Age / Sex Structures
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​(AKA Population Pyramids) 
Objective: To be able to effectively read and interpret population pyramids. 


Task 1 - Your teacher will give you some key information on how to read and describe population pyramids. Use the Task 1 sheet to the right to take notes. See this example.  


Task 2 - Download the worksheet above and complete all the activities set out. 
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Task 3 - Age Sex Structure  - Draw your own.

You are going to complete a data task to construct your own age / sex structure for France.

You will need a printed out copy of the worksheet to the right. 


Task 4 -  Complete the worksheet below using your knowledge and understanding of what you have learnt about Population Pyramids so far. ​

​A country with a high dependent population
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Objective: To find out what causes a youthful population structure to occur and to discover what happens when a country has a high dependent population (in this case - too many young people). 
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Dependent people can be classed as those on a population pyramid who are either under the age of 15 (young dependents) or over the age of 65 (old dependents). This is because people in these age categories generally don't work and are  supported by people in the economically active sector aged 16-64.

​This is quite a general assumption and there are many factors that might mean that children may actually work before 16 or that elderly people still work into their 70's. Study the population pyramid for The Gambia above. The wide base shows a high fertility rate and a high youthful population (high young dependents). 

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Task 1 - Download the worksheet above and complete all activities, apart from the 7 mark question at the end. 


Task 2 - Now download this fact sheet on the Gambia and read the content carefully. Also, watch the video below created by an IGCSE student.  Now complete the following 7 mark Paper 1 question in the space provided on the worksheet. 


For a named country you have studied, describe the problems caused by a high dependent population.


Extension Task -  How many children will you likely have in your lifetime? (Geographyalltheway worksheet baby_o_matic.docx here)

Impacts of social, economic and other factors

(including government policies, HIV/AIDS) on

birth and death rates)
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Impacts On Birth Rates
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Objective: To find out how government policies have impacted upon birth rates in different countries around the world. 

Starter - Why do governments want to control the birth rate and how do they communicate this to their people?  You have five minutes to create your own slogan and poster to encourage (pro natalist) or discourage (anti natalist) the fertility rate of a population. BE CAREFUL! 

Click here to be taken to a website that has some of the most famous policies and how they were 'advertised'. 

i. Choose three posters and copy them into this worksheet

ii. Annotate around each poster the message and how the government is trying to persuade their people to conform. Don't forget to explain what they are suggesting. 

What is a population policy?                                    (3)
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1   CHILD  POLICY  (1979 - 2016)  - China

An anti-natalist policy is concerned with limiting population growth by encouraging the population to have less children. The most famous example of this is in China and a policy called 'The One Child Policy'.  Make a note of this.
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Picture
More examples of Anti-Natalist population policy propaganda in China. Can you determine what they are showing?

​Task 1 - Create a revision poster that shows the main features of the OCP in China (1979 - 2016)  and why they switched to two.

To do this, you will need a copy of Geofile issue 717 from Oxford University Press. 

Use the framework & planning sheet to the right to help you with your research  and final content of the revision poster. 

Check out this example from Amelie in 2017 - Stunning! 

There is also a selection of short videos below to watch. 

  • WHAT was the One Child Policy?
 
  • WHERE was the One Child Policy used? This section should include a map and a location description
 
  • WHEN was the policy introduced? This section should be sequenced in chronological order
 
  • WHY was the policy introduced?  Here you should explain why the Chinese authorities introduce the policy.
 
  • WHO was affected by the policy?
 
  • HOW was the policy implemented? In this section you should describe and explain the methods that were used by the authorities to ensure people follow the policy.
 
  • SUCCESSES and FAILURES of the One Child Policy. (the videos to the right will help you here). 
  • Make reference to: 
  • The 4-2-1 problem
  • What is the Little Emperor Syndrome
  • What is the 'Spare Branches' problem

​Mark Scheme: 

10 Marks for Content
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10 Marks for Presentation -    

​Total 20.
A*- 19/20
A - 17/18
B - 15-16
C -13-14
D - 11-12

2016 - The Two Child Policy

Will it avoid a demographic timebomb? 
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2016 saw the news that China will be relaxing its famous One Child Policy. 

Task 1- Why in 2016 was the OCP been relaxed?
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You are to work independently to find out the reasons why the OCP was relaxed from 2016 onwards. The video above is a great staring point. 


Link 1 - From 'Business Insider'
Link 2 - From the 'South China Morning Post'
Link 3 - From the 'South China Morning Post'
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Look for information on the negative social and economic impacts since 1979.

Will a two child policy make things better?

What do people say? Can you find two conflicting points of view?

Write your notes up on a Word document under the title above. 

​2021 - The Three Child Policy! 
Task 2 - 2021 saw yet another change in the laws and a three child policy being implemented by the Chinese government. Watch the video below and make notes in particular on the shaming of women who don't marry by 27 years old and the continuing gender imbalance in the country. 

To what extent will the Three Child Policy help to address this imbalance? 


​Impacts on Death Rates ​- The Whole Picture
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Check out the visual below to get an overview of global pandemics and the impact that they have had on death rates around the world. This helps you put in to context the current COVID-19 situation. 

The message back in 1986..... UK & Australia. 


Impacts on Death Rates - HIV / AIDS
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Objective: To understand the basics of HIV & AIDS, how it effects the body and how it is transmitted from person to person. 

Task 1 - Watch the 'What is HIV' video underneath. 

i. What does HIV and AIDS stand for?  b. How does the HIV virus affect the body?  c. When does HIV become AIDS?  d. Do people die from AIDS? (think carefully about this)

Task 2 - The message now in the 2020's - Watch the 'How is HIV Transmitted' video beneath. 

i. Outline the ways in which HIV can be transmitted.    b. In what ways cannot it be transmitted?
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​Part  2 - The Impact of  HIV / AIDS 

​Around The World
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Objective: To discover how AIDS can impact on populations around the world. 

Task 3 - Watch the YouTube video to the right hand side.  

i. Why do people react to the man like this? 

ii. How does this relate to AIDS? 


Task 4 - Study the graphic underneath carefully. Complete the following activities:

a. Comment on the distribution of the 15 most affected countries on earth. What pattern emerges? Make a note of the top 5. 

b. Comment on the distribution of affected countries in the continent of Africa. 

c. Comment on the situation in Europe and North America making reference to % figures living with HIV/AIDS. 

d. What is the % figure for your home country?

e. Comment on the overall pattern of AIDS deaths from 1990 to 2010 as set out in the bar chart. Make reference to numbers and peak dates in your description. 

f. List the factors that contribute to a rapid spread in the top 15 countries in Africa. Help needed? Click here. 
Higher Level Video - A-C grade students should spend 10 mintues watching the video below. 

Task 5 - Click on both images above to enlarge and study the contents of each map.

​Is it fair to say that HIV infection rate is on the decrease worldwide and that the news is only bad in Africa? 

Focus on Southern Africa


​So how does all of this affect population structures?

We are going to be using Botswana as our focus for how AIDS can affect a population structure. Spend 2 minutes exploring Botswana on the Google Map.

​Make some notes about its human and physical geographies. 

Click here to be taken to some familiar population pyramids structures for Botswana. 

Task 5 - Take a copy of the population pyramid and bar chart before using them to respond to the following IGCSE Population exam question:

Explain, using examples, how incidences of disease can affect the population structure of a country. (7)

This should take you approximately 14 minutes to respond to. 

Structure:
  • What is HIV/ AIDS and how is it spread?
  • Why is the infection rate so high in Botswana?
  • How does this affect birth and death rates?
  • How can a high fertility rate contribute towards the spread?
  • Cultures and Traditions
  • Explain how the 2020 structure is different if AIDS is taken into consideration.
  • Concluding statement
  • 14 lines / 14 minutes . 

Homework Video:

​Watch The AIDS Highway - Africa to the right hand side. Make notes on how the AIDS virus has been spread along the so called 'AIDS Highway' in southern Africa. What are the causes and effects? 
Homework Video 
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