Turn your students into flocks of migratory birds for this fun lesson on animal migration. Prior to the activity, the teacher creates four different migration routes in the classroom or any available open space, labeling nesting...

Human migration—often the result of push and pull factors—sometimes has dramatic outcomes for both those leaving their homelands and the host countries. Using a variety of case studies, learners consider those issues. Then, by completing...

Minnie Bruce Pratt's poem, "The Great Migration," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on how where we come from influences who we are. Groups conduct a close reading of the poem, recording observations about the poem's...

Panel 58 from Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series" of paintings provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to sharpen their observation and analytical skills. After engaging in a warm-up activity that introduces the concepts of...

What causes people to move from one place, one city, or one country to another? Using the provided migration questionnaire, learners interview family members about the factors that cause them to be pushed from an area or pulled to...

Pastoralists and agrarians, livestock raisers and farmers. Using the conflict in Darfur as a lens, class members investigate the conflicts that arise when these groups are forced to migrate from one area to another.

Humans have been on the move for millennia. Using an article from The Smithsonian, pupils chart human movement before written history on a world map. In addition, they examine the modes of transportation used by different waves of human...

Using maps, images, websites, and handouts, learners work to understand the nature of human migrations. They compare and contrast human migration from the past to the present, identify causes for migration, and trace migration routes on...

Get the story straight. Scholars gather information about the Great Migration as they listen to a reading from Promises to Keep. They then examine the text to find evidence to support the feeling of resentment. Learners take part in...

Why would someone want to leave home? The age-old question is at the center of a thought-provoking activity. Scholars consider why humans move around the world both during pre-historical times and today using a PowerPoint, reading on...

Biology buffs simulate how genetic markers are passed among populations in order to understand how these markers can help anthropologists map human migration. A couple of volunteers leave the room while you walk the remaining learners...

Migratory animals follow the same path every year. Learners research the path of an assigned species and create a map highlighting key landmarks along the way. As a group, they come up with a presentation to share with their class.

This is not a lesson plan, but an outstanding resource to provide material for your lessons on seasonal changes and animal migration. Links connect you to live web cams and up-to-date information on Monarch Butterflies, hummingbirds,...

Brazil's population has been changing dramatically in the last century. Study the causes of Brazilian urbanization, including industrialization and and migration, and the implications for the country of the populations'...

What do Jerry Yang, Patrick Ewing, John Muir, Charlize Theron, Peter Jennings, and Saint Frances X Cabrini all have in common? They are all immigrants to the United States. Famous and not-so-famous immigrants are the focus of a resource...

To gain a global perspective on immigration, groups investigate and create a map of the migration patterns in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Class members then examine the background, immigration history, and...

The story of one bird provides valuable insight into general animal behaviors and interactions. Young researchers investigate the peregrine falcon using a web search. They analyze the behaviors of the raptor including its migration...

Gain a deeper understanding of migratory pollinators. After studying about pollinators and their effects on flowering plants, learners hear a story about the migration of Monarch butterflies and bats in the Sonoma Desert. Small groups...

From days of 24 hour sunlight, to endless nights that last for days, the Arctic is a very unique place to live. Examine the seasonal changes that occur in the northern-most reaches of the globe and the impact they have on the plants and...

Class members continue their investigation of the factors that influence migration with a activity on human rights. As they examine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and selected US Constitutional Amendments, learners compare the...

A reading of Walter Dean Myers' "Harlem" sets the stage for studying the literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance. The lesson begins with a review of the social, political, and economic conditions of the 1920s and 1930s that...

Here is an interesting lesson on the manatee for your upper graders or middle schoolers. A game is played where learners work together to complete a successful manatee migration. It's a board game, and all of the game components are...

You may not know if that zebrafish in your fish tank is a model citizen—but it is definitely a model organism! What can we learn about ourselves from a tiny zebrafish? Discover more about the polygenic trait of skin color through a...

As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War...