SLN GEOGRAPHY, added by Carly Goodwin to whom due credit is given.

There are some useful articles on migration across the USA / Mexico border by searching the archive at CNN news. Apparently the movement dates back to the 1940's when it was encouraged due to a labour shortage during the 2nd World War. It was part of a programme called the Bracero program (from a Spanish word meaning 'to work with your arms') It allowed farm workers to work temporarily in Texas, California and the SW USA. Over 12 million Americans had gone to war. About 5 million migrants entered the USA. (Also featured in the film 'Cider House Rules'...)

When the programme ended in the 1960's, the illegal movement didn't. There are many illegal aliens (subject of a Genesis song...) - recent policy has been to target the people who employ the illegal workers, who face stiff penalties, as a way of discouraging people from employing the immigrant workers. There was also an 'amnesty' for those people who could prove they had been in the country for a substantial length of time.

An article from the 'New Internationalist' magazine with the punny title 'Maid in the USA' looks at the experience of one Mexican migrant in domestic service in the USA. Read it HERE. There is also a famous picture of the migrant who tried to get through the border in 2001 dressed as a car seat. Do a search, and find the This is True site which has a copy of the picture. The migrant was apparently called Enrique Aquilar Canchola. There are also some sites which have a fairly extreme viewpoint, as you'd expect.

There are plans to introduce a 'questworker' system (similar to the Gastarbeiten which were the Turks and other East Europeans (and the boys from Auf Wiedersehen Pet) in Germany in the 60's and 70's...and 80's)

This would allow several hundred thousand people from Mexico into the USA for a few years, after which they would return home. There are the results of a survey on people's attitudes to this plan HERE.

I also play the Genesis track "Illegal Alien" - the lyrics of which I cannot reproduce here of course, but they talk about trying to get to the other side to the promised land, where everything is easy. It's on the album 'Genesis' from 1983, or a live version (far better) is on Genesis Archive 2

5. MIGRATION CASE STUDIES

Anglia Campus' FREE section has a number of activities on the theme of Migration. It starts by Classifying the different types of migration, then moves on to 4 contrasting case studies, and an essay to finish:

The Chinese in the United States

Retirement to Cornwall

Apartheid in South Africa (a historical case study...)

The Life Cycle model

6. THE COST OF A BABY

2.4 Children is a thing of the past. People are deciding to have fewer children than in the past. An exercise in simple family tree construction going back 3 generations will show that for most of the people you teach, the family size has got smaller. In some countries there are anti-natalist policies aimed at reducing the population, but in many others it's simply down to the individual decisions made by millions of couples to delay having children and to have fewer. A slogan I've seen in the past is "God stopped at two, so should you."

So how much does a baby cost ?

I've added a simple LESSON here that I use with some groups to investigate the cost of having a child. There are frequent articles in the papers telling us just how much babies cost in the first years of their lives. Also produced a humorous POWERPOINT presentation on the things that parents need..

7. MOVING HERE

This is a fabulous site which looks at the various groups of people who have moved to the UK over the years. We are a mixed race country - based on centuries of various nations invading and occupying and intermingling of Normans, Saxons, Vikings  et al.. Of course, not everyone accepts this, and thinks that 'they were born here' and are therefore British...

MOVING HERE is the address. There are images and stories documenting 200 years of migration. Recommended.

8. CREATE A PERSON

You can create your own VIRTUAL person by choosing from a range of menus at the MY VIRTUAL MODEL site.

9. CHINA POPULATION ENQUIRY

"It is a very good thing that China has a big population. Even if China's population multiplies many times, she is fully capable of finding a solution; the solution is production."

Chairman Mao (1949)

Another excellent enquiry hosted at SLN GEOGRAPHY. The link HERE will take you to an enquiry entitled:

"Can China Feed Itself ?"

There is an article HERE about the China One Child Policy. Another one HERE goes into some detail on how the original rather strictly enforced policy was reduced. There are obvious long term issues facing most of the world.

A new Powerpoint presentation on the One Child Policy (March 2004)

Article on TWIN TACTICS by Chinese in 'The Times' (November 2004)

Details on the policy

Policy was implemented in 1979

Meant the prevention of 300 million births during the past decade, and an unknown number of newborns killed

Penalty for an extra child is usually a fine of between £200 and £7000 per child

10. LABELLING POPULATION PYRAMIDS

Population pyramids show population or demographic structure.

Give the groups 2 pyramids for contrasting countries: the 2 I have used in the past are BRAZIL/KENYA and FRANCE/UK. These could also be produced by various websites.

There is then a series of labels which need to be added to the pyramids. They have to be a) on the correct pyramid, and b) in the correct place on the pyramid: on either young dependents, elderly dependents or economically active.

Thanks to Mr. Francis for producing this activity.

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