Focus: The resources for this unit (Immigration) are part of the individual resources titled The Making of America: Immigration, Industrialization, and Reform. In this unit (Unit 7 for schools using the CKHG™ series in Sequence grade-level order), students investigate the history of immigration to America in the 1800s and early 1900s and the reasons why so many people left their home countries to better their lives in “the land of opportunity.”
Before the Civil War, many immigrants came from northern and western Europe, and prior to this, thousands of Africans were brought to America against their will and enslaved. After the Civil War, immigrants also came from southern and eastern Europe, Asia, Mexico, and Canada. In addition, students learn that the immigrant experience often included an arduous journey, fear of deportation, settling in rural or urban areas (often in close proximity to fellow immigrants), and prejudice. But these immigrants did a great deal of the hard work that led to the growth of the United States. They contributed (and still contribute) aspects of their cultures to a vibrant American culture, and embraced the American ideals of liberty and self-government.
Number of Lessons: 15
Lesson Time: 45 minutes each daily. Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.
Additional Search Terms: social studies • nonfiction• informational text • geography • map skills • push and pull factors • potato blight • tenement • New Immigrants • Statue of Liberty • Ellis Island • nativism • melting pot • naturalization
CKHG Grade Levels: CKHG units are correlated to topics at the grade levels specified in the Core Knowledge Sequence, which allows students in schools following the Sequence to build knowledge grade by grade. This particular unit falls in Grade 6 in the Core Knowledge Sequence. In other settings, individual CKHG units may be used as supplemental resources. In general, the content and presentation in the CKHG units for Grade 6 are appropriate for students in Grade 6 and up.
