Lesson Plan

History of Immigration From the 1850s to the Present

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This History of Immigration From the 1850s to the Present lesson plan also includes:

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 immigrant groups from Asia and Latin America, they complete short-answer questions about what they have learned. Next, they write a biography detailing the journey and accomplishment of a selected immigrant of note.

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CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Ideas
  • Encourage learners to choose a person from the list with whom they are not already familiar, or randomly assign people to students
Classroom Considerations
  • Lesson does not include a writing rubric or key with suggestions for short answer questions
  • As the reading passage was published in 2003, it does not contain the most current immigration discussions and legislature; prompt learners to conduct additional research
  • References the hot topic of illegal immigration
  • The second resource in a series of 10
Pros
  • Contains two helpful graphs to illustrate the influx of immigrants by decade and by year
  • Provides a reference list of historical laws regulating immigration throughout American history
  • Includes a guide for establishing a protocol for respectful and thoughtful disscussion of sensitive topics
Cons
  • Passage often refers to Chinese immigrants as Chinese or the Chinese; it uses the same terminology for Japanese immigrants