Purpose: What motivates people to move from one place to another? Are these factors economic, social, opportunities (lack or/abundance of), education, etc? Where have our immigrants come from? What challenges have immigrants faced? What contributions have immigrants made to our society? How does this change affect our population and resources? What impact will immigrants have on our society in the future? This unit of study will encourage students to take a historical, economic, spatial and geographic look at how immigrants have shaped and will shape our society.

Geographic Standards: The geographically informed person will know and understand:

Standard 3:

How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface.

Standard 8:

The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface.

Standard 9:

The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface.

Standard 10:

The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.

Standard 11:

The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface.

Standard 12:

The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.

Standard 16:

The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution and importance of resources.

Standard 18:

How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.

Geographic Skills:

1. Asking geographic questions
2. Acquiring geographic information
3. Organizing geographic information
4. Analyzing geographic information
5. Answering geographic questions

Geographic Themes: Location, Movement, Region, Human Environment Interaction

Materials:

• Classroom Supplies
• Resource materials: Primary and Secondary Resources
• Maps
• Technology: Computer, Computer Programs
• Timeline

Objectives: The students will be able to:

1. trace the migration pattern of their ancestors.
2. plot information on a world map.
3. develop a timeline of migration patterns.
4. complete a research project on immigrants using a reporting format of their choice.
5. answer, analyze and interpret past and future migration and settlement patterns.
6. participate in a play and/or poetry reading.

Procedure:

1. The students will be able to trace where their ancestors have migrated from. Have the students plot this information on a map using yarn or string from the place of migration to where the student lives. Have the students share this information with the class. Does a pattern emerge? What generalizations can be made?
2. Have the students investigate why their ancestors migrated. Was it for political, economic, social, etc. reasons? Share their findings. Are there any similarities and differences between the students' findings?
3. Have the students research and create a timeline that reflects the waves of immigration. Engage the students in a discussion to analyze and interpret their findings. What was the cause of this movement? Where did these immigrants come from? How many people migrated? What were the effects on the receiving country? What were the effects on the country where the people migrated from? . What factors influenced these new immigrants in selecting their new homeland? (The timeline can be placed on waves and used as a display.)
4. Where would the students place their ancestors' movement on the historical timeline created in Step 3? Plot this information on the timeline.
5. Plot the migration patterns in Step 3 and 4 onto a world map. Does a pattern emerge? How did these people select their new homeland? What generalization(s) can be made about the findings?
6. Have the students select a particular group of people who migrated to the United States and complete a research project about this migration. Encourage the students to use a wide range of resource materials, both primary and secondary resources. What motivated people to leave their homeland for a new country? How was the new place of settlement selected? How many people were involved in this migration? What obstacles and/or hardships did they face? What contributions did these immigrants have on their new homeland? The students may share their findings in a research book, a video slide show (Kid Pix) through a HyperStudio production, or a video production. Share and discuss.
7. The students can compare and contrast their findings between different groups of migrants. Did certain conditions change through time?
8. If the students are able to locate plays, stories and/or poetry written by immigrants, have the students perform these pieces to the class. What feelings and emotions were portrayed by the authors?
9. Have the students analyze the projected migration patterns for the future. What impact will this have on the United States? Why would government need to be concerned about these figures?

Assessment:
Create rubrics to determine the students' level of understanding of the focus questions.