Activity 2: Patterns of People (80-100 minutes)

This activity reviews the terms and concepts of population density, introduces the concept of population distribution, and examines factors that affect the distribution of world population.

Expectations

  • demonstrate an understanding of the factors affecting population distribution;
  • locate relevant information from a variety of sources;
  • analyze, synthesize, and evaluate data.

Assessment

  • summative evaluation by teacher of one set of statements on global population distribution from each group in Strategy 6, below
    The criteria should include the appropriate use of terms such as clusters, linear, high density, etc. The group submission should show the relationships between population distribution and environmental, cultural, and economic factors
  • formative assessment by teacher of each student’s description and explanation of the pattern of population distribution for their chosen country

Teaching/Learning Strategies

  1. Explain population distribution. Population distribution refers to how the people are spread across the land. This refers to the pattern of habitation or where people live.
  2. Review the terms clustered, scattered, and linear from Activity 1.
  3. Students work in pairs for directed examination in an atlas. Provide maps of Canada’s population distribution and various other maps showing population distribution factors such as climate, physical features, and agricultural and resource regions such as fishing, mining, forestry. Identify for students the areas of dense and sparse population, and model how to relate those to the patterns on the other maps. Note: A population distribution factor is a feature of an area that can alter people’s decisions about where they wish to live. For example, a mild climate, the presence of valuable resources, and major transportation routes tend to attract people to an area.
  4. As a large group, the class synthesizes the information and develops three simple statements describing the patterns of the United State’s population distribution. An example might be, "Most Americans tend to live close to the East or West."
  5. Use this information to create a co-operative note about where people live in the United States (Co–operative Note, Appendix 1.3).

 

 

  1. Divide the class into six groups and assign each group one continent. Note: There is no information for the Arctic or Antarctica so use Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, South America, and Europe. Each group uses the co-operative note on the United States as a model to describe the patterns of population distribution for their continent. Use atlas maps for the information and create a simple organizer where each group presents and writes in their information (Global Population Distributions: Why are People Located Where They Are?, Appendix 2.2).
  2. Take up information in Strategy 6 (Co-operative Note Outline, Appendix 2.1).
  3. As an assignment, each student uses the same technique to discover the pattern of population distribution and density for their chosen country for their scrapbook.

Modifications/Expanded Opportunities

  • Students predict or work out the meaning of population distribution then compare results or read reference material to confirm or revise their definition.
  • Direct a discussion about other reasons for areas of high and low population density. Reasons might include the following:
    • Some areas of population result from using wealth to overcome natural obstacles (e.g., Las Vegas, a city in the desert).
    • Some areas of high population density result from a combination of factors which are not related to environment, agriculture, resources, etc. (e.g., New York City).

Resources

  • atlases, textbooks, almanacs, Internet sources  

 

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