The purpose of this curriculum unit is to engage students in a classroom "outside school walls," as well as to invite them to explore their bloodlines to ignite a family-centered dialogue about origins and pride. The scope of this unit concerns immigration and migration of Latinos and African Americans. Members of these groups share histories of migration and struggle; students will learn how histories of race, ethnicity and class dramatically shaped the possibilities for migrants upon their arrival in northern cities. This unit will help to empower students whose family histories may indeed be complicated, but worth exploring. Students will create a documentary which includes placing the students on a journey back to their homelands, before immigration/migration into American cities. This is a historical and educational experience that will engage students with many connections to United States history. Students will virtually travel in the same footsteps as their ancestors by uncovering the story behind their migrating from the South (or other homelands), aligning with benchmarks, and bringing life to the history books.
(Developed for U. S. History II, grade 11; recommended for U. S. History/The Great Migration, grades 10-11)
