Summary
The United States has often been called a "nation of immigrants." With that as the focal point, students will investigate the changes in the domestic policies of the United States as it relates to immigrants and immigration. Students will analyze three congressional memos to review the history of U.S. immigration policy from its early beginnings to the changes in 1965 and the Refugee Act of 1980. They will then examine more recent immigration reform through the Dream Act. Students will look at how the U.S. immigration policies impacted migration patterns and immigrant's experiences, economic conditions, and assimilation into the life of a new nation.
Essential Question(s)
Does immigration reform matter? How does it impact us?
Snapshot
Engage
Students will use the How I Know It strategy to engage prior knowledge and analyze where our knowledge comes from.
Explore
Students will explore the Melting Pot Theory.
Explain
Students will gain new knowledge about the patterns and changes in immigration policies by examining excerpts and summaries of historical congressional memos.
Extend
Students will reflect on immigration through the poetry of Emma Lazarus.
Evaluate
Students will choose a prompt and write a reflective essay based upon rubric expectations.
Materials
Handout 1- Old Immigration Path to Immigration
Handout 2- Immigration from 1965 to 2015
Handout 3- Emma Lazarus
Rubric- Immigration Essay
Engage
Introduce the lesson by asking students to consider what they know about immigration in the United States.
Students will use the How I Know It strategy to identify prior knowledge and also engage in where our knowledge comes from. Follow the procedure below for How I Know It:
Begin by having students draw a circle on their paper and then draw a larger rectangle around the circle.
Within the circle, students should jot down all they know about immigration in the United States. This can be historical knowledge, social or personal knowledge they have of immigration.
After they have listed their prior knowledge in the circle, ask them to think about how they know this information. Where did it come from? What is the source? This may require some deep thinking on the part of students as it asks them to think of their knowledge as constructed and influenced by multiple sources. Have them put their sources of information in the rectangle area.
Once students have filled in their circles and rectangles, discuss as a class. Extensions might include asking students to think about what sources of knowledge are not on their paper and perhaps should be or to think about ways they might expand upon how they know information on the topic.
Explore
Ask students the following questions: Have you ever heard the term "melting pot"? To what is it referring?
A "School House Rock" video that shares common ideas on the melting pot can be used if needed, and this article from the Washington Post offers another perspective from immigrants who don't wish to "melt" into American culture. Both links are here and listed under "Resources" at the end of the lesson.
Explain
The following questions will guide students as they read several texts that represent the historical changes in immigration. Write these on the board or give them on a handout so students can use them to frame their readings:
How do you think the views of immigration have changed throughout the years?
Why do you think these changes have occurred?
Is the U.S. more open to immigration or not? Explain
Distribute "Handout 1-Old Path to Immigration" to students. Students may work in pairs or in small groups. Have students divide notebook paper in half lengthwise and make a list of the pros and cons about the old laws on immigration. This could also be a list of advantages or disadvantages, instead.
Go the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island website and spend time with students discussing the importance of the Statue of Liberty to the immigrants coming into New York Harbor. There is an interactive experience on the Ellis Island link.
Next, distribute "Handout 2-Immigration 1965 to present" to reflect on changes to the old laws. Ask students if any of the things they listed as cons or disadvantages from Handout 1 were corrected in the subsequent immigration laws. Have students make another list of pros and cons for the second handout. For the pairs or small groups, post the original questions again:
How do you think the views of immigration have changed throughout the years?
Why do you think these changes have occurred?
Is the U.S. more open to immigrants or not? Explain your reasoning.
Using these questions to frame their statements, ask student pairs or groups to create a G.I.S.T. (Generating Information between Schemata and Text) summary of what they have learned from the handouts about immigration laws. A G.I.S.T. is a summary statement(s) using 20 to 25 words or less that synthesizes a larger amount of information. To learn more about G.I.S.T., go to: http://www.ehow.com/facts_6955808_gist-statement_.html
Ask student pairs or groups to share GIST statements as a class. After all GIST statements have been shared, discuss the 3 questions as a class. For the last question, ask students to take a stance. Divide the room in half and ask students to go to one side of the room or the other. One side of the room will be that "US immigration has become more open". The other side is "US immigration has not become more open". Ask students to discuss their stance with other students who are on the same side of the room. Have a spokesperson explain their reasoning.
Extend
To allow students to view immigration through another perspective, they will consider the poetry of Emma Lazarus. Distribute Handout 3 to students. It will be used as a reflective piece. It contains a portion of Emma Lazarus' life and poetry on the Statue of Liberty. Follow the directions on the handout. This can be a part of the lesson, as an extension/homework piece, or as an assessment.
Evaluate
Have students write a reflective essay on one of the following questions:
What changes have occurred in U.S. immigration laws, and why do you think those changes came about?
How have immigration policies in the United States impacted the lives of citizens?
Do you think the immigration changes have had a positive impact or a negative impact on immigrants and their families?
Resources
American Immigration Council. (2014). How the US immigration policy works: a fact sheet. Retrieved from: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/how-united-states-immigration-system-works-fact-sheet
Branigin, W. (1998, May 25). Immigrants shunning idea of assimilation. Washington Post. Copyright 1998, The Washington Post Company. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/meltingpot/meltingpot.htm
CIR ASAP Act of 2009, H.R. 4321, 111 Cong. (2009). Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/4321
Cohn, R.L. (n.d.). Immigration policy and nativism. Immigration to the United States. Copyright 2015, EH.Net - Economic History Services. Retrieved from https://eh.net/encyclopedia/immigration-to-the-united-states/
Encyclopedia of World Biography. (2016). Emma Lazarus Biography. Copyright 2016 Advameg, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Lazarus-Emma.html
Kurtz, W. (n.d.). Emma Lazarus [Photograph]. Library of Congress Public Use Site. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/99402695/
Lazarus, E. (1883). The New Colossus. Copyright 2016 American Studies UVA and the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. Retrieved from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/liberty/lazaruspoem.html
National Park Service. (2012). Experience America's Best Idea. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/getaways/stli/
National Park Service. (2016). Statue of Liberty National Monument. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm
PBS. (2015). Immigration policy: Past and present. The New Americans. Copyright 2015, Independent Television Service (ITVS). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/foreducators_lesson_plan_03.html
TV Über. (2013, February 26). Schoolhouse Rock - ''The Great American Melting Pot'' [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZQl6XBo64M&feature=youtu.be
University of Virginia. (n.d.). Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus" (1883). Copyright 2016 American Studies UVA and the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia. Retrieved from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/liberty/lazarus.html
Martin, Pamela. "GIST Generating Interactions between Schemata and Text". eHow. Copyright 1999-2016 Demand Media Inc. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_6955808_gist-statement_.html
How I Know It Instructional Strategy: K20 Center. (n.d.). Copyright 2015, Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. Retrieved from https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f5067d68