"America is a nation of nations, made up of people from
every land, of every race and practicing every faith. Our diversity is not a
source of weakness; it is a source of strength, it is a source of our
success."
-- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
The people of the United States come from all over
the world, and represent many different cultures. This country is often
characterized as a nation of immigrants, and has welcomed more immigrants than
any other country. That number is over 50 million, and even today, welcomes
almost 700,000 people per year.
It is important to recognize and embrace this
diversity in our communities and our classrooms. Learning about the situations and
stories of the people who did or will take the risk to leave their homelands to
come to the United States will create a better understanding of the history of
this county, and also of their neighbors and classmates.
This topic is a great way to reach students
because they can relate the personal stories of some of those who immigrated here
to their own lives, or to stories they may have heard from their parents or grandparents.
While learning about the history and present issues of this topic they will inadvertently
add to their reading and comprehension skills as well. They will become more open
to other cultures, while making connections to their own.
We can investigate the varied places that people
came from and what life was like in their home countries. This will help us to
understand the reasons they decided to leave their countries, and compare it to
their new lives in the United States.
The goal of this blog will be to focus on the
history of immigration, attitudes toward immigrants, then and now, and
immigration of today. I know that teaching about cultural diversity is
important, but I want to see if this lesson can be a starting point for many different
areas of learning.
Possible Resources for these lessons:
Here are some useful links:
This link takes you to a scholastic site that focuses on immigration of yesterday and today.
This link is specific to Ellis Island. It includes facts and summaries, articles, videos and speeches.
This link is a teacher resource that has many activities related to immigration.
This link is to a government site that gives facts about the diversity of the United States.
Here are some useful books and movies:
Bunting, Eve, and Ben F. Stahl. Dreaming of America: An Ellis Island Story. Mahwah,
NJ: Bridge Water, 1999. Print.
Freedman, Russell. Immigrant Kids. New York: Dutton, 1980. Print.
Fritz, Jean, and Margot Tomes. Homesick: My Own Story. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1982. Print.
Levine, Ellen, and Steve Rkman. I Hate English! New York: Scholastic, 1989. Print.
Lord, Bette, and Marc Simont. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. Print.
The Other Side of Immigration. Dir. Roy Germano. RG Films :, 2010. DVD.
