There's No Place Like Home   This lesson uses children's literature and maps to explore reasons for past and present settlement.

Immigrating to America   Students will learn about what it was like for new immigrants to come through Ellis Island—a symbolic heart of American immigration—at the turn of the century.

Human Migration: The Story of a Community's Culture   This lesson will help students understand key concepts of human migration through the examination of maps and migration patterns. Students will research and document the impact of migration on a region's cultural landscape. They will examine migration patterns on a global and national scale as a class and then apply that understanding to telling a migration story about their own community.

Human Migration Within and Into the United States
Students will determine net migration for the southern, northeastern, western, and midwestern regions of the United States and analyze the impact of migration shifts in these regions.

Settling the West: Westward Expansion  During this lesson, students will have the opportunity to experience the westward expansion through literature and the Internet.  By creating a brochure and a slideshow presentation, students will become aware of the difficulties people faced through their travels.

The Jamestown Online Adventure  Students will make geographic and economic decisions in this game

Tell a Migration Story…With Photos   Capture your community with a camera! Take pictures that tell the story of your community's cultural heritage and the story of human migration that is unique to your area.

Tell a Migration Story…with Maps   Become a cartographer! Share information about migration in your community by planning and creating a migration map.

Tell a Migration Story … With Interviews   Share someone's migration story. "Become a reporter" for your local newspaper and then conduct an interview with someone who has migrated to your community.

Xpedition Hall:  Promotes understanding of why people migrate, using a virtual train station.  (Good for Smartboard)

Trekking Across Our Land: Prehistoric Cultures and Human Migration to North America: An activity list with links.

Animated Map: Shows how the U.S. has changed over time.

American Geography Close-ups: New England States Vol.1:  Examine the geography and early colonial history of the New England states—Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. See how the region's topography, which includes mountain chains and coastal lowlands and uplands, has influenced New England's climate and population.  United Streaming.

The American Revolution: From Colonies to Constitution: The American Colonies:  This program tells the amazing story of how the American colonies came into existence. It examines the role of colonization in bringing about the huge population shifts and cultural changes that occurred as Europeans and African slaves displaced Native Americans.  United Streaming.

New York Up Close: Immigration and the Industrial Revolution:  See how immigration and American ingenuity have shaped New York City, New York State, and the world.  United Streaming.

Immigration to the United States: American Heritage Series:  Explore U.S. immigration through the correspondence of young Mai in China and her grandfather halfway around the world. As he answers Mai's questions and allays her fear of the unknown, students will hear stories of hardships endured by the immigrants, the rewards they gained, and how many waves of immigration have made America a huge cultural melting pot.  United Streaming.

North America: The People:  The culture and history of North America’s multi-cultural population come to vibrant life as this program portrays us in all our intriguing diversity.  United Streaming.

Moving to America: Then and Now:  Look around you and you will see many different people speaking different languages, eating different foods, wearing different clothes. This is America, a country of many different peoples, but where did they come from?  United Streaming.

Journey to Freedom: The Immigrant Experience:  The United States is a land of immigrants. With the exception of Native Americans, we all originally traveled here from abroad seeking a new life. Using historic photographs and motion picture footage this program documents immigration to the U.S. from the early 19th century through the late 20th century.  United Streaming.

Suggestions for English Language Learners:  (E/B=Entering/Beginning, D=Developing, E=Expanding) (E/B) Students trace immigration or migration routes on globes or maps. (E/B) Students compare immigration or migration routes based on globes or maps (i.e. "Asia is farther from the U.S. than Mexico."). (E/B, D) Students read literature that relates to a variety of cultures and help students to recognize similarities and differences in cultures of literary characters and their own. (D) Students organize information about students' home cultures or immigration patterns through investigation (using graphic support). (E) Students compare information about students' home cultures and the U.S. through investigation (on the Internet or in newspapers, libraries).

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