This Geography scheme of work video supports teachers in introducing Upper Key Stage 2 pupils to the core concepts of birth rate, death rate, and natural increase. The video explains how population changes are influenced by these rates and not just by migration, offering visual tools such as cartograms and country-specific graphs to support comparisons and interpretation.

Teachers are guided through strategies to prompt pupil discussion on factors that influence these rates, such as access to healthcare, food and water, natural disasters, income and employment, and conflict. The video also models how to calculate natural increase and how to use data to analyse population trends in real-world contexts like Bulgaria and Oman. Designed to build both geographical understanding and data literacy, this video ensures teachers feel confident guiding pupils through discussions that don’t always have simple answers, encouraging critical thinking and contextual reasoning.

See more of our Year 5 and Year 6 Geography scheme of work.

• Geography, Year 6, Why does population change?, Lesson 2: What are birth and death rates?
• Geography, Year 5/6 (B), Why does population change?, Y5/6 (B): Lesson 2: What are birth and death rates?