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Immigration Teach-In
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During the 2006 Immigration Teach-In Celebration April 24th-28th, teachers across Minnesota taught a lesson to raise awareness about immigration to Minnesota and recognize the positive contributions made by immigrants to our community.

The activites and classroom materials can still be downloaded here to craft your lesson plan.  Activities may be done online or by using traditional classroom methods.  Immigration is a very relevant topic and we encourage you to involve students in the debate that has swept the nation. 

Activities also offer flexibility to accomodate your schedule and engage students of various levels.

Activities include:

Immigration Websites
Learn more about immigration and refugee issues through additional interactive websites.

Start the Lesson with an Attention Getter
Choose one of these short activities to engage students in the topic of immigration.  Suggestions include a large group brainstorming activity, journal questions, and immigration trivia.

Immigration 101 - The Slideshow / Transparencies
Immigration is a very complex issue.  Prepare students with the vocabulary and background information they will need to discuss the day's topic.  The materials are available to be printed as overhead transparencies or accessed as a Powerpoint presentation.

Immigration Quizzes
Build students' knowledge about immigration to the United States and to Minnesota.   Two quizzes are available in an interactive format online or in a paper/pencil version. 

Immigrants: Their Stories
Get beyond the statistics to understand the journeys that brought immigrants to Minnesota.  Read the stories of immigrants from Liberia, Somali, Laos, Mexico and Ethiopia.

Supporting Details
In this activity, students will choose one or more topic sentences related to immigration to Minnesota.  They will read articles related to the topic they chose and write a paragraph with selected details they have learned from the articles and put in their own words.  The paragraphs can be submitted as an email to their teacher.

An Individual Response
Encourage students to reflect on the questions "How has your community benefitted from immigration?" or "What makes a welcoming community?" and submit their responses in writing or visual art to The Advocatesuman Rights.   Excellent submissions will be chosen for display on the Energy of a Nation website.

Activities for English Language Learners
These activities are designed particularily for immigrant students and encourage them to share their own stories.

Why Participate?
■ Celebrate our immigration heritage.
■ Tackle a hot-button issue with accurate information.
■ Inspire dialogue that connects diverse groups.
■ Create an informed and inclusive classroom.
■ Recognize contributions made by immigrants in Minnesota.
■ Engage students in advocacy efforts.

This website is made possible with funding from the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. Foundation for Education, Public Health and Social Justice - a supporting organization of the Minneapolis Foundation.