K-12 Teaching on Immigration

For this weeks Blog Task we were required to locate a Website for a K-12 school which presents Immigration into the United States in the 19th and early 20th century. I found this task very difficult as it was very hard to find any k-12 schools that give a detailed enough account of what their lessons consist of, most schools webpages simply gave a list of subjects and a 100 word overview of the topic. However, I did manage to find a lesson plan which was once used by Pete Harames, Mills High School. Millbrae, NM. This lesson plan was not on the school's website, but is listed as a K-12 lesson plan onm American History, more specifically Immigration.

The Website contains many other lesson plans, but this one focuses on getting students to collate information from their parents about their cultural backgrounds, as in where their families have come from before they were Americans. "Identify their ancestors, appreciate their ethnic backgrounds, understand the concept of imigration, connect events in history with the movement of their ancestors, become more aware of their own unique individual make-up and its cultural origins, and develop a better understanding as the United States as a melting pot" This quote shows us how immigration is being presented by getting the students to understand that they are American, but they have become so due to America being as De Crevecour described "a melting pot".

"The overall purpose of this assignement is to develop in the students, the understanding that America is politically, ethnically, culturally and economically a 'NATION OF IMMIGRANTS'...The investigation should focus on motivations for immigration, the perils in their journey to America, The problems involved in adapting to a new world and the unigue rich cultures they brought to this country" I found this quote particularly intersting as it is teaching the children that their ancestors brought riches to thism country, however I would've expected to the teaching to have been more focused on the riches that were already in America tempting people to come. Also the teaching plan wants the children to understand that America is a Nation of Immigrants, which is true and I find it intersting that there would be so much emphasis on letting the children know that they are immigrants even though American.