Unit Eleven: Im/migration

Week One: An Overview of Immigration to the United States

Monday: Book Club - The Only Road

  1. Use today to get started on your new book club! We are reading, The Only Road, by Alexandra Diaz. This is a fictional story based on the very real journey that many children take traveling to El Norte.


Tuesday: What are the push and pull factors that influence immigration? What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary im/migration?

  1. Let's start by learning about the global history of migration. Watch the Home Planet Video, "Human Migration"

  2. Watch the Flocabulary video on migration.

  3. Play some of the games with this set of vocabulary words on Quizlet.


Wednesday: The United States and Immigration*

  1. Watch both of these videos:

  1. Explore the Scholastic Immigration Data and the Immigration History Timeline

  2. Choose one graph. Copy and paste this graph into your Padlet, and write about what this graph teaches you about US Immigration

  3. Browse extra resources (optional):



Thursday: What are the elements of both truth and misconception within the phrase of America as a "nation of immigrants"?

  1. Watch the Buzzfeed video, "A Nation of Immigrants"

  2. Reflect: Which countries are mentioned in the video? How are the immigrant experiences similar and different? Who is left out of the narrative of the United States as a "nation of immigrants"?

  3. Read the Colorlines article, "For the Millionth Time we are Not all Immigrants"

*If you are working with a grown up today, you can also read the Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz article. This needs adult scaffolding.


Friday: Class Discussion

  1. Watch TED Ed: Xenophobia

  2. Watch the read aloud: Her Right Foot


Department of the Treasury, Public Health Service, “Angel Island Hospital,” Digital Public Library of America


Week Two: Ellis Island & ANgel Island


Monday: Book Club - The Only Road


Tuesday: Ellis Island*

  1. Take a few moments to write down anything that you know about Ellis Island, and any questions that you have about it.

  2. Watch the History.com video, "Immigrants on Ellis Island"

  3. Complete the interactive tour of Ellis Island on the Scholastic website


Wednesday: Angel Island*

  1. What do you know about Angel Island?

  2. Take a few moments to write down anything that you know about Angel Island, and any questions that you have about it.

  3. Watch this video on Angel Island

  4. Watch "Angel Island profile: Tyrus Wong"

  5. Read chapter one of "Angel Island Immigration," by Jamie Kallio. You can read it for free on epic, or you can check it out at a public library.


Thursday: Comparing the Two Entries*

  1. Reflect on what you have learned about Ellis Island and Angel Island. What are the similarities between these two entries to the United States? What are the differences?

  2. Examine these two questionairres. One is a set of questions given to immigrants on Ellis Island, and the other is a set of questions given to immigratns on Angel Island.

  3. What are some of the differences between the questionnaires? Why do you think they are so different? What does this say about who is welcome in the United States?


Friday: Angel Island poetry & primary sources*

    1. Explore these primary sources on Angel Island.

        1. choose one source. copy and paste it into you Padlet and write down what it teaches you.

    2. Read this collection of poems written by Chinese immigrants on Angel Island.

        1. Choose one poem that stands out to you. Either create a visual to pair with this poem (draw, create a graphic, etc.), or choose a photo from the primary source collection to pair with the poem.


*Tuesday-Friday based on work by the UT Austin Social Studies Methods Course collective.


week three: Communities and Immigration

Monday: Book Club - The Only Road


Tuesday: Chinese Immigrants and the Railroad

  1. Read Takaki Ch. 8 From China to Gold Mountain

  2. Post on padlet: Why did people leave China to come to California? How did their experience and feeling welcome change over time?


Wednesday: Irish immigrants and Famine

  1. Read Takaki Ch. 6 The Flight from Ireland

  2. Post on padlet: Why did people leave Ireland and what were their experiences like when they arrived in the USA?


Thursday: Tenements Virtual Field Trip!

  1. Tenement Museum Book a virtual tenement tour! $10 per device, schedule in advance, many different options to choose from


Friday: Class discussion and add to timeline project

Week Four: Contemporary Immigration to the US

Monday: Book Club - The Only Road

Work in Progress - Culminating Showcase for the Timeline Project + presenting students' and teachers' year long knowledge gains.

*Curriculum surrounding immigration/migration is informed by the work of scholars at UT Austin in the Elementary Social Studies Methods course. Specifically, this work is credited to Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez (Univeristy of Colorado Boulder), and Dr. Esther Kim (William and Mary School of Education). A complete list of contributors to the Elementary Social Studies Methods course can be found here.