Africans and African Americans

How did black Americans contribute to colonial society in the United States and make active choices to exert some control over their lives as slaves? Explore the often overlooked yet incredibly important roles of Africans and African...

In an engaging simulation, class members imagine immigrating to the United States in the late nineteenth-century and arriving at Ellis Island. They then write creative journal entries about their experience and chart their journeys.

As if surviving a journey to America wasn't enough of a feat for early 20th century immigrants, they then needed to settle into American life. Learn about the ways New York public education attempted to meet the needs of its students,...

Class members research African American inventors, the challenges they faced in their attempts to patent their works, and the importance of their inventions to the development of technology. After a brief introduction to inventors Elijah...

A comprehensive look at the prohibition debate through the lens of immigration gives scholars intriguing material for a debate and essay of their own. They watch four video clips (find these on the PBS website), discussing issues in...

How do you describe the American Dream? What motivates others to immigrate to the United States, and why do some groups have trouble attaining the American Dream? Your learners will consider these questions as they explore figurative...

Where do anti-immigrants myths come from, and how can they be refuted? Learners critically analyze media reports and how to identify reliable sources. After studying a timeline that details the history of US nativism, groups research the...

When Aki Kurose was 16 years old, her family was forced to relocate from their home in Seattle with other Japanese Americans. The government feared that despite their loyalty to the United States, they were operating on behalf of the...

Students read "A South African Storm" by Allison Howard and participate in a class discussion that examines Howard's letter for both content and writing form. They write a letter using some of the techniques they identified in Howard's.

Numerous people from China immigrated to the US during the era of industrialization and expansion. Provide your class with a glimpse into the life of a Chinese immigrant through the poetry they left behind. They then compose a poem of...