The short-handled hoe brings back memories of back-breaking labor for generations of Mexican and
The Bracero Archive: Tracing the Route of a Bracero
Grade Range: 6-8
Resource Type(s): Primary Sources, Lessons & Activities, Worksheets
Date Posted:
9/12/2009
In this activity, one of three on the Bracero Archive website, students will examine an oral history related to the Bracero worker program and present their research on a map.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is part of a consortium of museums, universities, and cultural institutions documenting and preserving the history of the bracero program, a little-known chapter of American history in which an estimated two million Mexican men came to the United States between 1942-1964 on short-term labor contracts.
National Standards
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades 5-12)
Historical Thinking Standard 1: Chronological Thinking
1B: Identify the temporal structure of a historical narrative or story.
1C: Establish temporal order in constructing students' own historical narratives.
1D: Measure and calculate calendar time.
1E: Interpret data presented in time lines.
1F: Reconstruct patterns of historical succession and duration; explain historical continuity and change.
1G: Compare alternative models for periodization.
Historical Thinking Standard 2: Historical Comprehension
2B: Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage.
2C: Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative addresses.
2D: Differentiate between historical facts and historical interpretations.
2E: Read historical narratives imaginatively.
2F: Appreciate historical perspectives.
2G: Draw upon data in historical maps.
2H: Utilize visual, mathematical, and quatitative data.
2I: Draw upon the visual, literary, and musical sources.
Historical Thinking Standard 3: Historical Analysis and Interpretation
3B: Consider multiple perspectives.
3C: Analyze cause-and-effect relationships.
3D: Draw comparisons across eras and regions in order to define enduring issues.
3E: Distinguish between unsupported expressions of opinion and informed hypotheses grounded in historical evidence.
3F: Compare competing historical narratives.
3G: Challenge arguments of historical inevitability.
3H: Hold interpretations of history as tentative.
3I: Evaluate major debates among historians.
3J: Hypothesize the influence of the past.