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 response to this disenfranchisement.

Concepts

immigration, intolerance, assimilation, chinese immigration, irish immigration, jewish culture, united states immigration

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Assign teams different immigrant groups to investigate, and have them present their findings to the rest of the class
• Have individuals research their own family's immigrant experience

Classroom Considerations

• Although designed to accompany a visit to the Museum of Tolerance, such a visit is not required for this lesson
• The ninth in a series of 17 related resources
• Requires access to a number of reading selections, including John Ehle's The Trail of Tears, Frederick Douglas' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, Ntozake Shange's Whitewash, Matthew Jacobson's Special Sorrows, Yin' Coolies, Two Worlds, La Causa: The Migrant Farm Worker Story, and D.W. Gadenson's White Servitude in Colonial America

Pros

• The three-page packet includes a graphic organizer, discussion questions, and a list of helpful resources

Cons

• No scaffolding is provided for the research aspect of the project