This lesson is designed to expose students to the immigrant experience through primary and secondary sources. Students may focus more on the difference between primary and secondary sources through the lens of immigration. An extensive number of primary and secondary sources round out this lesson focused on skills that will carry students well into their middle and high school years.

The following unit plan highlights how patterns of immigration are both similar and different for immigrant groups coming to America. The cornerstone of the unit is a diagram and PowerPoint Presentation detailing the progression of the immigrant experience that serves as a model for a variety of immigrant groups. Included in the set is a Universal Design for Learning chart and an extensive annotated list of primary source documents from the Library of Congress provide a visual reinforcement of the immigrant journey both before, during, and after their arrival in the United States.

Included in the following primary source set are a variety of resources ranging from sheet music to promotional fliers and propaganda materials. Immigrants in the United States during and after the wartime era surrounding WWI were encouraged to offer their support in a variety of contexts. The first worldwide war (called the Great War at the time) roiled emotions for immigrants from countries all over the globe. Loyalty became a priority. At the same time, immigration from most European countries of origin became impossible.

This two-day lesson is based on students acquiring a better understanding of the effects the Great Depression had on migrant workers and their children as portrayed in the novel: Esperanza Rising. The use of photographs, as primary sources, will support understanding of this time period, as well as provoking oral discussion among English Language Learner students. As a summative assessment, students are asked to write a paragraph explaining their increased understanding of the time period through the use of primary source documents.

Find more resources on how to organize local history civic engagement and service-learning projects at http://emergingamerica.orgprograms/windows-on-history/. The following resource is a set of slides created for the Windows on History graduate course for teachers, supported by the Library of Congress TPS Program at CES.

Goals for a community-based history project. This resource consists of slides created for the Windows on History (which focused on a project culminating in building a website), a graduate course for teachers, supported by the Library of Congress TPS Program at CES. Find more resources on how to organize local history civic engagement and service-learning projects at http://emergingamerica.orgprograms/windows-on-history/.

Slides created for the Windows on History graduate course for teachers, supported by the Library of Congress TPS Program at CES. Find more resources on how to organize local history civic engagement and service-learning projects at http://emergingamerica.orgprograms/windows-on-history/.

The subject of American Indian history and culture is generally not emphasized significantly in American history curriculum and classrooms. Without more focused study on the culture, history, politics, and society of the indigenous first peoples of the United States, a truly holistic history of America is impossible. The following primary source set focuses on material culture produced about and by American Indians.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941 sparked U.S. involvement in World War II and generated a reactionary movement against Japanese Americans. This primary source set focuses on reactions in the United States following the attack. Images include Japanese-Americans being moved, the signing of Executive Order No. 9066, and “evacuation sales” held by evacuees. The set also includes two activities to drive student understanding and promote interest in the subject.

The Japanese attack on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii forever altered the course of WWII. Although the attack left the American fleet crippled, it failed to strike a fatal blow. From the death and destruction of December 7th rose a nation dedicated to rebuilding and avenging the loss of Pearl Harbor. Using this primary source set students will be able to evaluate how the attack impacted those who were there and how they responded on that fateful day.