The population of Russia
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can give reasons for Russia’s uneven population distribution and describe and explain major changes to Russia’s population since 1950.
Key learning points
- Russia has the ninth largest population in the world and more people live in the west than the east.
- Population densities vary and reasons include climate and infrastructure.
- Since 1990, birth rates have been declining and Russia's total population has started to fall.
- Russia’s population is ageing with increasing numbers of people aged 65+ due to improvements in life expectancy.
- Migration within Russia is significant, with urban populations growing while rural populations are declining.
Keywords
Population density - the average number of people that live within a square kilometre
Choropleth - a type of map which uses different shades of colours to show the amount of something
Natural increase - a calculation involving birth and death rates to understand population growth rates
Ageing population - a large and growing part of a country's people are elderly
Urbanisation - process by which more people move from rural areas to cities
Common misconception
Pupils often get the command language of describe and explain mixed up, most often causing them to explain something when just a description has been asked for.
A description gives details of what something is like. It should contain as much detail as possible. An explanation gives reasons for the features and should use langauge such as 'because', 'as a result of', 'due to'.
Teacher tip
Use Our World in Data to compare Russia's population growth to other countries. You can also use this site to play animations of changes to different features of population over time.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which major Russian river flows into the Arctic Ocean?
Q2.What is permafrost?
Q3.What type of power is generated by Russia's rivers?
Q4.Which natural resource is Russia especially rich in?
Q5.What limits farming in large parts of Russia?
Q6.Where are most of Russia's largest cities located?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Match the keyword to its correct definition:
The number of people per square kilometre
A map that uses shades to show differences
When more of a country’s people are elderly
Q2.Why is Russia's population ageing?
Q3.Why do fewer people live in eastern Russia?
Q4.Which of the following is a description rather than an explanation?
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: The population of Russia, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: The population of Russia, 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 Russia: How does geography shape the country? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.