Welcome Wagon (Lesson Plan 2)

Welcome Wagon
Grade Level: 4th Grade

Goal: to gain an understanding of immigration, and better understand the immigrant experience
National Educational Standards:
Standard 3. understands the people, events, problems, and ideas that were significant in creating the history of their state

Materials Needed
· Paper
· Pencil

Other Resources
Internet, guest immigrant speakers

Objectives
understand the reasons recent immigrants came to the state or region, what their lives were like, and their experiences of adjustment (e.g., problems and opportunities experienced in housing, the workplace, and the community)
-students will be able to personalize this experience and relate it to real people
-students will be able put themselves in the shoes of an immigrant
-students will gain a greater compassion and understanding of human experience
-students will gain an appreciation for diversity


Procedures
1. class will participate in guided discussion of various historical reasons for immigration (disease, famine, war)
2. class will discuss current trends in immigration
3. class will be given background information on guest immigrant speakers
4. each student will prepare 3 relavent questions to ask the speaker

Assessment/Verification
1. after each guest speaker presents, students will complete a worksheet about the speaker’s experience and relate it to our discussion of immigration
2. class will use the worksheets to write reports about the experiences of America’s immigrants
3. class will be instructed to consider what might be different about today’s immigrants than immigrants


Reinforcement/ Expansion Activities
-class will do research on the internet about trends in world immigration
-students will work in groups of 3 to discuss what different feelings and experiences they might have if they were to immigrate to another country
-students will independently brainstorm ways that immigration enriches our culture

Adaptations
-I will videotape the guest presentations (after getting permission) and transcribe them so that students with a hearing disability can watch the video and read along in order to fully appreciate the information being presented

Bibliography: http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/activityDetail.asp?activityID=186