Students explore the link between name and identity in their own lives and those of their classmates.
Students explore the link between name and identity in their own lives and those of their classmates.
Students study the unique and common challenges immigrants to the United States in the late 1800s faced and question what it means to become an American.
Students discover the complexities of Martha Sharp's rescue project by analyzing historical correspondences.
Students reflect on what "American" means to them and are introduced to the idea that the United States is the product of many individual voices and stories.
Students activate their thinking around being an upstander and their responsibility toward others in light of the Sharps' mission work in Czechoslovakia.
Students learn about the legal rights of refugees and then use poetry to develop a personal connection to the current global crisis.
Students are introduced to upstanders Waitstill and Martha Sharp, an American minister and his wife who undertook a rescue mission to help save Jews and refugees fleeing Nazi occupation.
Students use videos and readings featuring US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power to develop a historical and human understanding of today’s global refugee crisis.
Amin Maalouf, a French writer and author, believes that violence can be a result of tensions between identity and belonging. He writes about the need to find new ways to think about identity.
Ed Husain, author of The Islamist, grew up in a middle class immigrant family in London. In his memoir, he traces his path from primary school in the multicultural East End to his years in college as a religious extremist. After renouncing extremism, Husain moved to the Middle East, where, to his surprise, he felt stronger ties to the British society than ever before. Horrified by the July 7, 2005, terrorist attacks in London, Husain returned home to warn others about the dangers of religious extremism.
Watch this webinar to learn about our extensive resources for teaching about immigration in social studies and literature classrooms and discuss the importance of stories in addressing today’s challenges of borders and belonging.
I Learn America is a film about five resilient children of immigration who are struggling to learn and become comfortable in their new country. How we fare in welcoming them will determine the nature of this country in the 21st century and beyond. The I Learn America Viewers' Guide, created by Facing History and Ourselves on behalf of the New York City Department of Education, is available here as a free PDF download.