NCSS Theme #9 Lesson Plan: Global Connections

Lesson Title: The Industrial Revolutions Global Impact on Labor

Lesson Author: Robert Atkinson, Ansis Nudiens

Key Curriculum Words: Immigration, Culture

Grade Level: 9
th

Grade Geography

Time Allotted: 90 minutes

Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is to teach students about the reasons, and the similarities
between these reasons, that immigrants have had in coming here throughout Americas
history. It is intended to teach students the SOL standards in WG.6 and blend this
information with NCSS theme 9.
Background/Context
This lesson will be aimed to address the SOL requirement for WG.6. It was designed for
a 9th grade geography class and is intended to help the students understand how the
reasons for immigrating to America over time have common themes. These themes are
political, social, environmental, and economic in nature.
Key Concepts:
Immigration
Causes of Immigration
Global Connections

SOL Objective (Essential Knowledge and Skills)
. WG.6 The student will analyze past and present trends in human migration and
cultural interaction as they are influenced by social, economic, political, and
environmental factors.



NCSS Theme
The lesson will be focused on NCSS Standard number 9, which is Global Connections.
This theme will be utilized to help students understand past and present trends in
American immigration. It is also designed to tie into the SOL standard WG.6.

NCSS Indicators
Challenge learners to analyze the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to
persistent, contemporary, and emerging global issues, such as health care, security,
resource allocation, economic development, and environmental quality
Have learners illustrate how individual behaviors and decisions connect with global
systems
Guide learner analysis of the relationships and tensions between national
sovereignty and global interests in such matters as territorial disputes, economic
development, nuclear and other weapons deployment, use of natural resources, and
human rights concerns

Guiding Questions
What reasons did the Irish have for coming to America in the 19
th
Century?
Why are Mexican immigrants coming to America in the 21
st
Century?
How has immigration acted as a global issue throughout history?

The Days Big Question
What are the similarities and differences between 19
th
century Irish immigration, and 20
th
and 21st century Mexican immigration to America?

Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will be able to evaluate the contexts behind 19
th
century Irish immigration and
modern-day Mexican immigration
2. Students will be able to analyze the similarities and differences of the social, economic,
political, and environmental factors between the two waves of immigration.
3. Students will be able to get empathize with these groups of people and understand
either what they went through, or what they are currently going through.

Lesson Materials
Computers
Internet Access
Chart (Appendix 9a)
Pencils
Colored Pencils
Paper
Just Do It! (15minutes)
The students will participate in a poll everywhere activity. I will log onto poll
everywhere (http://www.polleverywhere.com) and ask the question In your opinion,
what are the reasons that people have had throughout history to immigrate to America?
They will then text their respective answers to the number presented on the website. (I
will inform them the prior class period that it will be ok for them to use their cell phones
this period.) If a student doesnt have a phone, he or she can work with another student.
Their answers will be based on prior knowledge. After they have completed this, I will
lead a class discussion, where we will talk about some of the answers that they
collectively posted.

Activities (60 minutes)
Immigration Discovery Chart: (15 minutes): Students will each be assigned two
websites containing information about either modern day Mexican immigration and 19
th

century Irish immigration (sites indicated below). Each student will individually review
the two websites and fill in the Venn diagram (located in Appendix 9a) with economic,
political, social, and environmental factors behind the groups immigration.
Instructions
1. I will take the students to the computer lab, give them the Venn diagram located
in Appendix 9a, and explain that they are to fill in the economic, political, and
environmental factors behind the groups immigrations to America. I will then
give them the websites that they are to research in order to accurately fill in the
charts (5 minutes)
19
th
Century Irish Immigration Site: http://www.kinsella.org/history/histira.htm
Modern Day Mexican Immigration Site: http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/illegal-
immigration-from-mexico.html
2. Once the students have done their research, they will then fill in the chart, located
in Appendix 9a. (10 minutes)

Dialogue Creation: (45 minutes) The students will split into groups of two, or three if
the class is an odd number. They will then take what they have discovered about the
different waves of immigration and create dialogues, in which they pretend to either be
modern-day Mexican immigrants, or 19
th
Century Irish immigrants. I will give free reign
to the students in regards to who they pretend to be in the dialogue, as long as the
economic, political, social, and environmental factors behind the groups immigration are
discussed. For example, one of them could be an Irish factory worker, and the other
could be his or her boss. They could also be a Mexican husband and wife discussing the
benefits of coming to America, and the reasons they are considering leaving Mexico.
Once the dialogues are prepared, the students will present to the class. Dialogues will be
approximately 1-3 minutes each.
Instructions
1. I will split the students into groups of 2 or 3 and explain the activity to them. I
will then assign each group either modern day Mexican immigration, or 19
th

century Irish immigration to create dialogues on. (5 minutes).

2. The students will take time to prepare their dialogues (15 minutes)

3. The students will then present their dialogues to the class (25 minutes)


Closure (15 minutes)

On paper, and with colored pencils I will provide them, students will create two
illustrations. One will depict the immigration experiences of modern day Mexicans and
the other will depict the immigration experiences of the 19
th
century Irish. (10 minutes).
These illustrations should include the economic, social, political, and environmental
factors behind each groups immigration. The drawings can be cartoons, portraits, or
landscapes. As long as the social, economic, political, and environmental factors behind
the groups immigrations are covered in the illustrations, it will be acceptable. We will
then have a discussion, where the similarities between the two waves of immigration are
discussed.
The students will then hand me their illustrations as an exit slip when they leave the
classroom.

This will be a formative assessment and is intended to assess what students have learned
from todays lesson on the modern-day Mexican immigration and 19
th
century Irish
immigration, in regards to global connections, NCSS theme 9. The closer is intended to
blend this NCSS theme with the SOL goal WG.6 and is also intended to answer the days
big question.

Diverse Learner Accommodations
Students will start by learning the basic information on their own and it will build
toward more complex thinking and understanding. This will help slow learners
We will be discussing everything the individual students do as a group, so
everybody is on the same page
Both audial and visual learners will be helped, because there are charts that help
put things into context for visual learners, and discussion to help visual learners
IEPs that require students to get extra time on assignments will not be necessary,
as these assignments are not for grades, and it is expected that some students will
not finish. The discussion at the end of each section will allow for these students
to learn the required information, regardless of whether or not they have finished.






















Social, Economic, Political, and Environmental Factors Behind Immigration









20
th
and 21
st
Century
Mexican Immigration
19
th
Century Irish Immigration