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eBook
Core Knowledge Foundation

Volume 2 - A History of the United States: Modern Times—Late 1800s to the 2000s

For Students 7th - 8th Standards
The second volume of the Core Knowledge History of the United States ebook begins by asking young scholars to consider the impact immigration, industrialization, and urbanization had on the United States in the late 1800s. The text ends...
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Lesson Plan
K20 Learn

American Exclusivity: The Chinese Exclusion Act

For Teachers 11th Standards
The Chinese Exclusion Act—the first race-based immigration restriction—is echoed in today's debates on the topic. Using graphic organizers and structured discussions, historians consider the reasons behind the act and compare the...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Whose Manifest Destiny? Westward Expansion

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Your land is my land! Young historians investigate the concept of Manifest Destiny used by the United States government to justify western expansion. Jigsaw groups read primary source documents to gain an understanding of the movement...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Immigration to America: Stories and Travels

For Teachers 6th - 8th
An eye-opening activity uses documents and photos to help academics understand the factors that pushed or pulled immigrants to America. Young historians group photos based on a push or pull factor, then complete a worksheet. Scholars...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

How Have Americans Responded to Immigration?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While America says it welcomes from other countries the tired and poor yearning to be free, the record is mixed on whether there has been a warm reception for immigrants. Class members use an interactive graphic scale and primary source...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Us vs. Them: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Immigration issues are nothing new. An interesting instructional activity focuses on the racially motivated Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and its impact on the Chinese American community. Scholars read articles, analyze political...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Chinese Exclusion Broadside Analysis

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Racism against Asian American goes deep in American history. Using a broadside in favor of the Chinese Exclusion Act, class members examine clues—with key portions of the document blacked out—to better understand the roots of anti-Asian...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Culminating Writing Project - Reporting on Angel Island

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
The unit study of Angel Island Immigration Station concludes with scholars using information from the previous lessons to craft a news story about the Angel Island program.
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Lesson Plan
1
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Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Making Your Mark: Free Verse Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Using the insight they have gained into the experiences of detainees at the Angel Island Immigration Station, young poets create their own free verse poems that they feel captures what it may have felt like to be an immigrant interned on...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

How Do Pictures Tell the Story of Angel Island?

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Young historians learn more about the history of Angel Island Immigration Station through their analysis of primary source images. Guided by a list of inferential questions, scholars learn how to make and record observations on a...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Moving to the Poems of Angel Island

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
A poem carved on Angel Island's walls is the guiding text of a lesson that challenges scholars to put movement into a written piece of art. After warm up-activities, learners play a game of "Pass the Clap" and "Pass the Line," in which...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Immigration Case File Investigation

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Case files for Angel Island immigrants are kept at the regional archives in San Bruno, California. Groups study one such case file to understand the life histories and different experiences of the internees and then report out their...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Interview a Family or Community Member: Taking Oral Histories

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Young scholars gain insight into how historians record events by engaging in an oral history project. In preparation, class members brainstorm open-ended interview questions and take part in and debrief a mock interview simulation....
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Exclusion "Act"ivity

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Two simulations highlight the feelings individuals experienced when immigrating to Angel Island. During the first simulation, scholars listen to and answer questions, divided based on their answers. The second simulation pins learners as...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Interrogation of Immigrant

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Imagine being interrogated by someone you don't know about minute details of your life. Imagine that the interrogator is matching your responses to the answers of other family members. Imagine how you would feel knowing that the...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Film Screening: Carved in Silence

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Director Felicia Lowe's film Carved in Silence splices together re-enactments, interviews, and actual film footage to tell Angel Island Immigration Station's story. Viewers use a film matrix to record new information they learned from...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Conditions in China: Why Might One Leave Home Forever?

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Primary source texts provide scholars with the background information they need to understand why Chinese peasant farmers were driven to emigrate. After underlining keywords, phrases, and/or lines in the texts, individuals craft a...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

The Chinese Exclusion Act

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of Angel Island Immigration Station, young historians examine the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first restriction on the United States immigration based on race and nationality. They complete a matrix identifying...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation

Where Is Angel Island? An Introductory Geography Lesson

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Prepare young historians for a study of Angel Island Immigration Station with a lesson examining primary and secondary source materials, maps, and websites. Using what they have learned, individuals create a map of Angel Island, labeling...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Chinese Immigration and Exclusion

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first race-based restriction on immigration in American history. Why was the act passed after Chinese immigrants helped build the Transcontinental Railroad? A series of documents, including speeches and...
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Interactive
University of Richmond

Foreign-Born Population 1850-2010

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
If America is a nation of immigrants, where are they from and why did they come? Demographic data and interactive maps help pupils consider answers to these questions by examining the statistics of foreign-born Americans. Features allow...
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Unit Plan
Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo History Museum: Curriculum Guide

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Learn about the California Gold Rush from an institution that has been in place since the early days of the American West: Wells Fargo History Museum. From domain-specific vocabulary review to group research projects, an expansive packet...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Advocates for Human Rights

A Global Perspective on Immigration

For Students 8th - Higher Ed Standards
To gain a global perspective on immigration, groups investigate and create a map of the migration patterns in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Class members then examine the background, immigration history, and...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...