Curated OER
Contributions of Immigrants
Young scholars identify the contributions of immigrants to America. They analyze the value of these contributions as well. They discuss how these contributions affect other's personal perspectives of immigrants.
Curated OER
Library Media Center Research Learning Unit for 6th, 7th, & 8th Grades
Middle schoolers focus on the process of and skills necessary for researching a topic. They study the topic of immigration while practicing note taking skills, organizing information and writing conventions.
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,...
Curated OER
Creative Writing/Historical Journals
Students write series of journal entries, from the perspective of an immigrant traveling to America via Ellis Island.
Curated OER
Internet Research
Students research and gather information on immigration, synthesizing the data they find.
NPR
Civil Rights of Japanese-American Internees
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...
Curated OER
Book: Latino Economics in the United States: Job Diversity
Learners, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "Latino Economics in the United States: Job Diversity," write an essay that compares the cultural as well as the historical factors (experiences with jobs, discrimination, education, etc.)...
Curated OER
How Did the Immigrants Get to the United States?
Third graders search TDC database for images of immigration from other countries, maps, and diaries. They identify the challenges that immigrants had to endure to reach the United States.
Curated OER
Connecting Immigrants In Black And White
Students explore the many ways that ethnic newspapers help immigrants in the United States stay connected to their cultures and countries of origin. They write articles for ethnic newspapers.
Curated OER
A New Life, A New Home
Fifth graders use photographs to tell the story of immigrants. They use the Internet to help them research immigration.
Curated OER
Cultural Capital
Students research the adaptation and acculturation of immigrant groups in the United States. They create culture capsules aimed at preserving the cultural heritage of new peoples in American society.
All for KIDZ
The Orphan of Ellis Island
Everyone comes from somewhere. An interdisciplinary lesson on Elvira Woodruff's The Orphan of Ellis Island includes discussion starter and writing prompts for the novel, as well as a graphic organizer to help learners begin their own...
Curated OER
Immigration Explorations, Part I
Students visit a number of sites on immigration that were created by other children. They evaluate the sorts of research students carried out to create the site, how it is structured, what sort of information and graphics are included....
Curated OER
Book: The Original United States of America
Students, after reading Chapter One in the book, "The American Colonies' Sense of Who They Were," analyze the actions of the colonists as well as compare the similarities between the protests of the colonists and protests of today. They...
Curated OER
Letters From Rifka
Small groups read assigned chapters from the book, Letters to Rifka, then work together to fill out comprehension worksheets associated with their chapters. This fine, 13-page lesson culminates with each group getting together to meet...
Curated OER
Becoming a "Gringo" Immigrants, Language Learning and Acculturation
Students examine the experience by immigrants coming to America who are Spanish-speaking. As a class, they define "Gringo" and read poems whose authors first language is Spanish. In groups, they participate in different sections in...
Curated OER
Dreaming to Come to America
Students examine reasons for immigration to America, including economic, political, and religious considerations, and conduct research to determine immigration history of students' families and compare reasons other groups have come to...
Curated OER
Push/Pull factors in Immigration
Young scholars explore the push/pull factors experienced by immigrant families. They interview a parent and an American about their family's immigration history. Students write a summary of the interview and compare the push/pull factors...
Curated OER
The American Mosaic
Young scholars discuss what it would be like to be new to a town. They are then asked questions related to the immigrants coming to America. Extensions of this lesson are available.
Curated OER
An Immigrant's Journey
Young scholars use books, resource CDs, and the Internet to research and collect images of the experiences of immigrants in 1907. They are divided into groups of four to write journal entries for a fictional, yet historically accurate,...
Curated OER
U.S. History: Immigrant Scrapbooks
Students role-play as immigrants coming to America around the turn of the 19th century. They conduct Internet research and print out pictures to use in an immigrant scrapbook. Students write captions for the pictures and narratives to...
Curated OER
My Name Is Osama
Students read a short story about a young Iraqi boy, which opens up classroom discussion about the difficulties some immigrant students face, especially in the days after September 11.
Curated OER
Is Coming to the United States of America Good For the Immigrant?
Students evaluate impact of American politics, economy, culture, and environment on the immigrant, gather first person data, and use it to develop a persuasive presentation.
Curated OER
The Revolving Door: U.S. Immigration
Young scholars compare current cultural perceptions of the immigrant experience with ones of the past. They will relate current immigration stories as seen in the PBS documentary "The New Americans" to those of the historical past.