January 2005                                                                            Social Studies:  Immigration

Americans:

We’re All Immigrants

4th grade Computer Studies project

 

Introduction

 

Every person living in America is either an immigrant, or has a relative who was an immigrant at some point in time¹. America has become one of the greatest countries in the world because people from so many different backgrounds have learned to live and work together. Unfortunately, there are still some Americans who do not respect people with different backgrounds, and have never learned that it is our differences that make us great. Every American should be proud of their nationality, and respect the cultural backgrounds of others so that we understand that diversity is a strength, and not a weakness.

 

The project for students is to learn more about their own nationality through interviews with at least one family member. Some students may be able to trace their ancestors back to other countries, and will be able to pinpoint who the first immigrants were, while other students may not be able to go back that far into their past. While there is no requirement for students to find who the immigrant in their family was, each student will follow the process below for exploring their family history.

 

Process

 

I.                    Inspiration Map – Students will use the software program Inspiration to make a first attempt at tracing the route of their ancestors. The maps will be printed and stapled to the back of interview questions. Maps will be updated near the end of the process.

 

II.                 Brainstorm & Pre-Write – Students will word process a series of questions for an interview with a family member about their ancestors. Students will follow the guidelines and may use some of the questions from:

 

Scholastic Network’s Writing Workshop

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/prepare.asp?topic=Immigration

 

Immigration Quest

http://geocities.datacellar.net/jaybrownhuman/immigration.html

 

Students will print the interview questions and take them home along with their Inspiration maps for homework. Students are also encouraged to bring in family photos to scan for inclusion in their reports. Any photos brought to school will be scanned, saved into student home directories, and returned on the same day.

 

III.               Draft, Revise, Edit, and Review – Students will begin to write a draft of their family history, beginning as far back as they can go, and bringing the story to the present day. Students will revise, edit, and review their work before it is printed for take home.

 

 

Internet Resources

 

Ellis Island

http://www.elisisland.org

 

Angel Island

http://www.angelisland.org

 

Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm

 

Vocabulary words  - Some words and definitions are provided. Students may wish to add to this list as they learn new words during the interview process.

Immigration

To enter and settle in a country to which one is not a native.

 

Native:

Place of birth.

 

Migration

To move from one place to another.

 

Archeologist

A person who uses scientific methods to recover evidence about man’s life and culture from the past.

 

Ancestor

A direct family member, or descendent, from many years ago, such as your grandmother’s grandfather.

Diversity

A variety of different qualities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 – Scientists have long believed that the first North Americans migrated from Asia across a land bridge to Alaska more than 12,000 years ago. Today, archeologists are finding new evidence to suggest a water voyage from Europe 19,000 years ago. Read more about America’s First Immigrants in Smithsonian Magazine (November 2004).

 

 

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