Description of the Project or the Essential Questions: 

1) What drives immigration (emigration)? 
Can we bring students closer to examining this global question by focusing on the reasons their families and communities came to settle in this country and state? 

2) The Project can be used as a lesson on early American colonization or any migratory movement in World History. The point is to have the student recognize that people move from location to location for a variety of reasons. The lesson will hopefully bring this home by asking students to create an oral history presentation on audio or video tape where they will be looking into their family history, and possibly a history of their community. 

Grade Level: 7 (7 - 12) 

State Curriculum Frameworks Learning Standards Addressed: 

History/Social Science 
Chronology and Cause: 
Historical Understanding: 
The students will be looking at their own past and the past of another historical migratory movement. By determining what was going on at the time to cause these movements of people, they will be able to put the causes in a chronological order and understand the significance of causal order. For example, they will find out that an economic depression or religious persecution or both caused their great grandparents to seek employment or a new life in this country. They will then be able to connect that causal chain to the factors of migration from 17th century England. A serious goal is also to have the student identify the inter-relation of different migratory factors as well. For example, they will be able to recognize the connection between economic depressions and religious persecution as interwoven and pressures on a minority. 

Research Evidence, Point of View 
The students will gain an active knowledge of research in two major ways. They will conduct oral interviews of relatives and experience that kind of oral historical research. They will also be asked to augment their interview with on-line or archival searches of immigration/emigration documents from U.S. and State archives, along with the archives of foreign countries. 
By doing both kinds of research, the students will be asked to distinguish fact from opinion. They will then be more familiar with how point of view shapes historical accounts on a personal level and as historiographers. 

Society, Diversity, Commonality, The Individual: 
Interdisciplinary Learning - Religion, Ethics, Philosophy: 
In doing their research, students will discover whether their ancestors were accepted in their community or not. They will determine whether their family was a minority or in the majority, in regard to religion, nationality, politics or race. They will then identify if any of those factors had anything to do with the reasons behind their ancestors coming to this country. They will then compare and contrast those factors with the migration of the country or time period they are studying, They will then be asked to make judgments and form opinions based on their observations of prejudice, discrimination or persecution. 

Interdisciplinary Learning - Natural Science, Technology: 
Physical Spaces of the Earth: 
Places, Regions of the World: 
Effects of Geography: 
Students will identify those factors contributing to migration that have a connection to regional climate, catastrophic event, travel by time and distance. They will identify differences between cultures and differences in region and how that affected settlement. They will also determine which of these factors contribute to the larger problems of food shortages and economic hardship. 

Fundamentals of Economics: 
Economic Theory and Systems: 
Economy of the U.S.: 
Students will identify the economic behaviors of each location involved in their study. Through that basic identification, the entire class will examine the very basic structures of the economies of different places and how they have shaped historical events connected to and isolated from immigration and migration. 

Authority, Responsibility and Power: 
The Founding Documents: 
Principles and Practices of American Government: 
Citizenship: 
Forms of Government: 
In this examination, the students will also identify specific leaders, individuals or government actions that shaped migration. In regard to migration to the American Colonies for example, the policies that led to migration to this country could be researched as well as the documents that were written upon arrival. This will expose the students to ideas of citizenship and community and how different social structures described or defined themselves. In a comparative sense, forms of government in each region studied would be a critical component. 
 

Local District or School Curriculum Objectives: 

Somerville History and Geography Topics Covered - Grade 7: 
Beginning of timeline from Colonial Period to the present. 
The Effect of geography on American history. 
The Roots of American democracy - British parliamentary system, capitalism, imperialism. 
Major immigration movements and minority groups in American history, emphasizing Somerville today. 
Distinguishing fact from opinion. 

Enabling Activities - Products and Performances: 

1. Oral History Component 
The first part of this lesson on migration will focus on how migration directly effects the student. Students will first be told of the long- term goal or objective: to have them become historians and create a work of historical research. The final product in this stage of the project will be a collection of these oral histories, transcribed and bound in finished form. 
The students will be asked to break into groups to brainstorm questions for their interviews. Some prompts and suggestions will be provided by the teacher after the students questions are evaluated by the entire class. This process in itself will be instructive as to what information about immigration is important to answering our basic question - what drives migration? 
Students will hold practice interviews with each other before they actually conduct the real interview so that style and timing can be discussed. The interview can be done on video or with an audio system. 
The teacher should use this as an opportunity to connect with the families of his or her students and to bring them closer to the learning process in their childrenís school. 
Students will be asked to transcribe their interviews and create a presentable and personalized contribution to the book the class will create. Artistic interpretations, photographs and reflections will be encouraged but not required. Rigorous revisions to writing and presentation will be essential. 

2. Archival Research Component 
The next stage in the lesson will be an introduction into researching genealogy and migratory patterns. Once the oral history component is completed, the next step will be to take the lesson from the personal to the communal. The book itself will create its own record of the origins of the families in the class. The next step will be to assign groups the task of researching that information for the rest of the town and forming charts and diagrams that represent where people in the town came from and when. 

3. Extension of the Causes and Effects of Migration to World History 
Since the oral history interviews set out to answer certain questions about migration to this country, the class will now be asked to extrapolate those answers into why groups migrate in general. Ideas of economy, government and citizenship should be coming into focus at that point and text books and narratives can be used to find out what was going on in certain countries that would back-up what they found out in their interviews and in their archival research. Questions about these critical issues as well as questions about geography and distance had to have been included in the interview questions to elucidate its importance at this point in the lesson. 

4. Final Product on Immigration 
Students will be asked to create some form of written, artistic or dramatic presentation by group or on an individual basis to highlight what they have learned about migration. The project can focus on any part of the lesson - familial, local or global migration. This final product will be assessed on levels of sophistication in dealing with the central question - what drives migration. 

Skills: 
The skills developed by this lesson are primarily focused on being able to demonstrate an understanding of the causes and effects of migration. 
An emphasis on process writing and public speaking is provided, as well as an opportunity for open ended expression in print form or in dramatic presentation. 
Research skills will also be required on many levels. 
The basic ability to design questions that will provide useful answers will be a key to this lesson as will the more sophisticated ability to locate and utilize sources in print and on the internet to extend an understanding of migration globally. 
 

Websites/Resources: 
For the stage of the lesson plan that involves archival research, one possible route will be to dig deeper into family records or records of groups of people that settle in the community. The Library of Congress, the Census Bureau, and town or city hall records are excellent places to go or contact by phone or internet if possible . Some Websites that should prove valuable are the following: 

http://www.rand.org/personal/Genea/ 
http://www.jewishgen.org/boston/ 

Each of these are sites or resources to look up ancestral information. The following actually gets you into the public genealogical records of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) 
http://www.direct.gov.uk/Homepage/fs/en 
 

Criteria for Assessment Based on Standards (Scale of 1 - 4, one being lowest) See Also, Learning Standards Addressed 

Chronology and Cause: 
Historical Understanding: 
1 Identification of events going on when migration occurred. 
2 Understanding of events as causes of migration. 
3 Events understood as causes and placed in historical order. 
4 Connection of causal chain to other distinct migrations and the understanding of how choice and action also shape such events. 

Research Evidence, Point of View 
1 Oral history created and used as research for project. Student identifies method of recording history with no written records. 
2 Oral history created and research done to identify further migrations. Able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources. 
3 Oral history done creatively and research done so as to demonstrate and understanding of sources and where to locate materials. 
4 Has completed all of the above and in final product can demonstrate an understanding of how points of view often frame the accounting of historical events. 

Society, Diversity, Commonality, The Individual: 
Interdisciplinary Learning - Religion, Ethics, Philosophy: 
1 Student has show that he or she can work together in a group and identify stereotypes. 
2 Same as above but student can also explain the danger of stereotyping. 
3 Same as above but student can also indicate the moral and religious imperative of our common culture and documents such as the Declaration of Independence in treating all individuals with respect. 
4 Student can also draw on his or her studies to bring out group achievements that have sought to overcome such adversity in search of liberty and equality. 

Interdisciplinary Learning - Natural Science, Technology: 
Physical Spaces of the Earth: 
Places, Regions of the World: 
Effects of Geography: 
1 Students can identify those factors contributing to migration that have a connection to regional climate, catastrophic event, travel by time and distance. They can also identify scientific developments that allowed migration. 
2 Students will also identify differences between cultures and differences in region and how that affected settlement. 
3 Students will also be able to identify the currents that brought foreigners, the waterways by which they settled and the way they used science to try and harness their environment 
4 Students will also be able to map these migratory patterns across the ocean and also explain the diffusion of ideas and ethnic and racial patterns throughout the new land. They will also determine which of these factors contribute to the larger problems of food shortages and economic hardship. 

Fundamentals of Economics: 
Economic Theory and Systems: 
Economy of the U.S.: 
1 Students will identify the economic behaviors of each location involved in their study. 
2 Through that basic identification, the class will understand the very basic structures of the economies of different places and will understand the difference between money and barter economies. 
3 The students also understand the rise and fall of particular industries in determining migration. 
4 The students also understand the changing nature of labor. 

Authority, Responsibility and Power: 
The Founding Documents: 
Principles and Practices of American Government: 
Citizenship: 
Forms of Government: 
1 Students will be able to identify specific leaders, individuals or government actions that shaped migration. 
2 Students will also be able to identify responses to the actions of these people. 
3 Students will then be able to describe the circumstances surrounding clashes of ideas about power and freedom. 
4 Students will also be able to describe the divisions and seats of power in different countries in relation to this country over different periods of time. 

Assessment for abstractions of Project 
Oral History 
1 Conducted interview 
2 Conducted interview with energy and interest 
3 Asked excellent questions and had good timing and polished audio or video tape 
4 Also responded to the answers by getting more in depth. 

Research 
1 Did some research 
2 Did research and found useful facts and/or opinions about immigration. 
3 Presented the research with care and revised finished product. 
4 Had incredible research and presented an extremely polished piece with many contrasts and comparisons. 

Final Product 
1 Gave an adequate performance or presented and adequate paper that touched on many of the discussed themes. 
2 A more sophisticated or in depth presentation of migration using many of the standards of knowledge in the State Curriculum. Maps were used and presented with care and style. 
3 Also gave excellent performances in a play or had excellent style in the paper 
4 Exceptional use of many of the strands and a demonstrated awareness of any causal links.