National Immigration Cross-Curricular Activities

Create Graphs Investigating Different Ethnic Groups and their Migration This activity provides valuable opportunities to understand the changes in the demographics of the UK and for working with larger numbers and handling data: https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/statistics-net-migration- statistics/#create-graph

Opportunities for Non-Fiction Writing Using the websites on the next slide as the basis for research: Present your research in the form of an explanatory text about immigration into the UK Write a discussion text on the issue of immigration Produce a persuasive leaflet or poster promoting one of the support groups for asylum seekers or refugees Write a newspaper report on recent asylum issues in the news. This could link to Donald Trump’s recent travel ban in the United States, or current opinions throughout Europe and in the UK. Find planning grids for all the above text types in the Resources file.

Opportunities for Non-Fiction Writing RESEARCH: Research immigration and asylum using the following websites: The Red Cross http://www.redcross.org.uk e.g write a report on what The Red Cross do to support Asylum Seekers Refugee Action http://www.refugee-action.org.uk Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org.uk/refugees Government Information https://www.gov.uk/asylum-support/overview Refugee Council https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/ UN Refugee Agency http://www.unhcr.org/uk/ .

Migration Quiz Read the following statements indicating whether each statement is true or false. This exercise is a relevant tool to help other teachers and staff in gaining a better understanding of the myths surrounding migration in the UK. 500 million people live outside the country of their birth. The vast majority of immigrants into the UK are asylum seekers. Migration is higher than ever before. The refugee crisis is pushing immigration out of control. Most refugees are illegal immigrants.

Migration Quiz - answers 500 million people live outside the country of their birth. False. In 2015, 244 million people, or 3.3 per cent of the world's population, lived outside their country of birth. (www.unfpa.org/migration) The vast majority of immigrants into the UK are asylum seekers. False. The latest net migration statistics show that in the year ending September 2016, net migration to the UK was 273,000. 14% of this number were people seeking asylum. Migration is higher than ever before. False. Annual net migration actually dipped in the year to September 2016, compared to the record-setting figures on the 12 months to June 2016, from 336,000 to 323,000. Although the latest number is still a rise on 2014, only 2,000 more people immigrated to the UK in the latest period analysed. “The latest increase in net migration was not statistically significant compared with 2014,” a spokesperson for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Migration Quiz The refugee crisis is pushing immigration out of control. False. The main cause of the rise in net migration is not immigration itself but a drop in emigration. Asylum applications also rose for the fifth successive year in the UK according to the ONS, but the increase is negligible in light of the arrival of more than 1 million refugees in Europe. The number of applications lodged in the year to September 38,878, an annual increase of 20 per cent, the figure is nowhere near the UK’s 2002 peak of 103,000. (The Independent) Most refugees are illegal immigrants. False. Once someone applies for asylum, they automatically have legal status. There is no such thing as an ‘illegal asylum-seeker’ or ‘illegal refugee’.