This unit comes from a seminar about American history and how American lives have impacted that history or were impacted by the events in American history. This unit focuses on the history of immigration, the current policies on immigration, and immigrants who have made an impact in America. Students will tie in their own or their family’s immigration story to America, while learning how to write an informational and narrative writing pieces. They will use inquiry based learning activities to solve the hands on activities they will be given to learn about the immigrants who have affected America in a positive way. Students will learn the difference between informational, narrative, autobiography, and biography texts through a multimedia approach to explore immigrant stories. My students are first graders in a Title 1 school. Most of their families have either immigrated to America or they are immigrants themselves. They need to know that their stories and experiences are validated and that they can achieve success in America. This unit will be able to help my students to find pride in their story, while meeting the guidelines of the curriculum and standards set by the state of Delaware.

Key Words: Immigrant, Immigration, Biography, Autobiography, United States, Multi-Media

(Developed for Writing, English Language Arts, and Social Studies, grade 1; recommended for Writing, English Language Arts, and Social Studies, grades K and 2)