Anti-Defamation League
“They Don’t Know Me”: Exposing the Myths and Establishing the Facts about Immigration
Middle schoolers engage in a activity that teaches them to distinguish myths from facts about United States immigration. Class members take an immigration quiz, watch a "What Would You do" video, and discuss how they could be an ally to...
Academy of American Poets
The Immigrant Experience
The Buttonhook by Mary Jo Salter is the focus of a unit that explores the immigration experience to Ellis Island. First, scholars bring in an artifact that represents their heritage. A group-exercise allows them to share and discuss...
DocsTeach
How Have Americans Responded to Immigration?
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...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Special Order 40
The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Educating About Immigration The DREAM Act
Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration legislation,...
PBS
Who Are Latinos?
What does it mean to be Latino? With an eye-opening lesson plan, pupils discover what it means to be Latino in the United States. They participate in classroom discussions, use graphic organizers, and watch a short video to help them...
Center for History Education
Reshaping American Society: How did Immigration and Urbanization Affect America in the mid 1800s?
From the Know-Nothings to the Bible Riots, immigration and urbanization changed the face of America in the middle of the 1800s. Using documents that range from immigrant experiences to renderings of violent conflict between immigrants...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Exploring Oral Histories of Angel Island Immigrants
Empowered by the previous lesson where they interviewed a family or community member, young historians examine Angel Island immigrants' oral histories. They use a matrix to record their interpretation of the feelings of the immigrant....
Anti-Defamation League
"What is it Like to be an Outsider?”: Building Empathy for the Experiences of Immigrants
This instructional activity highlights the struggles of immigrants and the importance of showing empathy. Beginning with a read-aloud of a book in another language and a poem, scholars take part in a thoughtful discussion. Then, the...
Anti-Defamation League
“Walling Out the Unwanted”: Understanding the Barriers that Perpetuate Anti-Immigrant Bias
As part of a study of immigrant bias, high schoolers investigate the language used in blogs, readings, media reports, and current legislation whose language perpetuates xenophobia. They then consider ways they can get involved in...
Museum of Tolerance
Disenfranchised People of the New Nation
Why are some immigrant groups in the United States embraced while others become disenfranchised? To answer this question, teams investigate why groups emigrated to the US, why some of these these peoples were disenfranchised, and their...
National Park Service
“Famous Footsteps” Teacher’s Guide
As part of a study of Ellis Island Immigration Station, class members assume the role of immigration service workers, investigate the dossier of an immigrant, and recommend whether or not their subject should be allowed to enter the US....
Annenberg Foundation
Contested Territories
United States expansion into Western territories impacted much more than just lines on a map. The seventh installment of a 22-part series about America's history puts scholars into the lives of those making the journey westward as well...
Curated OER
The Kite Runner: Immigration Appreciation
Readers of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner engage in a simulation designed to give them an appreciation of the immigrant experience. Kids must finished the assigned task or face deportation.
Middle Tennessee State University
Lesson Plan: Immigration: A Case Study on Multiple Perspectives and Diverse Formats
As part of a case study of U.S. immigration during the first part of the 20th century, class members examine a variety of primary sources that present multiple perspectives of the responses of those in favor of immigration and those...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Paragraph 1 of “Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison” (from “Refugee Children in Canada: Searching for Identity”)
What common challenges do refugees and immigrants face? Using the 9th lesson plan from the 20-part Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, pupils read about the similarities between refugees' and immigrants' adaptation processes. Partners...
Reading Through History
Patriots and Loyalists
Patriots versus Loyalists, a huge divide during the Revolutionary War in what would become the United States of America. An informative resource includes both direct instruction about the two groups and a quiz pupils take after reading...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
The Chinese Exclusion Act
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...
Advocates for Human Rights
A Global Perspective on Immigration
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...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Federal Policy and Immigration
How is federal policy established? To gain insight into this complex and often messy process, class members read an article that uses information on attempts to establish public policy in immigration to illustrate the role proposed...
Facing History and Ourselves
Many Voices, One National Identity
To conclude the unit on "Exploring Identity in the United States," pupils consider whether it is possible to combine many voices into one national identity. After creating an identity chart that lists words, phrases, and images that they...
Stanford University
Chinese Immigration and Exclusion
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...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Immigration Case File Investigation
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...
Advocates for Human Rights
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
To gain a deeper understanding of the plight of refugees and asylum seekers, class members read stories written from the point of view of an emigrant, map the individual's journey, and note the human rights affected by each stage of the...