The short-handled hoe brings back memories of back-breaking labor for generations of Mexican and
U.S. Immigration Policy
Grade Range: 9-12
Resource Type(s): Reviewed Websites, Primary Sources, Lessons & Activities
Duration: 90 minutes
Date Posted:
10/12/2016
This historical investigation is aligned with the C3 Framework and is from C3teachers.org.
The goal of this inquiry is to help students develop their thinking in terms of continuity and change through learning about US immigration policy actions and their effects over time. By examining whether there is anything new about current immigration policy debates, students compare and contrast the discourse around immigration at three key moments in US history—the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Immigration Act of 1924, and the Immigration Act of 1965—with the current immigration policy. Students need to develop a deep understanding of each of the three policies in order to write a thoughtful argument that analyzes continuities and changes in perceptions of and policies regarding immigration throughout the post–Civil War period of US history.
National Standards
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12)
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
2: Massive immigration after 1870 and how new social patterns, conflicts, and ideas of national unity developed amid growing cultural diversity
3: The rise of the American labor movement and how political issues reflected social and economic changes
Historical Thinking Standards (Grades 5-12)
Common Core State Standards (Grades 9-10)
Literacy in History/Social Studies (Grades 9-10)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 (Key Ideas and Details): Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 (Integration of Knowledge and Ideas): Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Common Core State Standards (Grades 11-12)
Literacy in History/Social Studies (Grades 11-12)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 (Key Ideas and Details): Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6 (Craft and Structure): Evaluate authors' differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors' claims, reasoning, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.8 (Integration of Knowledge and Ideas): Evaluate an author's premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards (Grades 9-12)
2: Applying Disciplinary Tools and Concepts
D2.Civ.6.9-12. (Civics): Critique relationships among governments, civil societies, and economic markets.
D2.Civ.7.9-12. (Civics): Apply civic virtues and democratic principles when working with others.
D2.Civ.8.9-12. (Civics): Evaluate social and political systems in different contexts, times, and places, that promote civic virtues and enact democratic principles.
D2.Civ.11.9-12. (Civics): Evaluate multiple procedures for making governmental decisions at the local, state, national, and international levels in terms of the civic purposes achieved.
D2.His.2.9-12. (History): Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
3: Evaluating Sources and Using Evidence
D3.3.9-12. (Developing Claims and Using Evidence): Identify evidence that draws information directly and substantively from multiple sources to detect inconsistencies in evidence in order to revise or strengthen claims.
D3.4.9-12. (Developing Claims and Using Evidence): Refine claims and counterclaims attending to precision, significance, and knowledge conveyed through the claim while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both.
4: Communicating Conclusions and Taking Informed Action
D4.2.9-12. (Communicating and Critiquing Conclusions): Construct explanations using sound reasoning, correct sequence (linear or non-linear), examples, and details with significant and pertinent information and data, while acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of the explanation given its purpose (e.g., cause and effect, chronological, procedural, technical).