Immigration & Assimilation in the United States

Grading ½ DISCUS ½ Print Resources ½ Suggested Links

Definition/Introduction

§ What is the topic? What does it cover?

Students will be researching different cultures and how they have immigrated and assimilated into life in the United States. Students will begin by generating inquiry questions about various assigned cultures. They will use these questions as the basis for their research.

§ Catalog Subject Headings or Keywords

Immigration and emigration

Immigrants

See also the names of the countries and nationalities of the immigrant group, e.g. Irish Americans.

§ Dewey Numbers

325.73 Immigrants to the United States

Grading

Students will present their research paper to the class along with an approved creative visual that shows some aspect of their research findings. Students will write a letter to the teacher explaining what their visual will be and how it connects to their research.

We will spend two days in the library media center to research, and students will spend an additional two days in the computer lab to edit and type their final papers. Late papers will have a 5 point deduction per day late.

§ Research questions	1 daily grade
§ Proposal letter of visual	1 daily grade
§ 20 Note cards (properly formatted)	1 daily grade
§ 3 bibliography cards (properly formatted) - at least one print source	1 daily grade
§ Outline	1 test grade
§ Research Paper - Title page - 3-4 page research paper - Parenthetical citations - Works Cited page	2 test grades
§ Visual	1 test grade
§ Oral Presentation	1 test grade

Suggested Databases

DISCUS – www.scdiscus.org Username: see Ms. Pope Password: see Ms. Pope

History Resource Center: U.S. Student Edition

Print Resources

304.8 SENKER	Senker, Cath. Immigrants and refugees. North American ed., U.S. ed. Milwaukee, WI : World Almanac Library, 2005. Presents a history of immigrants and refugees to America and examines their reasons for leaving their own country, the types of immigrants who have sought asylum in the U.S., the controversy over illegal immigration, and the changing attitudes towards immigrants.
304.8 SHEA	Shea, Therese. Immigration to America : identifying different points of view about an issue. 1st ed. New York : Rosen Central, 2006. Colonial America -- Immigrants in a new country (1820-1880) -- Later immigrants (1880-1910) -- Recent immigration (1910 to present). Presents a short study of immigration to America from Colonial times through the twentieth-century, and profiles a number of different ethnic groups who came to this country during the 1800s and 1900s.
304.87 BINNS	Binns, Tristan Boyer, 1968-. Ellis Island. Chicago, Ill. : Heinemann Library, c2002. Explores the history of New York's Ellis Island, which served as a processing center for immigrants entering the United States between 1890 and 1954, and features photographs and information about the different buildings and stations on the island.
307.76 HOPKINSON	Hopkinson, Deborah. Shutting out the sky : life in the tenements of New York, 1880-1924. 1st ed. New York : Orchard Books, 2003. Coming to the golden land -- Tenements: shutting out the sky -- Settling in: greenhorns and boarders -- Everyone worked on -- On the streets: pushcarts, pickles and play -- A new language, a new life -- Looking to the future: will it ever be different?. Photographs and text document the experiences of five individuals who came to live in the Lower East Side of New York City as children or young adults from Belarus, Italy, Lithuania, and Romania at the turn of the twentieth century.
325.73 Haerens	Illegal immigration. Detroit : Greenhaven Press :, c2006. Twenty-four essays present opposing viewpoints on issues related to illegal immigration to the U.S., including whether it harms the U.S., whether illegal immigrants are treated fairly, how the borders should be enforced, and how immigration policy should be reformed.
808.8 FIRST	First crossing : stories about teen immigrants. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA : Candlewick Press, 2004. First crossing / Pam Muñoz Ryan -- Second culture kids / Dian Curtis Regan -- My favorite chaperone / Jean Davies Okimoto -- They don't mean it! / Lensey Namioka -- Pulling up stakes / David Lubar -- Lines of scrimmage / Elsa Marston -- The Swede / Alden R. Carter -- The rose of sharon / Marie G. Lee -- Make Maddie mad / Rita Williams-Garcia -- The green armchair / Minfong Ho. Stories of recent Mexican, Venezuelan, Kazakh, Chinese, Romanian, Palestinian, Swedish, Korean, Haitian, and Cambodian immigrants reveal what it is like to face prejudice, language barriers, and homesickness along with common teenage feelings and needs.
REF 305.8 PEOPLES	Peoples of North America. Danbury, Conn. : Grolier, 2003. Vol. 1. Afghans-Bosnians -- v. 2. Brazilians-Colombians -- v. 3. Colonial America-Egyptians -- v. 4. Emigrʹes and refugees-Guyanese -- v. 5. Gypsies (Romany)-Irish -- v. 6. Iroquois confederacy-local politics, Canada -- v. 7. Local politics, U.S.-Native Americans, Southeast -- v. 8. Native Americans, Southwest and Mexico-Puerto Ricans -- v. 9. Quebec separatism-social mobility and race -- v. 10. South Africans-World War II. Presents alphabetized profiles of approximately 170 ethnic groups in North America, providing fact files and maps and discussing their histories, geography, arts, culture, and politics, and includes entries on special topics such as anti-immigrant prejudice, the Cold War, and industry and employment.

Suggested Links

Angel Island Home Page

http://www.angelisland.org/

An introduction including historical information from 1775 during the Spanish era, its role during the Civil War, and use by the U.S. Army through the Spanish American War. Also includes its use as an immigrant and detention station (primarily for Chinese), quarantine station, embarkation station, and Nike missile site. Visitor information for this California state park includes fees, hours, hiking, biking, camping, and more. There are links to additional resources.

Becoming American: The Chinese Experience
http://www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/
This site about the Chinese American experience explores the "struggle and triumph, progress and setbacks, discrimination and assimilation" associated with the immigration of Chinese to the United States. The site provides biographical portraits, eyewitness accounts, a timeline, a Chinese American history quiz, a viewer's guide, and links to related resources. A companion to a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary hosted by Bill Moyers.

CastleGarden.org: America's First Immigration Center
http://www.castlegarden.org/
This website offers a "database of information on 10 million immigrants from 1830 through 1892, the year Ellis Island opened." Search results include name, occupation (if known), age, arrival date, country of origin, and ship. The site also includes a timeline (1804-1999). "Castle Garden, today known as Castle Clinton National Monument, is the major landmark within The Battery, ... at the tip of Manhattan. ... [The] Castle was America's first official immigration center." Note: The comparative data section is under construction.

The Chinese in California, 1850-1925
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/cubhtml/cichome.html
A collection of about 8,000 images and pages of primary source materials illustrating "nineteenth and early twentieth century Chinese immigration to California." Includes original illustrations, cartoons, letters, diary excerpts, speeches, sheet music, and other images and printed matter. Search or browse the material by subject, name, title, group, or theme. From the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress.

Coming to America
http://www.thejournalnews.com/legacy/slideshow/flash/immigration/IMG_FINAL.swf

Throughout its history, the United States has attracted immigrants from around the world. Visitors to this site can view a timeline and statistics on immigration to America and watch audio slideshows in which residents of New York's Lower Hudson Valley describe their immigration experiences.

Ellis Island – History Channel

http://www.history.com/minisites/ellisisland/

Ellis Island – The Immigrant Experience

http://www.ellisisland.org/Immexp/index.asp

Ellis Island National Park

http://www.nps.gov/elis

The Golden Door: Immigration Images From the Keystone-Mast Collection
http://www.cmp.ucr.edu/collections/permanent/projects/stereo/immigration/default.html
A collection of nearly 70 photographs concerning turn of the 20th century immigration to the United States. Topics include Ellis Island, immigrant life and labor, and World's Fair "foreign villages" (mostly taken in St. Louis, Missouri). From the California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside.

Immigration – American Memory Feature

http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/immig/introduction3.html

Immigration...The Changing Face of America
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/immig/immigration_set1.html

This site "provides an introduction to the study of immigration to the United States. It is far from the complete story, and focuses only on the immigrant groups that arrived in greatest numbers during the 19th and early 20th centuries." (LOC) Read brief profiles of the major immigrant groups, play games to test your Irish and Native American vocabulary, explore recipes in the Great American Potluck, and more.

Immigration: The Journey to America
http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/

"Ever since its founding in 1776, and even before then, the United States has attracted immigrants from around the world." (THINKQUEST) This site gives a timeline of immigration, the history and symbolism of Ellis Island, and the history and symbolism of the Statue of Liberty.

Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930
http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/immigration/
This is "a web-based collection of selected historical materials from Harvard's libraries, archives, and museums that documents voluntary immigration to the US from the signing of the Constitution to the onset of the Great Depression." Searchable, or browse by genre (such as photographs or manuscripts), topics, themes (such as the Statue of Liberty and immigrant press), people, and organizations. Also includes a timeline. From the Open Collections Program of the Harvard University Library.

The New Americans
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/
Companion to a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Independent Lens documentary about "a diverse group of immigrants and refugees as they leave their home ... and learn what it means to be new Americans in the 21st century." Immigrants include Nigerian refugee families, Palestinian bride, Dominican baseball player, Mexican farmer, and an Indian technical worker. Features material about the cultural riches brought by these people (such as henna body art, Indian musicals, and food).

The Peopling of America
http://www.ellisisland.org/immexp/wseix_4_3.asp?

The Ellis Island Immigration Museum presents "a timeline showing forces behind immigration and their impact on the immigrant experience. Click the time period you'd like to explore." (ELLIS ISLAND IMMIGRATION MUSEUM)

U.S. Immigration
http://teacher.scholastic.com/researchtools/researchstarters/immigration/index.htm

"At the turn of the 20th century, a wave of immigration swept America and changed the face of its population, industry, and culture. The labor demands of a thriving industrial economy helped drive immigration to record levels." (SCHOLASTIC INC.) Find a series of articles on immigration to the United States.

U.S. Immigration Handbook
http://www.americanlaw.com/info.html
A guide to permanent and temporary visas, citizenship, naturalization, applying for a social security card, and more. Provided by a law firm "practicing exclusively in the field of United States and Canadian immigration."

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
http://www.uscis.gov/
The site of this federal government agency (formerly known as the INS) contains forms, laws and regulations, online tracking for active cases, field office locations and hours, information about services such as green cards and benefit programs, news, a FAQ, a glossary, and more.

* Photo from Library of Congress and website summaries from Librarians’ Internet Index and SIRS Knowledge Source.