Writing a Play about Immigrant Life in America

As part of a study of immigration and the U.S. economy, class members assume the role of newspaper editors to determine which submitted letters to print on their paper's editorial page to present a balanced view of the debate.

A great writing exercise should have it all. This one requires learners to think critically about cause and effect, compare and contrast, and summarizing. They compose responses to five short answer questions regarding Spanish and...

The Statue of Liberty may embrace the huddled masses of the world, but has American society always joined in? After young historians read a passage about the history of American immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, focusing on...

Everyone living in the United States today is a descendant from an immigrant—even Native Americans. Learn about the tumultuous history of American immigration with a reading passage that discusses the ancient migration over the Bering...

What brought settlers from Europe to North America? By exploring primary sources, such as posters seeking recruits for the new lands, class members take a deeper look at these motivations. To finish, they present their findings to...

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...

Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a activity on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with Anita's assessment...

The United States Immigration Policy is incredibly complex. To gain a deeper understanding of the criteria, quotas, preferences, and categories of immigrants admitted to the US, class members engage in a role playing activity that...

Students study immigration, Ellis Island, and tenement life from 1890 to 1924. Each student create an identity of an immigrant and write an essay in the first person. Essays describe what they found when they arrived in New York City.

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.