TARGET GROUP: Grades 7-12
Through various activities students become aware of the reason for and difficulties of emigration and immigration. They learn about the job skills that facilitated success in the U.S. in the mid-19th century.
TIME: 2 class periods
SUBJECT AREAS
Social Studies
Language Arts
Foreign Languages
Economics
CONCEPTS
Citizen Knowledge
Cultural Understanding
History
Geography
Economics
Movement
Relocation
New Opportunites
Cross-Cultural Communication
Decision Making
Team Work
OBJECTIVES
Students will:
MATERIALS PROVIDED
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS NEEDED
ACTIVITIES
Ask students to define the terms "emigration" and "immigration" and compare and contrast the two. Ask students to list example of individuals or groups of people who have emigrated/immigrated.
Hand out copies of the poster "Urgent Warning for Emigrating Girls" (Appendix 19-A) or make a transparency of it. Discuss why the girl is crying. Ask:
Discuss: Why would such a warning poster be necessary? Why would someone sign up 3 years' service as a servant girl in a foreign country?
Have students brainstorm to create lists on "Moving: Push and Pull" (Appendix 19-B). They should answer the following questions:
Students could come up with lists of their own or choose from/add to the list provided (Appendix 19-B, cont.).
Discuss the lists and ask students
Hand out the list of "Good and Bad Jobs for the Immigrants from Germany in 1850" (Appendix 19-C).
Each individual student rates the jobs as good or bad for Germans emigrating to, and seeking employment in, the United States in the middle of the 19th century (about 1850). They can put an "x" in the "good" or "bad" column under "Individual". They should be asked to add reasons and explanations wherever they can.
Students form groups of 2-5 and discuss their ratings and reasons until they reach a group consensus. This second rating is marked under "Group."
Students compare the number of correct individual ratings and the ratings they made after discussing the jobs in their groups. Students discuss which of these ratings had more correct answers. (In most cases it will probably the "Group" rating, because more information has entered in the decision-making process).
EVALUATION
The following student outcomes may be assessed through teacher observation:
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY
Students design a poster (1) urging people to remain in Germany or (2) advertising the opportunities of the New World. Students should use the list they created in Activity 3 (Appendix 19-B) as a starting point.
TEACHER RESOURCHES
Willi Paul Adams, Deutsche im Schmelztiegel. Erfahrungen im größten Einwanderungsland der Europäer, published by "Miteinander Leben in Berlin", Senatsverwaltung für Gesundheit und Soziales, Die Ausländerbeauftragte, Potsdamer Straße 65, 10785 Berlin, Germany, Tel: (01149) 30 2604/2351. For an English language version of this excellent and well illustrated brief description of important aspects of German emigration and immigration and its effects on the US as well as Germany, see below. Most of the lessons on emigration/immigration are based on this publication. It is a good resource for further research by students.
Willi Paul Adams, The German-Americans. An Ethnic Experience. American Edition, Translated and Adapted by LaVern J. Rippley and Eberhard Reichmann, Max Kade German-American Center: Indiana University-Perdue University, Indianapolis IN, 1993.
LaVern J. Rippley, The German-Americans. Boston: University Press of America, 1976, ISBN 0-8191-2746-9. This is considered the standard history of German-Americans.
Anna Galicich, The German-Americans. New York: Chelsea House, 1989. ISBN 1-55546-141-7, 0-7910-0265-9 (paperback). An attractive, shorter illustrated history
Frank Trommler and Joseph McVeigh (eds.), America and the Germans. Vol. One: Immigration, Language, Ethnicity; Vol. Two: The Relationship in the Twentieth Century. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985. ISBN 08122-1350-5 (Vol. I), ISBN 08122-1351-3 (Vol. II), ISBN 08122-1425-2 (set). An excellent collection of scholarly research on a wide range of topics.
Stephan Goerisch, Informationsliteratur zur deutschen Amerikaauswanderung des 19. Jahrhunderts. Dissertation, Frankfurt, 1990.
Max Kade German-American Center, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Department of German, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204, (317) 464-9004. The Center has contributed a large proportion of the ideas and materials for these lessons and is an invaluable resource center for teachers and those interested in further study.
TARGET GROUP: Grades 7-12
Success or failure of immigrants in 19th Century America, as today, depended on many variables: their expectations, economic standing, job choices, personal traits, luck, etc. Two letters to Norway and an interview with a German immigrant (mid-19th Century) provide unique insight into these variables.
TIME: 2-3 class periods
SUBJECT AREAS
Social Studies
Economics
U.S. Government
U.S. History
World History
Language Arts
CONCEPTS
Citizen Knowledge
Cultural Understanding
Economics
Geography
History
Movement
Relocation
New Opportunites
Reading
Writing
Oral Communication
OBJECTIVES
Students will
Identify the personal, economic, social and political issues immigrants were confronted with when they arrived in America.
Compare and contrast opposing views (about social and economic status, work ethics, political institutions, expectations, ability and readiness to adjust to a new environment, etc.) held by immigrants because of their different social backgrounds and expectations.
Identify the skills and attitudes necessary for success in the New World.
Analyze historical documents, explain points of view, and identify possible biases.
MATERIALS PROVIDED:
ACTIVITIES
Discuss picture (Appendix 19-E): What warnings are issued? What are the warnings trying to achieve? To whom do you think the warning is addressed? How reliable was the artist's information about America? (e.g., there are no lions in America!)
Ask students to read Gjert G. Hovland's letter (Appendix 19-F) and to identify and list the personal and family, political and economic reasons for his dissatisfaction with his life in America.
Ask students to read Sjur J. Haaeim's letter (Appendix 19-G) and to identify and list the personal and family, political and economic reasons for his dissatisfaction with his life in America.
Ask students to compare and explain the very experiences and evaluations of life in America in the two letters from Norway by examining the factors (family backgrounds, social and economic status, belief systems and expectations, political views and attitudes, good and bad fortune, personal traits) listed (Appendix 14-G, Question A).
Have students decide which of the factors listed best explains the different experiences of the two Norwegians Gjert G. Hovland and Sjur J. Haaeim (Appendix 14-G, Question A). Call to students' attention how their own assumptions about success and failure enter into their interpretations of the two letters.
(Note: The differences between the two Norwegian immigrants can be explained by different personal skills or attitudes or expectations because of different family and social backgrounds, or just by good or bad fortune. Students should become aware that the explanations of the historical text they favor will also reflect their assumptions and beliefs about the causes of success and failure).
Ask students to analyze the motives Gjert G. Hovland might have for presenting a bright picture and Sjur J. Haaeim (Appendix 14-G, Question C) for presenting a dark picture of America in their letters to Norway.
(Note: The two Norwegians obviously had different experiences in the New World; they seem to have come from different backgrounds and have brought along different sets of expectations. But in addition, Gjert G. Hovland's (Appendix 19-F) glowing description of the New World in his letters to his former compatriots may also be colored by his wish to proudly present his success in the New World, whereas Sjur J. Haaeim (Appendix 19-G) is soliciting support for his return to Norway. Haaeim therefore needs to project himself as deluded by false promises and as being at the mercy of unfavorable circumstances beyond his control. He will tend to describe the conditions in Norway as more favorable than in America.)
Ask students to read Joseph Conde's report (Appendix 19-H) of his emigration from Germany to America. Why ere his experiences and those of his German compatriots in Ohio positive? What contributions did they make to Ohio's and America's development?
Form six groups:
Five groups will represent Germans who wish to emigrate to the United States for the following reasons:
The sixth group consists of German immigrants who have come to America earlier and have settled here successfully. Some of them come from the same towns and villages as the members of the five groups.
Members of each of the first five groups must plan strategies so that they can attempt to convince the sixth group that their reasons for leaving Germany are valid and that they would be of use to the communities of the New World. All group member either (1) draw a slip of paper that assigns them a job from the list of "Good and Bad Jobs" or (2) choose a job from the list. Each group is then given a chance to present its arguments to the rest of the class.
The other groups can then discuss the presentation.
The sixth group will decide which three of the five groups should emigrate to America, and it will have to explain its decisions. Members of the sixth group want to help their former German compatriots by giving them sound advice, and they also want to ensure that the new immigrants will be of use to their new community.
EVALUATION
The SCORED DISCUSSION SHEET from Unit 20. TRABIS ON TRIAL: STUDENT RIGHTS IN EAST GERMANY, Evaluation, can be used to evaluate student performance in the group activity described in Activity 8.
Assign a job and a partner to each student (by drawing lots or by choice). Each student writes a letter as a person living in Germany around 1850 to a friend or relative in America explaining:
Students should use the information gathered in the previous lessons and acitivities (Push and Pull, Good and Bad Jobs, Letters and reports of immigrants) for their own letters.
The partner (relative, friend or acquaintance) in America answers the letter and gives advice (a general assessment, recommendations and warnings, etc).
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
Have students create a newspaper advertisement offering their services in the United States.
Have students write from the perspective of one of the family members (or from another perspective of their own choice), a one-page success story of a family who have moved to the New World. Remind students that immigrants often thought the New World would be a "paradise" with streets paved with gold.
Ask students to come up with a most convincing and at the same time incredible story about events that took place in the New World and report it to the friends and family in the country they emigrated from.
Ask students to make a job list for someone immigrating today. Students should include jobs from the original list (Appendicies 14-C and 14-D), if they are still useful, and update the list to include jobs that would be in demand today.
Let students choose the jobs they like best form the original list of jobs. Discuss or ask students to explain why the skills required to do this job were important (or not in demand).
TARGET GROUP: Grades 7-12
The German Americans are the single largest group of immigrants. The lesson examines their history, their characteristics, and their contributions.
TIME: 2 class periods
SUBJECT AREAS
CONCEPTS
OJECTIVES
MATERIALS PROVIDED:
ACTIVITIES
Ask students to read the excerpt on the Germans from John F. Kennedy's book A Nation of Immigrants (Appendix 19-I), to highlight the special characteristics of German-Americans and the contributions they made.
Have students find general headings for the main points Kennedy mentions and create an outline, e.g.:
A. Characteristic settlement patterns of German Americans
B. Contributions of German Americans
Have students fill in the outline (and if necessary, add further key areas) with as many specific examples (historical events, people, etc.) as they can find, using Kennedy's text (Appendix 19-I), "Important Dates in German-American History" (Appendix 19-J), and any further information available to them (community members, family, library, etc.), e.g., the Amish under "7. Communities." Further areas that students could explore are: food, recipes, holiday traditions, place names, e.g., Hamburg, Indiana; Berlin, New Hampshire; Frankenmuth, Michigan; Herman, Missouri; Berlin, Bremen, Dresden, Gnadenhutten, Ohio; etc.; family names (telephone books).
Using the outline as a starting point, have students use local resources to write a "History of German-Americans" in their hometown.
Have students research the history and contributions of other ethnic groups to the United States and to the students' community using Kennedy's book, which also deals extensively with other ethnic groups, and the outline as starting point.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY
Write a fictional story about an event (events) in the life of an immigrant or immigrants, that takes place in the first year of immigration. Choose a perspective (child, mother, grandmother, servant girl, fleeing revolutionary, etc.)
TARGET GROUP: Grades 9-12
The influence of various immigrant groups on creating the United States is well documented. The ways in which mass emigration and the American democratic model influenced democratic developments in the homecountry of the emigrants is less frequently discussed. This lesson explores this aspect.
TIME: 2 class periods
SUBJECT AREAS
CONCEPTS
OBJECTIVES
MATERIALS PROVIDED
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS NEEDED
TEACHER RESOURCES
ACTIVITIES
Have students work in small groups to answer the questions in Appendix 19-L, "Petitions by German Tenant Farmers in 1848 (Questions)" and present their answers. Alternatively, students can proceed step by step:
Have students read the "Petitions by Geran Tenant Farmers in 1848" (Appendix 19-K), distinguish between economic and political issues, and define and explain the difference (Appendix 19-L, Questions 1 and 2).
Ask students to find links between the demands of the German tenant farmers (Appendix 19-K) and events in American history (War of Independence, Writing of the Constitution). (Students need to be supplied with history books and a copy of the American Constitution.) (Appendix 19-L, Question 3).
Ask students to apply their definitions of economic and political issues and motives to the texts they have read, to explain which of these motives was more the dominant one and how the motives were iterrelated:
a. the German tenant farmers (Appendix 19-K);
b. the German immigrant Joseph Conde (Appendix
19-H);
c. the letter by the Norwegian immigrant Gjert G. Hovland (Appendix 19-F);
d. the letter by the Norwegian immigrant, Sjur J. Haaeim (Appendix 19-G)
(Appendix 19-L, Question 4).
The four texts could also be assigned to groups that would then have to report back to the class. Each text could be given to group--or preferably, a "German" group (texts 1 and 2) and a "Norwegian" group (texts 3 and 4) could be formed. In this case, both the "German" and the "Norwegian" group would have texts which put forward or imply different views on the issue: politics vs. economics.
Have students analyze the explicit and implicit messages of the poster, "Urgent Warning for Emigrating Girls" (Appendix 19-A) and "A Caricature Depicting the Dream of the Good Life in America" (Appendix 19-E). They should be asked to distinguish between, on the one hand, real concern for the welfare of the emigrants, and on the other, the intention of dissuading people from emigrating and/or demanding a fairer and more democratic society, by pointing out that "the land of plenty and freedom" was an illusion. Refer students to the government official from Nassau in Germany complaining in 1846 that the emigrants were infected by "delusions of freedom and fantastic ideas about the institutions of government" and that the emigration fever made the "lower classes" rebellious (Appendix 19-K). (Appendix 19-L, Question 5).
Have students examine various theses regarding the effects of emigration onthe country of the emigrants. (Appendix 19-L, Question 6).
TARGET GROUP: Grades 7-12
Students read a poem describing the first experience of a German immigrant in the new world and explroe the implication of change in their own lives.
TIME: 1 class period
SUBJECT AREAS
CONCEPTS
OBJECTIVES
MATERIALS PROVIDED
ACTIVITIES
Read the poem "The Forefather Arrives" by Norbert Krapf (Appendix 19-M) aloud to students or dristribute a copy of the poem and read it aloud along with students.
Students then respond to the poem by writing on the following topics:
Students share responses through class discussion.
Students discuss why people would want to know more about their ancestors.
Alternatively:
Ask students to think of someone coming to an entirely new situation (an immigrant arriving in a new country, a family moving to another part of the country, a student coming to a new school, an exchange student coming to the United States or going to a foreign country, a soldier on an assignment abroad, living in a new family after losing your own, going to a boarding school, leaving school to go to college or to take up a job, etc.)
Then ask students to read the poem "The Forefather Arrives" by Norbert Krapf (Appendix 19-M), choose three to five lines they can apply to the "new situation" they have chosen, and write a poem of their own, using and/or adapting lines from Krapf's poem and adding lines of their own.
Have students read out their poems.
Ask students to comment on the similarities and differences in their poems describing a new situation, and have them discuss the similarities and differences in relation to Krapf's peom as well.
EVALUATION
The following student outcomes may be assessed through teacher observation:
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES