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Lesson Plans – Immigrant Rights

Appreciating America’s Heritage (2007)
Source: American Immigration Law Foundation
Resource guide that provides lesson plans to introduce students to ethnically diverse populations and the topic of immigration.
Grade level: Preschool – high school
Subject area: social studies


Becoming America: Immigration Experiences
Source: Facing History and Ourselves
Questions what makes some “American.”
Grade level: Middle – high school
Subject area: social studies


Educating about Immigration
Source: Constitutional Rights Foundation
An interactive site that provides information from many perspectives and lesson plans on current topics related to US immigration.
Grade level: High school
Subject area: social studies


Energy of a Nation: Immigrants in America
Source: The Advocates for Human Rights
Engaging, student-centered curriculum with activities that follow best practices for human rights education (HRE)  Students learn by exploring their own immigrant history; role-playing a refugee’s journey; deciding under what conditions they might risk being undocumented; playing games to understand the immigration system; drawing representative pictures of policies; rehearsing deliberative dialogue; constructing a gallery of nativism over the centuries; and creating a service learning project for their classroom or school.
Grade level: Middle school – adult
Subject area: social studies


From Baghdad to Tucson, with Love: The Story of a Young Iraqi Refugee
Source: Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, 2009
Students consider their views about Iraq and reflect on one young Iraqi refugee’s view of the USA
Grade level: high school
Subject area: social studies, current issues


Huddled Mass Or Second Class? Challenging Anti-immigrant Bias in the U.S.
Source: Anti-Defamation League, 2009
Special issue of ADL Curriculum Connections, includes lesson plans and resources to explores the immigration experience, myths about immigrants and migrants, anti-immigration bias.
Grade level: elementary – high school
Subject area: Social Studies, current events


The Human Face of Human Rights: An expedition into Immigrants and their Lives in Portland, ME
Source: Expeditionary Learning, 2010
Using oral history techniques to explore local human rights issues involved in immigration. Skills include interviewing, writing, speaking, and research.
Grade level: high school
Subject area: social studies, language arts


Illegal Immigrants: Why Do They Come? What Should The U.S. Do About Them?
Source: Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, 2006
Three readings and classroom activities that address why immigrants come to the USA and competing views about their place in America.
Grade level: high school
Subject area: social studies, current issues


Immigration: Our Changing Voices
Source: Library of Congress
Three-lesson unit that investigate national and personal immigration history.
Grade level: Middle – high school
Subject area: social studies


Immigration: US Policy in the New Millennium
Source: PBS Religion and Ethics Newsletter
Examines immigration since 9/11: Who should be legally allowed to immigrate to the US? Do immigrants, legal or illegal, strengthen and enrich the US? What rights and supports should be given to immigrants, regardless of their legal status? What kinds of difficulties and conflicts occur when a community experiences dramatic change through a large influx of immigrants?
Grade level: high school
Subject area: social studies, current events


Rights of Migrants Toolkit
Source: Advocates for Human Rights
Multi-faceted educational tools on the rights of migrants in the United States with background information, lesson plans, action opportunities, and resources.
Grade level: middle school – adult
Subject area: social studies, current events

Teaching Immigration with the Immigrant Stories Project
Source: Advocates for Human Rights
Helps students learn about aspects of United States immigration, past and present, through the personal experiences of immigrants and refugees. The lessons highlight digital stories from the Immigrant Stories collection: brief, original videos made by immigrants and refugees.
Grade level: high school
Subject area: social studies


This is My Home: Migration
Source: Human Rights Resource Center
Background information, lesson plans, action opportunities, resources, and publication.
Grade level: Elementary
Subject area: social studies


U.S. Immigration Policy in an Unsettled World
Source: The Choices Program
Full curriculum that explores the history of immigration to the United States and prepares students to articulate their own views on the future of immigration policy. Offers readings, role play, and lesson plans.
Grade level: high school
Subject area: social studies, US History, current events

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