Reaching for the American Dream Lesson

2007-12-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

Reaching for the American Dream

Grade: 5th

Time: 45 minute period

Brief description of lesson:
Students will explore the subject of immigration in the United States by reading a Time for Kids article, participating in discussions, and completing a worksheet.

Materials:
· Time for Kids Magazine article: Reaching for the American Dream
· Time for Kids Magazine Worksheet: Coming to America
· Pencils
· 2 Graphs showing different ethnicities in Winona, Minnesota
· Graph showing the population change in Winona, Minnesota

Goals:
Students will identify and understand the reasons for the increase in immigration, growth of cities, new inventions, and political challenges to American government.
Students will explain the meaning of legally recognized citizenship in the United States, and describe the processes by which an individual may establish U.S. citizenship.

Objectives:
Students will participate in a class discussion on what the definition of qn immigrant is.
Students will participate in a class discussion on different groups of people who have immigrated to the United States and the reasons why they have immigrated.
Students will complete a worksheet focused on immigration and U.S. history.

Procedure:
1. Review previous lesson; ask students what they think the word immigration means. What is an immigrant? How do people born in other countries get to live in the U.S.? Why do you think people immigrate to the U. S.? Why is there a debate about immigration?
Some answer could be: immigrant a person who moves to one country from another; citizen an official member of a country, state or community; Better life: less war, more jobs, better health care; Debate: illegal immigrants (Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. Under this definition, an illegal immigrant is a foreigner who either has illegally crossed an international political border, be it by land, sea, or air, or a foreigner who has entered a country legally but then overstays his/her Visa in order to live and/or work there.) (8 minutes)

2.Read the article, Reaching for the American Dream. Have students take turns reading, using volunteers first, then call on students. (7 minutes)

3.After reading the article, discuss with students the different groups of people who have immigrated to the United States. Discuss some reasons for their immigration. (6 minutes)
Show and explain to students the census information from Winona, Minnesota.

4.Explain the difference in the numbers throughout the years. Also point out the differences in ethnicities. (4 minutes)

5.Choose a student to pass out worksheets. Have students complete the worksheet. After 15 minutes of work time, have students turn in their worksheets. (15 minutes)

6.Bring students back to the discussion possible answers to the worksheet: Coming to America. Use the answer sheet to correct answers. (5 minutes)

Assessment:
Assess students understanding of the article through the worksheet and discussion answers.

Resource:
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/wr/article/0,27972,93449,00.html

Census information from the Winona Historical Society

Article:

Reaching For The American Dream
Traveling at night and in secret, the small group walked for hours in the bitter cold. A smuggler had promised he would get them into the U.S. safely. But the travelers grew tired and weak. The smuggler, who had taken their money, abandoned them. Two weeks ago, their bodies were found in a wilderness area not far from San Diego. The three Mexicans had lost their lives in a centuries-old struggle to achieve the American Dream.
Every day people brave hardships to enter the U.S., legally or illegally. They come by car, plane, boat and on foot. An immigrant arrives in the U.S. every 42 seconds. The U.S. offers the promise of wealth and freedom--but the journey is hard. Sometimes the reality of life here is harder still.
Last summer a government report revealed that nearly 1 in 11 Americans were born in a foreign land--the highest proportion since 1940. Many Americans were alarmed by this news. The increase in immigration was the result, in part, of a law passed in 1990. This law made it easier for people with more education and skills to enter the U.S.
But along with legal immigration, there has been an increase in illegal entry. Some 300,000 illegal aliens slip into the U.S. every year. They place a burden on the country's resources by collecting welfare benefits and attending public schools. Many Americans complain that illegals rob Americans of jobs and often do not pay taxes.
Laws are getting tougher. A new welfare law makes it more difficult for immigrants to receive benefits. On October 3, President Bill Clinton signed a bill that makes it harder to enter the U.S. legally and harder still for illegals to gain legal status. Congress has given the nation's immigration agency a record $3.1 billion budget. Some of the money will be used to police U.S. borders and keep illegal immigrants out.
New Targets, Old Prejudices. Although the President has signed stricter laws, in his Inaugural Address he warned this nation of immigrants: "Each new wave of immigrants gives new targets to old prejudices. Prejudice and contempt...have nearly destroyed us in the past. They plague us still."
Manuel Barreto, 39, who arrived from Ecuador 10 years ago, is concerned about the tough new laws and attitudes. After years of struggling, Barreto has found a job and a house near New York City. He has brought his wife and 14-year-old son into the U.S., but they are here illegally. He worries every day that someone at his son's school will report the boy as an illegal immigrant. He fears that new laws will make it harder than ever to become an American. "I feel afraid of the people who are against immigrants," he says.
Generations of newcomers have shared this fear. Until 1820, the government did not keep track of immigration. The first immigration office was created in 1864 to encourage immigration. In the 1880s laws were passed with the purpose of controlling immigration and keeping out undesirable aliens.
Between 1815 and 1914 more than 30 million Europeans settled in the U.S. The percentage of foreign-born Americans in 1910 was 14.7%, the highest ever. Many newcomers were met with hatred. Irish people looking for work were often greeted by the sign NO IRISH NEED APPLY. Hostility kept the Chinese from many jobs. They couldn't become citizens. A 1790 law stated that citizenship was for whites only.
Finding The DreamNow immigrants are being met with renewed hostility. In California anti-immigrant feelings are especially strong. Two years ago, Californians voted for a law intended to deny illegal immigrants health-care services and public education. "California," says immigration lawyer Elaine Morley, "is sending a message that certain foreign people are not welcome here."
Joy Chang (not her real name) is fortunate. It looks as if she will be permitted to remain in the U.S. Chang was born in China and arrived in the U.S. last year. She has applied for "political asylum." Asylum, or shelter, is given to refugees who face persecution in their native land. China does not allow families to have more than one child. Chang had a daughter and was pregnant again. She faced a tough choice: stay in China and be punished or leave.
The Xiquin (Chee-keen) family also sought asylum in the U.S. Carmelita, 35, and Mariano, 39, are Mayan Indians from a small city in Guatemala. They fled their country because they feared government persecution of Mayans. Carmelita and Mariano were forced to leave behind their four children (Julio, 15; Maria, 13; Juana, 12; and Angela, 11). This year, after many struggles, the family was reunited.
The Xiquins have found the American Dream. They just moved into a three-bedroom house in a working-class neighborhood in Houston. Their four-month-old baby Edy is an American. Maria and Juana are honor students. "Life has been hard, but our dream is to have a normal home and not be scared," says Carmelita. Mariano agrees, "I have my dream now that we are together."

America's Newcomers
30,000 B.C.WHO: Paleo-Indians

WHY: While searching for shaggy bison (for food), America's first settlers walk across the land bridge that connects Asia to North America.
A.D. 1565

WHO: Spaniards

WHY: Adventurers and explorers seek the New World's treasures and build the first permanent European settlement in St. Augustine,Florida.
1607

WHO: Britons

WHY: The British also want the New World's riches. They build their first permanent settlement in Jamestown, Virginia.
600S

WHO: Africans

WHY: They are kidnapped and forced to work in the British colonies. The slave trade continues until 1808.
1750

WHO: Welsh, Germans, French, Swedes and Finns

WHY: These immigrants want religious freedom. They settle in Pennsylvania, the Carolinas and Delaware.
1830-1870S

WHO: Germans, Irish, Britons, Canadians and Chinese

WHY: Looking for a better life and freedom, newcomers settle along the Eastern seaboard and in the Midwest. Large numbers of Irish flee the misery and starvation caused by a famine in Ireland. Chinese newcomers seek their fortune on the West Coast.
1880-1920

WHO: Italians and Eastern Europeans

WHY: The new arrivals seek wealth and freedom. In 1891 the first federal immigration agency is started. The bureau opens 24 inspection stations, including Ellis Island in 1892.
1921

WHO: Canadians, Mexicans, Germans and Italians

WHY: Congress passes a law limiting the number of immigrants allowed to enter the U.S. from specific countries. These limits, based on the existing U.S. population, are called quotas. They give special treatment to the ethnic groups that already have a large population in the U.S.
1952A new law called the McCarran-Walter Act is passed. The total number of immigrants allowed to enter the U.S. is set at 154,657 a year. Some nationalities are more welcome than others.
1965

TO THE PRESENT

WHO: Mexicans, Cubans, Asians (Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Koreans), citizens of the former U.S.S.R.

WHY: Quotas by country are ended by the Immigration Act of 1965. The doors open for a new wave of immigrants searching for greater opportunity and freedom

Answers to worksheet:

Change in immigration throughout the years.
14 million
10 million
1990 and 2000
Between 1940 and 1970 the number of immigrants decreased.
Immigration increased from 1910 to 1930 and then decreased from 1940 to 1970. Since 1970 there has been an increase in immigration in the United States.

Where I Come From Lesson

2007-12-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

Where I Come From

Grade: 5th

Time: Two 45 minute class periods

Brief Overview:
In this lesson, students take research into their heritage a step beyond the construction of a family tree. They will explore their sense of connection to these places in their past through the production of a travel log.

Objectives:
Identify countries, states and cultures that are part of their family heritage.
Locate these places on a map.
Characterize their sense of attachment to these places in their past.

Materials:
· Family log cover page
· Paper, lined to journal
· Computers with printers and the Internet (1 computer for every two children, 1 printer linked to all computers)
Access to the Xpeditions website: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/
· Colored pencils, makers, and/or crayons
· Glue
· Scissors
· Pens or pencils
· J.R. Watkins article
· Photos of J.R. and Paul Watkins families (3)
· Watkins family tree

Goals:
Students will identify and locate countries and states, events and cultural features that play an important role in the history of the United States.

Procedure:
1. Prior to this lesson students will have been asked to find where their family came from in the world. Began the lesson by asking students what parts of the world their families have come from. (4 minutes)

2. Have students create a family travel log. The travel log will be a paper book. Students will need to create this book in class. Pass out 5 pages and the cover page to students. Fold the pages in half hamburger style, with the cover page being on front. One page will be set aside for each place where their family members have lived in the past. The cover page should be decorated well, displaying the student’s last name in a creative way. Students will be asked to research both sides of their family if possible. There should be at least 4 pages in the book. It will be okay if some of the pages are from the same country/state. Explain the family history of the Watkins family in Winona, Minnesota.
a. Paul Watkins’ family was originally of Walsh descent (British Isle). Read the article on the Late Joseph Ray Watkins. Explain to children that J.R. is the uncle of Paul Watkins.
b. Paul Watkins’s book would look like this:
i. Watkins family originally from Walsh (British Isle)
ii. Great Grandfather of J.R. from New Jersey
iii. Grandfather of J.R. from New Jersey
iv. Father of J.R. from Ohio
v. J.R. Watkins, uncle of Paul Watkins from Ohio
vi. Paul Watkins from Winona, Minnesota
His book would contain five different pages with four different maps. (21 minutes)

3. For each place traveled by the student’s family, the student will print a map from Xpeditions website. Have students use the Atlas section of the site to find and print out maps of the places that are part of their family history. Students will then add this map by cutting and pasting it to their travel logs. Nex t students will mark or color map to show where their family lived. Make sure students label which one of their family members lived there. (15 minutes)
4. After students have worked on their family travel logs, ask where their families have come from. What surprised you about your family? Have or do you want to visit these places? Tell students they may bring their logs home to ask their grandparents and parents about their family’s past. (5 minutes)

5. Continue work on family travel logs and maps the next class period. When students are finished, compile book together stapling it to form a booklet.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on their ability to name and locate specific locations on a maps and their ability to name these locations correctly.

Resources:
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=309#SELECTED
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/
The Late Joseph Ray Watkins article
Watkins Family tree
Photo of J.R. Watkins2 Photos of Paul Watkins family

Education 333

Reaching for the American Dream Lesson

Where I Come From Lesson