History+Lesson+Plans

History Lesson Plans

The Great Immigration Debate by Jerry Crisci  The study of the history immigration allows teachers to engage students in a variety of important topics, including racism, public policy, access to power, economics, and globalization. Long before John F. Kennedy’s classic essay, “A Nation of Immigrants,” American immigration history has been filled with controversy.
 * **Overview**

Perhaps the most fascinating attribute of immigration history is that similar issues and controversies seem to be repeated with each “wave” of immigrants. This lesson will help students study a topic related to patterns in immigration history while gathering and analyzing data using primary source materials. Students complete their immigration history study by presenting their findings to their peers.

**Materials** This lesson requires access to the following online applications:


 * Google Docs
 * Google News Timeline
 * Google Image Search

**Instructions** Analyze historical evidence to identify a repeating pattern in the history of American immigration from 1840 to the present. What were the contributing factors to the pattern? How can this information be used to help create an effective immigration policy for the 21st Century?
 * Assignment**

1. Ask students to share their knowledge about current immigration policies and controversies. Students can use [|Google News] to search for "immigration" or "immigration policy" to discover the main issues being discussed in the media.

2. The classroom teacher creates a Google Doc that is shared with the entire class. The Doc contains a list of the issues generated from the preceding class discussion. Ask students to write individual comments under each issue to describe their personal views and feelings.

3. Ask students to study the history of immigration by reading reference books, textbooks, and articles (see related links below). In addition to electronic sources, students should be encouraged to work with their school librarian to identify texts and other reference materials that can provide background information on immigration history.

4. After students complete their background research, they should be divided into research teams, with three or four people in each group. Collectively, each team must identify one trend or issue that caused controversy during each wave of immigration. Examples could include legal limits on immigration, the impact of immigrants on the labor market, or issues related to cultural assimilation.The teams are directed to become experts on their immigration issue be engaging in further research.

5. Student can use [|Google News Timeline] to study historical news related to their trend. They must cite at least four news results and newspaper archive articles from three waves of immigration that support their trend (The main waves of immigration are 1840-1860, 1890-1920, 1980-2009.) Each team should collectively answer the following questions:

a. What evidence indicates that this trend existed in each wave of immigration?

b. Why does this problem occur repeatedly throughout American history?

c. What are the consequences of this trend?

d. How could the create of a National Immigration Policy solve this problem?

6. Each research team should use the presentation module in Google Docs to present their findings to the class. The presentation should address the four questions mentioned above. Presentations should include references to primary sources about immigration, as well as supporting media, including YouTube videos. In addition, students should use photos from Google image search to illustrate the ideas in their presentation.They can find the exact image they want using [|Google Similiar Image search.] **Related Links**


 * Reference Books:**

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 * Primary Source Books:**

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 * Web sites:**

When all presentations are completed, students complete a peer evaluation form prepared by the teacher using Google Forms. The form includes the following information:
 * Evaluation**


 * Group Presentation Title
 * Immigration Problem Identified by the group
 * Do you agree with the group’s solution to this problem?
 * If not, how would you solve this problem with modern day immigration policy?
 * The survey results are printed and shared, allowing for a final class discussion that provides closure to the project.

**Standards** //Draft Standards:// //Theme 1: Culture// //Theme 6: Power, Authority, and Governance//
 * National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)**

//Students will: use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.//
 * New York State Social Studies Standard 1:**

The Great Immigration Debate by [|Jerry Crisci]is licensed under a [|Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License]. ||

**Stories of America** Using Google Sites, a class site entitled, "Stories of America,” will be created. The home page will explain the site’s purpose; a culminating project that uses a Web site as collaborative space for students’ ideas to be shared with peers.
 * **Overview**

The “Stories of America” class site will consist of student created pages. Student pages will be interdisciplinary and thematic, reflecting and exemplifying a particular time period, person or historical event in American history from the American Revolution to our present time in contemporary America.

Each page will be created with multiple historical perspectives in mind. [depending on the given time frame, your technology access and your instructional goals, a particular time period in American history can also be selected to keep the project more manageable.]

Desktop computers or laptops with Internet access. Students will use their assigned text, online resources using Google Advanced Search feature and in particular, primary source documents from the American Memory collections at the Library of Congress and documents from The National Archives
 * Materials**

Using the multiple capabilities of Google Sites students will create a custom web page, adding content, attachments, and embedded media. The user-friendly editing features of Google sites will make it possible for students to create their page in a short period of time, enabling them to spend the majority of the instructional time in creating content based material.
 * Instructions**

Students will create a page that reflects their knowledge about a particular time period, person or historical event. [Again, depending on the given time frame, technology access and your instructional goals, students can work independently, or in teams, or in groups, creating a page.]

Based on the research conducted, each student will create a page with __two__ of the following:

1. An original mock news article about their particular time period, person or historical event. The article should answer use the 5W1H (who, what, where, when, why, how) questioning method. Each article should include at least one direct quote. The article may be embedded or linked.

2. Embed or link to a video related to the chosen time period, person or historical event. The video must have corresponding text that explains the video and describes why the student felt it was important to include on their page.

3. An original, creative persuasive/point of view writing piece that relates to the chosen time period, person or historical event. This narrative may be embedded or linked.

4. An online quiz related to the chosen time period, person or historical event. Quizzes will be created using Google Docs Form and then embedded in the students’ page. Fellow students will then have the opportunity to answer the quiz.
 * Related Links**

American Memory collections at the Library of Congress []

The National Archives []

Using Primary Sources []

Google Sites Help []

The History Channel []

Using assessment as a tool for facilitating student centered classrooms that encourage student self direction, a variety of assessment types and strategies can be implemented throughout this project. Specific rubrics can be given to assess the content and quality of each student’s Web page, but in addition, rubrics and checklists can also be given for each page product (mock article, video and text, persuasive/point of view writing piece, and online quiz). In doing so, content based rubrics serve as a self-assessment guide for students; helping them to understand expectations and assisting them in managing their own learning progress. In addition, peer assessments may be incorporated.
 * Evaluation**

Intel® Education Initiative: Using Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning []

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators: Assessment and Rubric Information []

New York State Learning Standards //Social Studies Standard 1: History of the United States and New York// Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
 * Standards**

//MST Standard 5: Technology// Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

//ELA Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding// Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

//ELA Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation// Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

//ELA Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction// Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

Stories of America by [|Kate O'Hara] is licensed under a [|Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License]. ||