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Unit Plan
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Core Knowledge Foundation

Immigration Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology

For Teachers 2nd Standards
The read-aloud unit focuses on immigration. Scholars hear stories about people's sacrifices and their journey to and experience in another country. Pupils discuss readings, practice vocabulary skills and participate in extension...
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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
Constitutional Rights Foundation

U.S. Immigration Policy and Hitler’s Holocaust

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Though the Statue of Liberty welcomes political refugees to her shores, the welcoming sentiment has not always been reflected in the American citizenry. High schoolers read about the regrettable period in United States history when the...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Educating European Immigrant Children Before World War I

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As if surviving a journey to America wasn't enough of a feat for early 20th century immigrants, they then needed to settle into American life. Learn about the ways New York public education attempted to meet the needs of its students,...
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Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Immigrant Discrimination

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
For a class learning about Chinese and Irish immigration in America, here's a great starting lesson plan. It has your critical thinkers examining song lyrics, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and a political cartoon, and finally...
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Lesson Plan
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Constitutional Rights Foundation

Special Order 40

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Refugees from the Caribbean: Cuban and Haitian “Boat People”

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Should refugees fleeing poverty be allowed the same entrance into the United States as those fleeing persecution? High schoolers read about US foreign policy in the late 20th century regarding refugees from Cuba and Haiti, and engage in...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Plyler v. Doe: Can States Deny Public Benefits to Illegal Immigrants?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Illegal immigration is an ever-changing source of consistent controversy. A reading passage about the rights of undocumented workers and illegal immigrants—and the lack thereof—guides high schoolers into a mock trial activity. Three...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Refugees From Vietnam and Cambodia

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The United States may have pulled its troops from the Vietnam War in 1973, but the conflict was far from over for the citizens living in Asia at the time. An informative resource lets learners know about the wave of over 220,000...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Issues of Asylum in the U.S.

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Who gets to come to the United States? Examine cases of individuals seeking asylum with an informative reading passage that includes examples, statistics, and representations of public opinion regarding asylum. Groups then go on to...
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Lesson Plan
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Advocates for Human Rights

Nativism and Myths about Immigrants

For Students 8th - Higher Ed Standards
Where do anti-immigrants myths come from, and how can they be refuted? Learners critically analyze media reports and how to identify reliable sources. After studying a timeline that details the history of US nativism, groups research the...
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Lesson Plan
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Advocates for Human Rights

Mock Immigration Court

For Students 8th - Higher Ed Standards
As part of a unit study of immigration, class members participate in a mock Immigration Court activity in which they argue four cases before an immigration judge.
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

History of Immigration Through the 1850s

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Everyone living in the United States today is a descendant from an immigrant—even Native Americans. Learn about the tumultuous history of American immigration with a reading passage that discusses the ancient migration over the Bering...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Justice: Schooling and the Four Waves of U.S. Immigration

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
U.S. immigration is the focus of a unit on social justice. Over the course of a school year, young historians read a variety of texts to learn about four waves of immigration that have occurred over time in the U.S. An emphasis on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Letters From Rifka

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Small groups read assigned chapters from the book, Letters to Rifka, then work together to fill out comprehension worksheets associated with their chapters. This fine, 13-page lesson culminates with each group getting together to meet...
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Lesson Plan
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US House of Representatives

Exclusion and Empire, 1898–1941

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
New ReviewOften forgotten and written off as the model minority, Americans with heritage in Asia and the Pacific Islands have played an essential role in American history, including Congress. Budding historians reclaim history by researching the...
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Lesson Plan
Carolina K-12

Turn of the Century Immigration

For Teachers 8th Standards
In an engaging simulation, class members imagine immigrating to the United States in the late nineteenth century and arriving at Ellis Island. They then write creative journal entries about their experience and chart their journeys.
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Lesson Plan
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Carolina K-12

What Is the American Dream?

For Teachers 8th Standards
How do you describe the American Dream? What motivates others to immigrate to the United States, and why do some groups have trouble attaining the American Dream? Your learners will consider these questions as they explore figurative...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Understanding and Analyzing “The U.S. of Us” by Richard Blanco

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Current immigration issues and the rhetoric surrounding the controversies come into focus with a lesson that uses Richard Blanco's anthem, "The U.S. of Us," written after the August 2019 attack in El Paso, Texas, to open a discussion of...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

What Is the Dream Act and Who Are the Dreamers?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) is the focus of a lesson that asks high schoolers to investigate the act's provisions and read statements by individuals who support and oppose the act. They then...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

“Walling Out the Unwanted”: Understanding the Barriers that Perpetuate Anti-Immigrant Bias

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of immigrant bias, high schoolers investigate the language used in blogs, readings, media reports, and current legislation whose language perpetuates xenophobia. They then consider ways they can get involved in...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

“They Don’t Know Me”: Exposing the Myths and Establishing the Facts about Immigration

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers engage in a lesson that teaches them to distinguish myths from facts about United States immigration. Class members take an immigration quiz, watch a "What Would You do" video, and discuss how they could be an ally to...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

‘Migrant Caravan’ and the People Seeking Asylum

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The controversies surrounding migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. have recently been a hot topic. To understand some of the issues involved, young scholars investigate the Migrant Caravans of 2018. A 10-page packet, including photos, a...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

"What is it Like to be an Outsider?”: Building Empathy for the Experiences of Immigrants

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
This lesson highlights the struggles of immigrants and the importance of showing empathy. Beginning with a read-aloud of a book in another language and a poem, scholars take part in a thoughtful discussion. Then, the class examines a...