SUBJECT
Culture and Diversity, Immigration

GRADE
1-2

DURATION
4 Weeks

COLLECTION
Exploring Family Heritage

Immigrants: Our Ancestors

By Ruth Manna

A Symbol of Freedom

The United States includes people of many races, cultures, ethnicities, and religions who have come together to make one nation. Students learn about who they are and where they came from by interviewing relatives and displaying their results.

OBJECTIVE

Students will:

Interview parents about family history and record results
Display results using timeline, bar graph, and maps
Listen to and discuss read-aloud books
Create artwork to show what they have learned

LESSONS FOR THIS UNIT
Lesson 1: Learning to Interview
Lesson 2: The Interactive Read-Aloud
Lesson 3: Displaying the Data

REPRODUCIBLES
Classmate Interview Form (PDF)
Cover Letter to Parents (PDF)
Interview Form for Mom's and Dad's Families (PDF)
Words From Other Countries (PDF)

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

An international luncheon is one way to celebrate diversity and conclude this unit. Ask parents and adult co-workers to prepare a dish from another country to share at the luncheon. Invite parents to join you. We had everything from pizza to fried rice to enchiladas. We ended our celebration with a piñata.

SUPPORTING BOOKS

Books for Teaching About Immigrants

Teacher Store

The Teacher Store

Molly's Pilgrim

by Barbara Cohen and Daniel Mark Duffy

As Molly nears her first Thanksgiving in America, she doesn't find much to be thankful for. Her classmates giggle at her Yiddish accent and make fun of her unfamiliar ways, and now her mother embarasses her with a doll that looks more Russian than Pilgrim. "A thought-provoking Thanksgiving read aloud." - ALA Booklist

$3.95
Paperback Book | Grades 3-5

Molly's Pilgrim

Grades 3-5 $3.95

Teacher Store

The Teacher Store

The Star Fisher

by Laurence Yep

Newbery author Yep movingly portrays the struggle of a young Chinese-American girl and her family as they fight for respect in a small West Virginia town during the late 1920s. "The book is a pleasure to read, entertaining its audience, even as it educates their hearts." - Horn Book

$4.95
Paperback Book | Grades 3-5

The Star Fisher

Grades 3-5 $4.95

ARTICLE	Ethnic Minorities Covers the history of the American immigration of ethnic minorities, including settlement patterns, identity issues, cultural assimilation, and demographics.

LESSON PLAN	The Heritage Project Classmates prepare to celebrate their cultural heritage by compiling a family tree, page from history, world map, passport, and travel log, and...

ONLINE ACTIVITY	Discover Canyon Rock Art Meet the research team in remote Utah and visit the rock art paintings made by indigenous people living there more than 2000 years ago.