Eleventh graders study the history of immigration from 1850 to the present.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders compare the 1924 and 1965 immigration acts and give a reasoned opinion on each.  Students research,...

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...

How would you use census data from 1880-1900? Here are a set of ways you can incorporate the book Little House on the Prairie and US census data from that time period. Learners will research the validity or the book based on factual...

Prompted by a viewing of Emiko and Chizu Omori’s Rabbit in the Moon, a documentary about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, high schoolers examine a series of documents, including the Bill of Rights and the UN’s...

Young scholars research the history of Immigration.  In this World History lesson, students explore European immigration then specifically focus on ways African Immigration was different.  Young scholars then divide into small...

Students study the American immigration experience. In this Ellis Island instructional activity, students research primary documents from the immigration station, take a tour of the station, and then prepare and perform dramatic...

Learners consider the presidential requirements. In this U.S. Constitution lesson plan, students participate in a role play that requires them to act as senators and debate an amendment to allow naturalized citizens to run for the...

Students evaluate immigration policies. In this global issues lesson, students analyze the long-term goals of divergent immigration policies as they role play the deliberation process. 

Third graders describe some of the factors that brought early settlers to Ann Arbor. They read Narrative-A Trip from Utica, New York, to Ingham County, Michigan in 1838. As an added challenge, 3rd graders can use maps to track Silas...

New York City is a perfect place to begin a study of multicultural diversity. The largest and the most culturally diverse city in the United States provides the backdrop for a photo essay that features images of cultural and...

The political landscape of Y2K is the focus of this series of slides, which cover the later years of the 20th century. Charts detail the poverty and social welfare rates in the 20th century, as well as a pie graph displaying the sources...

Consider the political, physical, and geographical factors that led to and marked the Westward Expansion. Learners will track the various routes developed during the 1800's. They create a first person journal describing what they see,...

Students compare the situation of Latin American immigrants with the situation of immigrants from other areas of the world. They use media to obtain information on topics of academic interest, personal interest, and intellectual interest.

Moving to a new country isn't easy, as Shirley Temple Wong learns in In The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord. A series of language arts activities carry readers through the novel, addressing the story's themes,...

High schoolers examine the reasons why people immigrated to the United States. Using maps and charts, they analyze population movements and religious affiliations. They discover how the United States became a lesser Protestant country.

Students read several handouts regarding immigration and naturalization. They complete the citizenship practice test and determine whether they would pass the naturalization test given to immigrants. They discuss how the issue of...

Students explore the effects of immigration on the immigrants and on society as a whole. They will record the experiences of specific immigrant groups using an E-sheet. Groups present a summary of what they learned about their ethnic...

High schoolers examine and analyze the history and experience of Filipinos in Hawaii and California. They identify the contributions of Filipino Americans to the US war effort in World War II, and analyze the many causes that led to...

Letter-writing, e-mail and telephone campaigns, petitions, marches, meetings, with lawmakers. Options for influencing elected representatives are the focus of resource that details how to craft each of these approaches to influencing...

After viewing clips from a documentary on factory work in China and US outsourcing, learners have a fishbowl discussion. They work in groups to build both personal points of view and strong arguments on the effects of outsourcing in...

Students explore U.S. History by researching Kansas. In this immigration lesson, students discuss the benefits of immigrating to a state like Kansas in the 1800's while writing their thoughts and research in a reporter's notebook....

Students research their own family histories and current U.S. immigration issues, rules, and regulations. They participate in a class discussion, watch a video about a Mexican immigrant's experience, and complete a WebQuest and a worksheet.

Learners pretend to be Chinese and European immigrants, and U.S. citizens, as they explore immigration in California in the first half of the 20th Century.

Students discover the history of U.S. Immigration through a series of video clips and activities. Students learn the historical motivations for immigration and are asked to identify their own country of heritage. Links to...