Grade 8 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 19, Lesson 3

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A More Perfect Union

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 19, Lesson 3: The Gates Reopened (pp. 578-583)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Diversity Changing patterns of immigration have created some challenges for American culture.

Review with students the changing patterns of immigration since 1960, including the increased number of refugees and changes in immigrants' countries of origin.

Explain the controversies surrounding undocumented immigrants and bilingual education. Have students compare these current challenges of immigration with some challenges that immigration created earlier in American history.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Have students write a persuasive paragraph either supporting or opposing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Paragraphs should refer to national immigration policies from the 1965 to 1986, and to tensions related to undocumented immigrants.
Have students form small working groups. Ask each group to use the graphs on pages 580-581 to create at timeline showing where the majority of immigrants have come from since 1820. Students could illustrate their timelines with copies of world maps showing the regions where most immigrants came from or with something else to show those regions.

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