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Return Migration to the South
Home Ties Lesson Plan
The narrative Return South Migration talks about many reasons why African Americans have returned to the South. Students will interview family members and find out what their ties are with their community. They then will use this information to compare other cultures and times with what they have learned about the African-American culture from the narrative. Finally, students will create a graph showing the class findings and then compare the class results with the information they have found within the narrative.
Grade Levels:Middle and high school, grades 6-12
For use with:Return South Migration
Concentration Area:History: U.S. Government
National Curriculum Standards met by this lesson
Students will understand

Time required
Three class periods plus homework time.
Materials needed
Anticipatory Set

  1. Lead students in a discussion about modern migration, considering these questions:

    1. What ethnic groups have come to their area?
    2. When? Why? How?
    3. What makes a person or group of people migrate?
  2. Then, have students look at the references supplied in the narrative and try to extrapolate the main reasons people migrate. Students should understand that reasons for migration are universal and do not change with ethnicity, time, or location.

  1. After students have come up with their own categories of reasons for migration (which should be similar to these categories: political, economic, and familial), ask them to consider how they came to be where they are now. Have students brainstorm, as a class, questions to ask their families so they can better understand why their ancestors moved to the area they are in today.
  2. Tell students to ask their families the questions they came up with in class.
  3. Have students bring their answers to class and share their findings with their classmates. Ask students to discuss questionable answers to decide in which category each circumstance belongs.
  4. When the entire class has shared, post the results on the board and have students create a graph of their own choosing (line, bar, pie, etc). Then, have students discuss the following questions:

    1. What does the information suggest about the migrants that entered their area?
    2. What does the information suggest about the area in which they live?
    3. Does the time period that the migrations occurred mean anything?
    4. Can you identify a pattern within the types of people migrating or their reasons for migrating?
  5. Once students have thoroughly discussed the questions, ask them to create a Venn diagram. Using information from their discussion and research, have them compare the migration patterns of their own area to information they have found within the Return South Migration narrative.

Assess students in the following ways:

  1. Students will hand in a completed graph using the information shared with the class.
  2. Students also will complete a Venn diagram, which should include at least three points for each area.
  3. Class discussion should be taken into account for the students' grades.
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