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Interactive
iCivics

Immigration Nation

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
If citizens are living abroad, can their children still be considered citizens? How long does citizenship last for someone who has been permitted to work in the country? Here is a fun online interactive game that will help your learners...
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Activity
American Immigration Law Foundation

An Immigrant’s Experience

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
After interviewing an immigrant about their voyage to the United States and first impressions of the country, young learners create a fictional series of journal entries and design an iMovie depicting their interviewee's story.
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Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Understanding Immigration Through Popular Culture

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Class members are introduced to a project-based learning unit on US immigration with an activity that asks them to analyze sheet music and other primary source materials to uncover issues raised by immigration.  
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Lesson Plan
Little Kids Rock

The Influence of Latin Music in Postwar New York City

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Music has often been called the international language that transcends cultures and regions. Scholars analyze the impact of Latin American music on New York City culture in the years following World War II. They research music, video,...
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Activity
PBS

Broadway and The American Dream

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Taming the American West

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Have you ever seen a movie about the romance of the American West with its buffalo, horses, cowboys, and endless frontier? The 13th installment of a 22-part series on American history presents the myths associated with the American West....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The American Dream

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss the American dream and explain what the American Dream consists of. In this American Dream lesson, students listen to music about America for the reasons people love America.  Students create a list of wants and needs to...
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Lesson Plan
Tune Into English

America – West Side Story

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a lesson on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with Anita's assessment...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Personal Narrative on the Immigration Experience

For Teachers 9th - 11th
The students create a personal narrative on their experiences with immigration. In this lesson plan, students are asked to read and understand examples of narrative writing as well as evaluate lyrics from Ben Folds Five to determine...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Letters from the Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nos Creemos Americanos: Braceros in History and Song

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Mexican folk songs offer an authentic look at WWII immigrant workers. This study of the U.S. Bracero Program sets historians up with context information so they can write their own corrido. The class reviews themes and formulas of...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Second Graders Create Their Own Social Studies Book

For Teachers 2nd
Students develop their own social studies textbook. Students gain knowledge of American immigration and Ellis Island. Students discover the process of becoming a naturalized citizen and what it means to be a citizen
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PPT
National Humanities Center

Teaching The Great Gatsby: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar

For Teachers 11th - 12th
The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration in America

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the musical traditions that immigrants bring to the United States. They discuss the concept of home, complete the "My Home" worksheet, participate in a class discussion, and write a letter to a fourth grade...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mexican-American Influence on the United States

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine the influences of the Hispanic groups from Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico. In groups, they research the history of Mexico and read excerpts from a book in Spanish to practice their vocabulary. To end the lesson...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Affirmation, Assimilation, and Acculturation: Middle School

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Latin American culture is deeply embedded in American culture as a whole. From the Latin rock scene in San Francisco to the hip-hop world of New York, Latin American artists have influenced every genre of modern music. Learn about the...
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Lesson Plan
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Museum of Tolerance

Disenfranchised People of the New Nation

For Teachers 8th
Why are some immigrant groups in the United States embraced while others become disenfranchised? To answer this question, teams investigate why groups emigrated to the US, why some of these these peoples were disenfranchised, and their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Irish-Americans: Work and Song

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore Irish-American culture. In this immigration activity, students watch video segments regarding immigration in the 1840's and 1850's. Students discuss the discrimination Irish-Americans faced as they listen to songs and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the American dream. In this contemporary music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. Students create 3-D representations of the American dream and write...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Social Studies and Reading Integration

For Students 5th - 6th
Kids take a quiz on the concepts that define community and culture. They answer 10 multiple choice questions regarding family traditions, immigration, Hispanic culture, and community. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Star Fisher

For Teachers 7th - 8th
What a terrific way to discuss racism in the 1920's. Learners read a story called The Star Fisher by Laurence Yep. It is about a Chinese American girl who experiences racism and prejudice after moving from Ohio to West Virginia. Learners...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America, A Home for Every Culture

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students investigate the many cultures that are represented in America. In this American culture lesson, students look at the food, languages, music, and traditions that immigrants have contributed to the face of America. They complete...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jews and Blues

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students examine how American Jews affect music and entertainment. They identify problems between immigrants and their children. They relate the Jewish American issue to those of African Americans.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Masculine Heroes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...