German Immigrants

Teacher Information and Instructional Procedures Page

Content Objectives

• Students will gain an understanding of how contemporary lifestyles/culture/traditions are influenced by the contributions of the settlers of that region.
• Students will use their prior knowledge of German to discuss photographs of people.

Information Literacy Objectives (Excerpted from Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning (IP), 1998)

• Students will become familiar with the American Memory Collections.
• Students will learn, develop and apply varying search processes and strategies to access resources in the American Memory Collection (IP standard 1, indicator 5)
• Students will formulate questions based on information needs (IP Standard 1, indicator 3)
• Students will distinguish among fact, point of view and opinion (IP Standard 2, indicator 2)
• Students will integrate new information into their own prior knowledge (IP Standard 3, indicator 2)
• Students will use and appreciate non-text forms of information (IP Standard 5, indicator 2)
• Students will derive meaning from information presented creatively in a variety of formats; i.e. visual literacy (IP Standard 5, indicator 2)
• Students will develop creative products in a variety of formats (IP Standard 5, indicator 3)

Students will research core questions and develop potential answers or opinions based on their research. Suggested questions:

• Why did Germans choose to settle in the Upper Midwest ? (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, The Dakotas, and Iowa)
• Where in Europe did Germans immigrate from?
• What were the economic, political and sociological factors the immigrants faced? (Hardships and good experiences)
• What and where are some German communities in the Upper Midwest?
• What significant contributions did the German immigrants make to our cultural heritage?

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Time Required

2 weeks for the project. Online research and classroom discussion, and review may be interspersed depending on student needs and availability of technology. Time can be adjusted as needed.

Recommended Grade Level

7-12. German language and research requirements can be modified accordingly.

Curriculum Fit

• German
• Social Studies (Local and state History)
• Language arts (Readings can be adapted to language a arts curriculum)

Activities and Assessment

• Assess group processes
• Assess time on task
• Final product to be done independently (brochure, newspaper ad to promote immigration)

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Extensions/Accommodations

• Web page evaluation. How is searching the Library of Congress American Memory Collection different from using a search directory such as Yahoo? How can you evaluate the information?
• Students may make a graph that illustrates immigration patterns and population shifts.
• Students may bring in a family heirloom for "show and tell."

Procedures

Preparatory Activities

(Prior to Going Online.)

1. Introduce the lesson: Vocabulary, brainstorming, and discussion.

• Vocabulary. Students should have a working knowledge of the following terms:

  • immigrant
  • migrant
  • ethnicity
  • ethnic
  • artifact
  • primary resource

• What evidence is there of German influence in your family? In our community? (Students may bring in pictures or slides of architecture in their community or region)
• How do we know a person lived? What artifacts exist?
• Mind walk Activity. In 6th grade you visited the Winona County Historical Society. What resources are there to help learn about our nation's history? At this point introduce the American Memory Collection.

2. Introduce the Library of Congress and the American Memory Home Page

• Present an overview of the American Memory site (Use computer projection system)
• Model and demonstrate navigating and searching Pioneering the Upper Midwest with emphasis on documents and pictures about your local community or region. Read Captured by the Indians: reminiscences of pioneer life in Minnesota to stimulate interest.

3. Examine a primary resource by examining a photo

• Examine a photo as a class to model the lesson (classroom activity)
• Examine a photo with a partner (lab activity) in pairs. (activities 1-4)

  Suggested Photo: Milton Meat Market

• Produce a product would entice potential immigrants to come to the Upper Midwest. Photos and pictures from the web site must be incorporated into the product to make it more appealing. Pictures would be helpful to immigrants who were not literate. Upper level students could produce the product in German.
• Suggestions:
  • Travel brochure
  • Newspaper article
  • A letter home
  • Handbill
• Sample Student Brochure

Technical notes

• Classroom equipment needs: Computer and video projection system
• Lab needs: Computers for students to work in pairs
• Be sure that all machines have available ram and browser plug-ins

Notes from the lesson's authors:

German teacher comments:

• The classes that completed the project are:
  • Grades 7-8 German 1.
  • Grades 9-11 German 1, 80 minute block.
  • Students in either group complete chapters 1-7 of Neue Freunde.
• The lesson may be an introductory activity done early in the year or incorporated throughout the year. I taught it simultaneously with a back-to-school review in the 8th grade section and in the first two weeks of the 2nd semester in the 9-11 section. The older students were more receptive and interested. They also enjoyed the search process.
• Teachers will want to refer to the Using Primary Resources in the Classroom on the American Memory Home Page.
• It is essential that the teacher model research if students are expected to research on their own.
• If lab access is limited students may work from printed copies of the photos or documents.
• Students may work in pairs.

Media Specialist comments:

• We did not teach information literacy as a topic. We demonstrated and discussed search strategies and what it means to be information literate in the classroom prior to going online and while the students were searching.
• We looked at examples of primary resources in the classroom. For example, the last names of students in the class illustrate how our community's ethnic compostition has changed since the community was originally settled by Germans and other immigrants from Europe.

The Student Page can be printed out and sent home with a letter to the parents explaining the project. Or teachers and media specialists may want to link the student page and/or the entire lesson from a school web site.

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