Library Digital Services and Development


How Did the Immigrants Get to the United States?

Created By: Janenne Scott, Oakland Elementary School (Bloomington, IL)
Grade Level: 3rd
Content Area: Social Studies
Database Integration: Students will search TDC database for images of immigration from other countries, maps, and diaries.


Illinois Learning Standards Achieved

Standard Achieved

Activity that Meets this Standard
State Goal 16.A.1a: Explain the difference between past, present and future time; place themselves in time. Students will be able to identify the challenges that immigrants had to endure to reach the United States.
State Goal 16.A.1b: Ask historical questions and seek out answers from historical sources (e.g., myths, biographies, stories, old photographs, artwork, other visual or electronic sources). Students will be able to identify the challenges that immigrants had to endure to reach the United States.
State Goal 17.C.1a: Identify ways people depend on and interact with the physical environment (e.g., farming, fishing, hydroelectric power). Students will be able to identify the challenges that immigrants had to endure to reach the United States.
State Goal 18.C.1: Describe how individuals interacted within groups to make choices regarding food, clothing and shelter. Students will be able to identify the challenges that immigrants had to endure to reach the United States.


Objective:

Students will be able to identify the challenges that immigrants had to endure to reach the United States.


Time:

Follows Immigration to the United States, plan in November/December, three to five days.


Corresponding Lesson Plan:

Immigration to the United States


Procedures/Teaching Activities:

  1. Go back to the original groups of four and the small and large group rectangles. Define again the rules and the word immigration.
  2. Tell them since they have had a day or so to think about moving they may do so today but forevery person that moves from a group they lose a point from the previous lesson.
  3. Make a travel route for those who want to change and have them crawl on hands and knees to get to the large rectangle. But before they get on their hands and knees, you must ask them a question. If they answer correctly they can enter - if they cannot answer they must crawl back to their original group. (Vary your questions from hard to so easy and only let 2 or 3 children board the new area).
  4. Now talk about this after everyone is settled aboard the boat.
  5. Do another team building activity, but this time use favorite animals. They do the chant again and same set-up for the drawing.
  6. Talk again about feeling, fairness, and rules of the boat community. Make sure your smaller group has say in these discussions - they often feel it is unfair also!
  7. Wrap up with a discussion of where their families might have immigrated from and you can begin a family or map tree to see how many nationalities are in your room. (This usually evolves into another three day lesson because they need input from home)