ISSUES
: Our Changing Population
Assignments
42
Assignments
Brainstorming
Ö
Ö
In small groups, discuss what you know about
population. Consider the following points:
•
Is the population in the UK growing?
•
What factors contribute to population growth?
•
Is population growth a good thing or a bad
thing?
•
What is happening to the global population?
Research
Ö
Ö
Create a questionnaire to find out how many
children are in the families connected to your
year group. You should ask each person how
many siblings they have, how many siblings their
parents have/had and how many siblings their
grandparents have/had. Summarise your findings
and create graphs to illustrate the information.
Ö
Ö
Research China’s decision to change their one-
child policy. Write some notes about the old laws
and new laws and why they were changed.
Ö
Ö
Choose a country in Europe and research their
population. Compare with a classmate.
Ö
Ö
Why might population forecasts sometimes be
inaccurate? How are they calculated? Do some
research to find out and then discuss with a
partner and share your thoughts with the rest of
your class.
Design
Ö
Ö
Design a poster that celebrates the law in China
being changed to allow two children per family.
Ö
Ö
Choose one of the articles in this book and create
an illustration to highlight the key themes/message
of your chosen article.
Ö
Ö
What might future cities look like if the population
continues to grow? In pairs or small groups, think
of an invention that might help cities to house more
people and maximise the use of space. Draw and
annotate your invention.
Ö
Ö
Create an illustrated timeline to display the world’s
population growth from the beginning of the 1900s
to the present day. Include any events from history
which would have had an impact on population size:
for example, the ‘Black Death’ and the discovery
of penicillin. Your timeline should be historically
accurate as well as visually appealing.
Oral
Ö
Ö
“The UK doesn’t have room for any more people.”
Debate this motion as a class, with one group
arguing in favour and the other against.
Ö
Ö
As a class, discuss why you think the UK population
is ageing. Why are people living longer? Is this a
good thing or a bad thing?
Ö
Ö
In pairs, discuss how lack of contraception in
developing countries is linked to population growth
and sustainability.
Ö
Ö
Research the current global population and
projections for future population growth. Create
a PowerPoint presentation that explores the
numbers.
Ö
Ö
Read
Can the Earth feed 11 billion people?
on page
25 and discuss the author’s point of view.
Ö
Ö
Choose one of the illustrations from this book and,
with a partner, discuss why the artist chose to
portray the article in the way they did.
Reading/writing
Ö
Ö
Write an article exploring life expectancy in the
UK. Read the article on page eight for help.
Ö
Ö
Write a one-paragraph definition of migration.
Ö
Ö
Write a blog post from the point of view of a child
with no siblings. Write about the good and bad
aspects of being an only child.
Ö
Ö
Imagine you work for a charity that believes
reducing the amount of children people have will
help to save the planet. Write a mission statement
explaining why your charity holds this belief,
and then create a leaflet with further information
about global population growth and its impact on
sustainability.
Ö
Ö
Read the articles in chapter one and write a
summary of the trends in population in the UK.
Ö
Ö
Write a letter to your student newspaper arguing
that the pressure on the planet is not from rapid
population growth, but from over-consumption of
natural resources. You will need to support your
argument with evidence, informing readers of how
lifestyles in developed countries demand over-
use of natural resources. You could also consider
reading the Issues book
Vol.290 Sustainability
for
further information.
