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Introductory Lesson

Prepare students for a Unit on Immigration by choosing from several of the following activities.  Many of the activities in the introduction include a focus on Minnesota.

Activities Include:

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.

Activity 1: 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.

Immigration Related Websites
Web resources abound to assist teachers plan lessons about immigration.  Energy of a Nation encourages teachers to also visit these sites: