Curated OER
Understanding Tenement Life
Learners look at life for immigrants in the 19th century. In this immigrant lesson, students discuss how the poor German, Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants lived in tenement housing. They research the reasons they came to America...
Avi Writer
City of Orphans: Teaching Guide
"Amazing things happen" in Avi's City of Orphans, and the suggestions in this teacher's resource will guide readers through through the many stories of the different characters living in the tenements of 1893 New York.
Curated OER
Primary Sources
Materials provided by The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, located in New York City, offer researchers an opportunity to examine primary sources and use these sources to understand the past. Class groups analyze different documents to...
Curated OER
Then, Now, and Tomorrow
Students will use this unit to investigate the past, present, and future of the architecture and plan of New York's Lower East Side. Students will research the history of the Lower East Side neighborhood in photographs used from the...
Curated OER
The Immigrant Experience in America
Learners explore immigration in the United States. In this immigration lesson, students read about Ellis Island and tenement houses as they conduct research regarding the topic in order to write an essay.
Curated OER
History Telling
Tenth graders examine the different parts of history that make up people's lives. In this American History lesson, 10th graders explore how historians learn about events that happened in the past by looking at events that happened in...
Curated OER
Everyone Has Interesting Stuff: Talking Objects Teaching with Objects in the Classroom
What fun! Have your class compose a narrative piece from an object's point of view. They research the object, its origin, and its history, then write their story. Stories can be shared with the class or read to children in a younger grade.
Curated OER
Everyone Has Interesting Stuff Teaching With Objects in the Classroom
Students determine what objects tell about a person. In this historical object lesson plan, students share an object that they feel tells a lot about themselves. They pass the object around a class circle, while others comment on what...
Curated OER
Everyone has Interesting Stuff
Students examine a random collection of artifacts. In this deductive reasoning and cultural awareness lesson, students will pair up and examine a given artifact. Each student will attempt to use the artifact's attributes and apparent...
Curated OER
Telling My Story: Conducting and Writing an Oral History
Students analyze the use of oral history as a way of gathering history. In this oral history lesson, students define oral history and then discuss researching immigration. Students research immigration. Students create questions for to...
Curated OER
How Did the Other Half Live?
Students study the conditions under which immigrants lived. They determine what it means to make it in America. They observe the connection between immigration and unionization and how immigration changed the City of New York. They...
Curated OER
Powerful Poetry Presenting the Writer's Soul
Students research Langston Hughes poetry for his use of figurative language. In this poetry analysis instructional activity, students research the life and poetry of Langston Hughes and his use of vivid words. Students complete 23...
Curated OER
Immigration and Urban Life
Fifth graders research the impact of immigration. In this social studies lesson, 5th graders discuss how immigration affected the economy. Students discuss the living and working conditions of immigrants in the 1800s.