Global cities and megacities
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how some cities have a global influence.
Key learning points
- Global cities influence business, banking and culture around the world.
- Not all megacities (10 million or more) are global cities and vice versa.
- Global cities are hubs for international travel.
- Global cities are diverse and multicultural.
- The influence of different cities changes over time.
Keywords
Megacity - a city with a population of over 10 million people
Global city - a city that has a major international influence, for example, on trade and travel, culture and politics (ideas)
Multicultural - including people with different cultures and beliefs and reflecting this diversity in a place’s food, fashion, architecture, etc.
Common misconception
All megacities are global cities because they are so big.
Not all megacities are global cities. While megacities have populations of over 10 million, global cities are defined by their international influence in areas such as finance, culture, politics, and transport.
Teacher tip
Use well-known examples (e.g. New York, London, Lagos, Tokyo) to help students distinguish between global cities and megacities. Visuals such as maps or global company headquarters can support understanding of influence beyond just size.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is meant by ‘quality of life’ in a city?
Q2.Cities usually have higher population density than rural areas. What does this mean?
Q3.Many people move to cities looking for better opportunities.
Q4.Which of these is an example of informal housing?
Q5.What might attract someone to live in a city?
Q6.Which of these best describes an urban area?
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions:
A city with a population of over 10 million people
A city that has major international influence on trade, culture or pol
A place that includes and reflects many different cultures and beliefs
Q2.What is the population threshold for a city to be called a megacity?
Q3.Which of these best describes a global city?
Q4.A city has a major influence around the world, in areas like finance and politics.
Q5.A student says, “All megacities are also global cities because they are so big.” What’s a better understanding?
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Global cities and megacities, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Global cities and megacities, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 geography lessons from the Cities: What are they like to live in? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.