"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.
I agree that it is incredibly important for all students and educators to recognize the significance of immigration behind the history of the United States. The diverse range of members of the human race that have been introduced to America, as well as their practices and beliefs, have helped the US become a more diverse and attractive nation. I understand that many students, educators, and politicians today do not necessarily recognize the important role that communities of immigrants play in the US. If these groups and individuals learn more about these communities and the history behind them, instead of remaining ignorant of their impression on the US, there is a clear opportunity for further growth in schools and communities.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with your blog post. I am very interested to see where it goes and would love to see a lesson for students to know the history of immigrants from all over the world. I know when I was in school we did not lean much of immigrants and from the media it seems to only discuss one race of immigrants so this would be an excellent topic to research on.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is hugely important especially given the many refuge crises happening as I type this. Also from a education standpoint, this topic has so much potential for interdisciplinary collaboration. I look forward to reading more!
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