Activities:
Post Viewing
Immigrants: Sources and Settlements
Have students find out where most immigrants to the U.S. come from and where most are
settling. Using
Tables 3 and 13 taken from the 2002 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
*,
students can create graphs showing 1) major areas (continents) that have contributed
immigrants and 2) geographic areas of the U.S. where immigrants have gone to live.
Using these same tables, students should answer the following questions:
1. From what specific countries have most immigrants come in the past 15 years?
2. What changes have taken place in that same time period, either in the numbers of
immigrants arriving or the areas they are coming from?
3. Can you make a forecast about future immigration, based on the tables and on information
about current areas of conflict in the world?
For class discussion: What are the implications for communities where immigrants have settled,
in terms of jobs, education, and other areas of government and society?
The School Population
Provide the class with information on where the newly arrived students in the school are from,
which you can obtain from the ESOL office or the school office. On a large map of the world,
have the students use colored pins to indicate those countries. If the overall number of
immigrant students in the school is small, they can use one pin per student; if the number is
large, they can use one pin per five students (or another multiple that is practical). Ask the
students to describe what the map tells them about the immigrant population of their school.
How does this compare to the results of the Pre-Viewing Activity about where they or their
ancestors came from?
Extension: Have the students do reports on the countries of origin of the ESOL students.
New Faces in the Community
Begin a class discussion on immigrants and refugees in the community. Remind the students
about the pre-viewing discussion and ask:
How has (recent) immigration affected the local community?
What attracted immigrants to this particular area?
*
http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/aboutus/statistics/IMM02yrbk/IMM2002list.htm
contains tables listing immigration
figures and links to the U.S. government Yearbooks of Immigration Statistics.
Social Studies
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