Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today

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Immigrants from every corner of the globe have come to America in search of new opportunities. In the process, they have helped to make this country the rich and diverse place we know today. Students will learn the various reasons people come to America through oral histories of recent and historic immigrants. Students also explore one of the most important aspects of American immigration history - Ellis Island as the preeminent immigration port of the early 1900s. Several graphing activities encourage students to explore immigrant history that exists in their own classroom and practice data analysis and research skills.

OBJECTIVE

Students will:

1. Use Web technology to access immigration history
2. Develop an understanding of the concept of immigration
3. Develop oral history writing skills, including note-taking and conducting an interview
4. Read for detail
5. Use real-world examples as models for writing an oral history
6. Compare and contrast immigration stories of the past with the present
7. Compare and contrast immigration through Ellis Island and Angel Island
8. Use technology to explore a historical place and event 9. Use graphs and facts to respond to several research-based questions and activities
9. Create a time line

LESSONS FOR THIS UNIT
Lesson 1: Immigration for Grades K-2
Lesson 2: Immigration for Grades 3-5
Lesson 3: Immigration for Grades 6-8

REPRODUCIBLES
KWL Chart (PDF)
Concept Map (PDF)

SUPPORTING BOOKS

Immigration Books and Resources

• Teacher Store
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  The Teacher Store

  Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan When Esperanza and Mama are forced to flee from their home in Mexico to a Mexican farm labor camp in California, they must adjust to a life without the fancy dresses and servants to which they were accustomed on Rancho de las Rosas. Now they must confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression. "A poignant look at the realities of immigration." — Horn Book $15.95 Hardcover Book | Grades 3-9

  
  Esperanza Rising
  Grades 3-9 $15.95
  
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  The Teacher Store

  My Name Is America: The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce By promising seven years of labor to a fellow traveler, Jasper earns passage aboard the Mayflower and closes the door on his troubled past. His document of the arduous ocean crossing and first year in the New World shows your child his physical and spiritual growth as he learns the strengths and weaknesses in himself, his Puritan people, and his Native American neighbors. $8.76 You save: 20% Hardcover Book | Grades 4-8

  
  My Name Is America: The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce
  Grades 4-8 $8.76
  

This Unit Plan supports Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today Activities

Immigrants: Our Ancestors
Prompt students to learn about their cultural heritage through interviews with family members. Students present charts, maps, based on their...