Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
From Sea to Shining Sea

Calling All Immigrants

Objective: Students create a brochure to attract immigrants to settle in their community.

What You Need:

Suggested Time:
4 hours over a period of 1 or 2 days

Building Background:
Remind students that from reading their textbook they learned about the different people who immigrated from different parts of the world and settled in the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Share with students that many people consider the United States to be a "society of immigrants." Ask students to explain why this may be so. Then explain to students that immigration to the United States continues today. You may want to share the following statistics from the 1990 Census on the country's foreign-born population:

Country/Region of BirthPopulation
Former Soviet Union293,000
Central America933,000
South America913,000
Not Specified/Other693,000

Have students locate each of the regions or countries listed above on a world map. Then help students identify the regions or countries from which most foreign-born persons came. Ask students to brainstorm some reasons why people immigrate to the United States today. Then tell students that they will create brochures to attract immigrants to settle in their community.

What To Do:

1. Pass out copies of the Calling All Immigrants worksheet. Students will use the worksheet to organize and record the information they collect about their communities.

2. Have students use reference materials in the school or local library to collect information about their communities.

3. Make sure that students have organized and recorded information about their communities it on their worksheets. Then have students write the descriptions for the different sections of their brochure. When students have completed their descriptions, distribute the materials they will need to construct their brochures. Have students assemble their brochures.

Have students share their brochures with each other. Have them show which aspect of their community they highlighted, and why they think it will attract immigrants.


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