This collection is designed to encourage students to engage in civic discourse; a discussion of a public issue in a small heterogenous group in a reasonable, informed, and civilized manner.  In this case the discussion will focus on immigration from the past to the present.

This plan was created to be used in an ELA classroom of the middle grades.  It was designed to be a follow up to a literature piece where the content focused on a fictional character who  had newly immigrated to the United States.  However, this collection could certainly be used in conjunction with a Social Studies Unit containing immigration content.

Essential Question - "Why is it important to understand today's immigrants, and the issues they face, and is it any different than 100 years ago?"

Learning Objectives:

The learner will be able to:

- Understand how immigration after 1870 caused new social patterns, conflicts, and ideas of national unity amid growing cultural diversity.

- Use Project Zero thinking routines to examine various artifacts.

- State that America is a land of immigrants whose influence is reflected in our culture, language and traditions.

- Compare and contrast possible motives and rationales for immigration into the United States in both the past and present.

- Build effective arguments when considering immigration  laws today.

The activities are intended to be used in a 30-40 minute class period.

#civicdiscourse