Summary
In this lesson, students consider why people choose to move and settle where they do. They explore specific, real-world examples of rapid urbanization in India to identify motivations for movement by analyzing the influence of push and pull factors. To extend their learning, students complete a short discussion activity that reinforces earlier concepts by encouraging them to apply the content to their own lives. To demonstrate their understanding, students write a short essay addressing the lesson’s essential questions.
Essential Question(s)
What motivates people to move from place to place? How do push and pull factors influence human movement and settlement?
Snapshot
Engage
Students brainstorm reasons why people move from place to place by learning about push and pull factors.
Explore
Students view a brief video and discuss how push and pull factors influence human migration patterns.
Explain
Student groups read migration stories and analyze maps to gain a deeper understanding of overcrowding in urban areas of India.
Extend
Students participate in a discussion activity to reinforce key concepts and apply their knowledge to their own community.
Evaluate
Students complete a Two-Minute Paper to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts presented in the lesson.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
New York Times Jigsaw Article handout (attached; one per student)
CER Organizer handout (attached; one per student)
Maps of India handout (attached; one per student)
Urbanization Stories from India handout (attached; one per student)
Engage
10 Minute(s)
Explain to students that over the next few days they will be learning about how and why people move from place to place.
Place students in pairs and facilitate a Think-Pair-Share activity. Display slide 5 and have students individually respond to the following question: “What motivates people to move from place to place?”
Next, ask students to work with their partner to brainstorm as many responses to the question as possible. Start the 5-minute timer and allow students time to brainstorm. Have all pairs share out their responses.
List all ideas on the board so they are visible to the class. Ideally, there will be at least 10 to 20 different reasons why people move. Choose the most relevant or common ideas and number them on the board, starting with number one. Ask students to copy these reasons onto notebook paper.
Move to slide 6 and review push and pull factors with students. Emphasize that push factors relate to situations where people have no choice but to move to a new location. Then, explain that pull factors relate to situations where people move because they are attracted by better circumstances or choose to pursue a better life. Pull factors involve greater choice.
Display slide 7. Ask students the following question posed on the slide: “Would starting a new job be a push or pull factor?”
Call on some students to share their ideas.
After acknowledging student responses, move to slide 8. Explain that the answer to the question on the previous slide depends on the individual’s situation at that point in their life.
Review with students what would make starting a new job a push or a pull factor.
Explore
25 Minute(s)
To deepen students’ understanding of push and pull factors, display slide 9 and show the TED-Ed video, Where do you decide to go in a Zombie Apocalypse?
After the video, display slide 10, which includes the questions below. Use these questions to facilitate a whole class discussion. When people move or migrate, what do they bring with them? (Culture, ideas, resources, goods, etc.).
If zombies are attacking your town and you are forced to leave or be eaten, which factor would this be in human migration? (Push factor)
What type of town would be best to move to where you would have the best chance of survival against a zombie attack? (Answers will vary but might mention a strong defense system, a remote location so that zombies do not have easy access, etc.)
Finding the perfect town to survive the zombie attack would be an example of which factor? (Pull factor)
Show slide 11. Have students return to their original partners from the Think-Pair-Share activity. Ask them to reflect on the class list generated during that activity. Instruct student pairs to divide one piece of notebook paper in half lengthwise, or “hot dog style.” At the top of one column, they should write “PUSH FACTORS,” and at the top of the other, “PULL FACTORS.”
Ask pairs to categorize each item from the class list as either a push factor or a pull factor. For any items that could be both, students should write down their reasoning beside the factor.
Display the class list on the board, and randomly ask partners to select one reason why people move and explain whether they categorized it as a push or pull factor and why. These completed class lists may be collected and used as a formative assessment.
Explain
30 Minute(s)
Discuss with students that as people move, they bring their ideas, resources, and culture to new locations. Some of these locations become “urbanized,” meaning there is an increase in population in cities and towns compared to rural areas. Explain that urbanization can occur because cities often offer more jobs or resources, such as housing, goods, or public transportation. Display slide 12 to illustrate urbanization.
Distribute copies of the attached New York Times Jigsaw Article handout regarding rapid urbanization in India. Number students off one through four. Each student should receive a copy of the article.
Ask students to hold up their fingers for the section they are assigned (1, 2, 3, or 4). Then, have students form groups of four where each student has a different number. Display slide 13, review the Jigsaw strategy with students, and explain that they will use this structure to read and analyze the article. Allow groups 15–20 minutes to read their sections and share the main ideas with one another.
Display slide 14. As a group, have students discuss and create one statement that summarizes the problems of urbanization in India. When groups are called on, they will share their statement aloud. Write each group’s statement on the board. This entire Jigsaw activity should take 30 to 35 minutes.
Pass out the following handouts to each student:
Maps of India
Urbanization Stories from India
CER Organizer
Ask students to focus on their CER Organizer handout. Move to slide 15 and review the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) instructions to help students complete their handout.
Explain that the following claim will be used for the CER activity: India has to navigate complex social and economic challenges that can be connected back to rapid urbanization.
Tell students they will identify evidence that supports the migration of India’s rural population to urban centers.
Have students divide the Urbanization Stories from India and Maps of India handouts equally among their group members. Review the sections and questions on the CER Organizer handout. Using the packet of materials as evidence, students complete their handouts as they discuss and share the resources.
Extend
20 Minute(s)
Display slide 16 and review the instructions for the Commit and Toss strategy with students. Explain that they will participate in this strategy twice.
Have students take out two pieces of paper. On the first piece, instruct students to respond to the following prompt: “What is one factor that would make you want to stay in your local community?”
Once they have written their response, have them crumple up the paper and toss it across the room or into an empty box or trash can. Then, ask students to pick up a crumpled paper that is not their own. Invite a few students to read the responses they picked aloud. Encourage the class to think about why someone may have answered the way they did.
Next, have students respond to the following prompt on the second piece of paper: “What is a pull factor that would make you choose to move from your local community?”
Repeat the process of crumpling the paper and tossing it across the room or into an empty box or trash can. Have students choose a crumpled paper that is not their own. Invite a few students to share the responses from the paper they selected. Ask students to consider why their peers may have responded with the answers they did.
Evaluate
10 Minute(s)
Display slide 17. Ask students to individually choose one of the following statements as a writing prompt:
“What motivates people to move from place to place?”
“How do push and pull factors influence human movement and settlement?”
You may need to explain that for the second question, students can use urban areas in India as examples of human settlement. Students will complete a Two-Minute Paper to demonstrate their understanding and mastery of the lesson concepts. This format also encourages students to write concisely.
The class list and the CER Organizer handout can also serve as assessments for this lesson.
Resources
Central Intelligence Agency. (2025, March 31). India. In The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/
FreeWorldMaps.net. (n.d.). India physical map. http://www.freeworldmaps.net/asia/india/map.html
Hall, J. (2012, November 7). Urbanization of India: "Push" and "Pull" factors. OKAGE. https://okageweb.org/new-blog/2012-urbanization-of-india-push-and-pull-factors
TED-Ed. (2013, October 24). How do you decide where to go in a zombie apocalypse? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdtQgwOOiBg
K20 Center. (n.d.). Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER). Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/156
K20 Center. (n.d.). Commit and Toss. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/119
K20 Center. (n.d.). Jigsaw. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/179
K20 Center. (n.d.). Think, pair, share. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/139
K20 Center. (n.d.). Two-minute paper. Strategy. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/152
K20 Center. (2021, September 21). K20 Center 5 minute timer. [Video] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVS_yYQoLJg
Polgreen, L. (2010, November 30). New arrivals strain India’s cities to breaking point. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/world/asia/01delhi.html
TED-Ed. (2013, June 3). How do you decide where to go in a zombie apocalypse? - David Hunter [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdtQgwOOiBg
PlaneMad. (2006, September). India flood zone map [Map]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India_flood_zone_map.svg
PlaneMad. (2006, October). India population density map [Map]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India_population_density_map_en.svg?
PlaneMad. (2006, September). Railway network map of India - Schematic [Map]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Railway_network_map_of_India_-_Schematic.svg?
