Lesson Plans

Food for Thought
An interactive lesson to teach about the similarities and differences between populations in the world's major regions. Appropriate for middle to high school. Spatial graphic activity; includes data on population, density, growth rates, life expectancy, and consumption. (2007)

Linking Population, Health, and Environment
Students learn more about the world in which they live by researching, discussing, and writing on the linkages among population, health, and environment trends. Appropriate for grades 9-10 and may be adapted for use with younger or older students. (2005)

Making Population Real: New Lesson Plans and Classroom Activities
This teaching package, especially designed for the population unit of AP Human Geography, helps students understand and master key population concepts, demonstrate research skills, and create charts and graphs. (August 2005)

The Changing Face of America
These activities help students examine patterns of diversity in the United States at national and local levels. Appropriate for middle to high school. The activities involve graphing, interpreting data, and discussing changes in diversity due to the dynamics of migration and population growth. (2005)

Population Policy-Progress Since Cairo
The 1994 Cairo Conference broke new ground in shifting the emphasis of population policies and actions. By examining global developments and cases from Africa, students learn about population policy and gender differences. Appropriate for advanced high school or college level students. (2005)

People on the Move
These two activities have students explore migration patterns in the United States at national, state, and local levels. Students learn about push-pull factors and corresponding population mobility patterns. Appropriate for advanced high school or college level students. (2005)

Populations in the Path of Natural Hazards
This lesson explores population movement and natural hazards in Florida and the Caribbean Basin. Through two activities, students examine population trends and evaluate the consequences for people when severe storms strike heavily populated areas. Appropriate for advanced high school or college level students. (2005)

Population-Building a Foundation
This lesson plan includes three activities that allow students to: develop a working vocabulary for population geography; understand relationships and implications of demographic data; and construct and analyze population pyramids at different scales. Written for advanced high school students or may be adapted for other grade levels. (2005)

The Demographic Transition-A Contemporary Look at a Classic Model
Through three activities students learn to: understand the classic demographic transition model; explain assumptions and limitations of this classic model; construct graphs of contemporary demographic change; and explain contemporary demographic patterns in the context of the classic model. Written for advanced high school students and may be adapted for use with younger or older students. (2005)

HIV/AIDS and Contemporary Population Dynamics
Trends with regard to mortality patterns, population change, and the spread of disease are presented for the United States and for the world. By looking at HIV/AIDS, students learn how to analyze these trends at multiple scales and learn more about the social and economic impacts of HIV/AIDS. Appropriate for advanced high school or college level students. (2005)