The Immigration Movement From 1880 to Present Day

Abstract

Immigration is an important topic for today’s upper level high school student as it has bearing on Regents level exams and on today’s societal challenges as we address illegal immigration, its problems and solutions. The central question of this project is simply stated – what are the implications of web-based instruction in a high school history curriculum? In an effort to better equip students and educational peers, this three-part thesis project provides a comprehensive set of lessons on immigration in the United States and a section intended for website use. The first section examines US immigration from 1880-1925 and ranges in topic from the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Ku Klux Klan. The second section discusses Ellis Island through the current Mexican border debates. Responding to the reality of the classroom time constraints that exist in covering such a considerable topic, the third section posits the use of web-based instruction to enrich students’ experience and knowledge with US immigration history. This section evaluates the use of such web-based instruction while considering the various learning styles found in Differentiated Instruction, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Piaget’s Stages of Development. It is suggested that this type of web-based instruction be intended for interactivity similar to collegiate level sites. Examples of web pages, lessons, and student worksheets are included.