Curated OER
Immigration: U.S. Policy in the New Millennium
Students explore U.S. immigration policies. In this immigration instructional activity, students read about the history of immigration policies in the U.S., uncover controversial issues regarding immigration, and speak to immigrants as...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: May Day for Immigration Debate
In this current events worksheet, students analyze political cartoons about the immigration debate. Students respond to 3 talking point questions.
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising
Sixth graders explore equality by reading a story with their classmates. In this discrimination lesson plan, 6th graders read the story Esperanza Rising and discuss the tensions between Latin America and the United States. Students view...
Curated OER
Recognizing the Undocumented
Learners consider the plight of undocumented workers. In this immigration lesson, students examine multimedia sources about the role that undocumented workers play in the American economy and conduct further research about the...
Curated OER
Immigration Debate
Students examine statements made by immigrants about immigration. They use the internet to research the truthfulness of these statements. They practice their decision-making skills.
University of Richmond
Foreign-Born Population 1850-2010
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...
Curated OER
Immigration in America
Fourth graders examine the musical traditions that immigrants bring to the United States. They discuss the concept of home, complete the "My Home" worksheet, participate in a class discussion, and write a letter to a fourth grade...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Conducting a Panel Discussion and Civil Conversation
The final lesson plan in an 11-session study of immigration asks class members to engage in either a panel discussion or a civil conversation of the controversial legal and policy issues they have investigated as part of the unit.
Curated OER
Paying With Their Health
Students consider the plight of immigrant workers. In this undocumented immigrant lesson plan, students compare the worker of the Industrialization era to the undocumented immigrant workers of today. Students read and discuss literature...
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...
Curated OER
Driver's License Task Force
Students read a handout on unauthorized immigrants and discuss questions. In this current events lesson, students engage in a simulation in which they are advisers to the state governor. Students analyze several proposals and try to...
Smithsonian Institution
A Dream Deferred: DACA
"Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses" has even more meaning for some children. The resource explores the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Scholars analyze primary sources and participate in group...
Curated OER
Issues of Unauthorized Immigration
Eleventh graders explore illegal immigration. In this Current Events lesson, 11th graders read an article on illegal immigration and answer questions that follow.
Curated OER
Is Coming to the United States of America Good for the Immigrant?
Student discuss whether coming to the United States was good for certain groups of immigrants. Using the internet, they examine settlement patterns for immigrants over a period of time. In groups, they role play the role of a family...
Curated OER
Amnesty:More Than A Word
Students examine two advertisements, both of which claimed a 2007 immigration reform bill would provide "amnesty" to illegal immigrants. They research a bill and check the accuracy of advertising claims. Afterward, they write their own,...
Curated OER
In the Melting Pot
Students work in small groups, each group examining a different aspect of the immigration process (such as visas, work permits, and citizenship exams) or of illegal immigration (such as deportation), to better explain the immigration...
Curated OER
In Legal Limbo
Newspapers are great learning tools. They act as a conduit for current events, reading comprehension, and critical thinking. Here, pupils read a New York Times article regarding US immigration law under the Obama administration and...
Curated OER
Immigration Myths
Students discuss myths and stereotypes about different immigrant groups. In this immigration myths and tolerance lesson plan, students work through six workstations in which they hypothesize where a particular myth originated and why,...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Educating Non-Citizens
High schoolers distinguish between the privileges of being a U.S. Citizen and privileges that are forfeited if not a U.S. Citizen. For this history lesson, students analyze the rights of people in a democratic society through research,...
University of Arkansas
Human Rights
What basic rights are guaranteed to all Americans? Do citizens, legal aliens, illegal aliens, and minors all have the same rights? Should individuals all over the world enjoy the same rights? Class members read the Declaration of...
Curated OER
Seeking a New Life
Students explore illegal international immigration, and explore the ways in which immigration impacts a host country.
ProCon
Sanctuary Cities
Should sanctuary cities receive federal funding, or do they defy federal laws? That is precisely the question scholars attempt to answer as they prepare for a class discussion or debate. After reading some brief background information,...
Smithsonian Institution
Hidden Histories: Mexican Repatriation During the 1930s
Mexican Repatriation: the forgotten deportation of American citizens. The resource focuses on the deportation of Mexican American citizens during the Great Depression. Young historians read documents, complete a free-write, and fill out...
Anti-Defamation League
What Is the Dream Act and Who Are the Dreamers?
The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) is the focus of a lesson plan that asks high schoolers to investigate the act's provisions and read statements by individuals who support and oppose the act. They...