THE WORLD COURSE
EIGHTH GRADE: MIGRATION

Theme

Migratory Movement and People

Description

Students begin the year with the end in mind, as they are introduced to the
concept of social entrepreneurship and told that they will be building a so—
cial enterprise during the year in the first unit. They then learn about the op—
portunities and challenges in current global trends for their project. During
the rest of the year, they tackle the issue of demographic changes and tools,
exploring causes such as migration and consequences such as the interaction
between increased human population and effects on the environment. As
they go on a cultural scavenger hunt of New York City and engage in other
activities, the students recognize that fluctuations in populations are not re—
cent phenomena but a part of a historical pattern of movement that already
exists. They spend twelve weeks studying the impact Of one particular mi~
gration pattern—the Silk Road—and how the cultural exchanges that took
place on that road affected art, music, trade, and belief systems. They then
apply what they have learned about historical patterns and modern tools of
demography to a case study of modern China and India by participating in
a mock summit (unit 7). As their culminating activity, they give a presenta—

tion to the school community on their yearlong social—enterprise project.

274