• For students to use the American Memory collections to demonstrate their knowledge of the American immigration experience in a new way.
• For students to begin to develop an understanding of what primary sources are, how to read and interpret them, and how to use them when learning about the past.
• For students to learn what a found poem is and to create one.
• For students to learn how to use a search engine to find topic-specific documents and photographs.
• For students to create a collage consisting of the found poem and photos

Approximately ten sessions of one hour each.  Some lessons may take more than one session depending on the children's previous experience. That is, those with less technology background will need more time than those with more experience.
 

Recommended Grade Level

Grades 4-8

Curriculum Fit

• Social Studies - immigration
• Language Arts - poetry
• Library/Media/Technology- on-line searching
• Visual Arts - collage

 

 
 
 
 
 

Off-Line
• Student organizational materials such as folders and disks to store work from session to session.
• Construction paper, glue, colored pencils, etc for final collage
• Handouts (available at the end of this unit.)
On-Line
• Early Motion Pictures, 1897-1916
• American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940
• Touring Turn of the Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920
• America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA and OWI, ca. 1935-1945
Technology Resources
• Internet access
• One computer for every group of three to four students
• printer
• demonstration monitor

• Spend some time reviewing the American Memory site and the specific collections used in this unit beforehand.  Many of the Collections have racist and sexist language and imagery and being familiar with them will help you prepare your students for encountering such material.
• Take a moment to assess your students' content and skills background.  Then prepare and adjust the lessons accordingly.  For example, reading the Life Histories can be demanding for anyone and for students who are not yet confident readers especially challenging.  Even with ample modeling some students may need extra support initially to navigate these activities comfortably.
• Be ready for technology glitches.  Unfortunately, servers go down, networks can have problems, and the Internet doesn't always work as smoothly as we would like. Not to mention problematic printers, computers, and other hardware. Be prepared!
• Be flexible!  If something doesn't go the way it is suppose to try it a different way.  The following lesson plans are meant to guide teachers. By all means alter them to suit your specific age group, student population, and environment.