Immigration Inquiry

1. Who is an immigrant?
2. What is the experience of being an immigrant?
3. What does it mean to be an American?
4. How do we negotiate between two cultural worlds?

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Background Information:

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Analytic Description of the two schools involved:

• K-6 and consists of 156 students
• under the guidance of the Religious Society of Friends - This link gives you more information about the Quaker society and its beliefs if you're interested
• "provides an education for the elementary grades based on the Quaker philosophy that there is that of God in each person...Emphasis is put on peaceful, non-violent problem solving and decision making...promotes excellence in academics, arts, and athletics by encouraging individual strengths."
• located in Plymouth Meeting, PA which is approximately 7 miles northwest of Philadelphia city limits. To find Plymouth Meeting, click here. Try to find out the best way to get there.
• suburban area
• student population consists mainly of European Americans. African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics make up the minority.
• students come from middle and upper-middle class backgrounds

General George A. McCall Public School
6th & Delancey Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-351-7350

• K-8 and consists of approximately 550 students
• part of The Philadelphia School District. Click here to learn more.
• located in Society Hill section of Philadelphia. To find our school, click here. Try to find some landmarks near our school.
• serves the neighborhoods of Olde City, Society Hill, Washington Square West, and Chinatown
• "committed to providing its ethnically and socio-economically diverse student body with the finest educational experience available..."
• student population consists mainly of African American, European American, and Asian American. Latino and Native American make up the minority
• students come from lower and middle class families mostly

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Helpful Websites

• The 9/10s' Immigration Study, http://www.mcs.pvt.k12.ny.us/immigr/index.html, This is a social studies study page created by students. They did research on their own families, interviewed immigrants who they knew, studied the statistics on immigration in New York City, and did research papers on topics that they chose.

• Cyber Sources for teachers, http://www.mcs.pvt.k12.ny.us/immigr/index.htm, This website provides a list of additional websites that would be useful for teachers studying immigration.

• Immigration Issues, http://immigration.about.com/newsissues/immigration/, A general site about issues related to immigration.

• English as a Second Language, http://esl.about.com/education/esl/mbody.htm, An issue many immigrant children and adults must face.

• Cultural Adaptations to Life in the USA and Living Abroad, http://immigration.about.com/newsissues/immigration/msubcross.htm, A quick guide to some ways immigrants must adapt culturally to life in the US and other countries.

• Immigration Related Books, http://immigration.about.com/newsissues/immigration/msubbook.htm, An easy site to visit to find some books related to immigration, including practical how to books on becoming a citizen to personal memoirs and novels.

• Ellis Island Homepage, http://www.ellisisland.org/, The official homepage of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. and the museum. This page offers an opportunity to reconnect with your own immigrant heritage.

• Immigration and the United States, http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/ethnicstudies/immig_main.html, This page provides links to other sources specifically about immigration and the United States.

• The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, http://www.libertynet.org/balch/, The Balch Institutes' homepage that connects your to the only museum, library, and archive dedicated to collecting and interpreting materials reflecting U.S. multicultural heritage.

• Ethnic Images in Comics, http://www.libertynet.org/balch/comics/comics.html, An exhibition in the Museum of the Balch Institute that shows how immigrants are portrayed through comics.

• Chinese Immigration and Chinese in the United States, http://www.nara.gov/regional/findaids/chirip/html, This is an official National Archives and Records Administration website about Chinese immigration to the United States.

• Immigration Station, http://www.angelisland.org/immigr02.html, This site provides information about a national historic landmark known also as "North Garrison" where many immigrants came to America.

• Angel Island, http://www.itp.berkeley.edu/~asam121/angel.html, An information page about Angel Island where many immigrants entered the U.S.

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List of Other Resources

• Asante, Dr. Molefi Kete. (1995). African American History, A Journey of Liberation. Maywood, NJ: The People's Publishing Group.

• Chia, Dia. (1996). Dia's Story Cloth: The Hmong People's Journey of Freedom. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books, Inc.

• Coan, Peter Morton. (1997). Ellis Island Interviews: In Their Own Words. New York, NY: Checkmark Books.

• Daley, William. (1987). The Chinese Americans. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishers.

• Goldfarb, Mace. (1982). Fighters, Refugees, Immigrants: A Story of the Hmong. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.

• Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas. (1994). The Chinese American Family Album. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.

• Knight, Margy Burns. (1993). Who Belongs Here? An American Story. Maine: Tilbury House Publishers.

• Neihardt, John G. (1932). Black Elk Speaks. New York, NY: Washington Square Press Publication.

• Shea, Pegi Deitz. (1995). The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee's Story. Honesdale, PA: Caroline House.

• West, Jean M., ed. (1996). The Immigrant Experience, 1840-1890. New Hampshire: Cobblestone Publishing.

• West, Jean M., ed. (1996). The Immigrant Experience, 1890-1925. New Hampshire: Cobblestone Publishing.

• Yee, Paul. (1989). Tales from Gold Mountain Stories of the Chinese in the New World. Toronto: Groundwood Books/Douglas and McIntyre.

• My Name is America series:
  Denenberg, Barry. (1999). The Journal of Ben Uchida. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

• Durbin, William. (1999). The Journal of Sean Sullivan. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

• Rinaldi, Ann. (1999). My Heart is on the Ground. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Videos:

• Avalon - boy from Poland immigrates to Baltimore (1940s-80s)

• Joy Luck Club - stories of four Chinese American daughters and their mothers

• documentaries of the immigrant experience

• clips of famous icons mentioned in the texts(Shirley Temple, Jackie Robinson, the Wright Brothers)