IDEAS

Idea 12: Creating an Immigration Timeline

Why is it important?

This activity is a potential way for students to understand the recurring patterns in U.S. immigration history. Students may be surprised with what there is to learn about historical patterns that have negatively affected certain groups for an extended period of time.

Instructions

• Before introducing the project to the students, create a set of note cards of a timeline dates and events. Some examples are listed in Appendix 6C of Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice by Adams, Bell, and Lee.
• Distribute the dates and description of events randomly to students
• Ask students to identify the earliest date and read the event aloud, placing it on one end of a long wall and continuing doing so until all of the cards have been read and placed.
• Once all of the cards have been posted, ask students to walk along the timeline and take note of patterns before reconvening as a large group to discuss the following questions:
• What patterns do you see recurring? What might be the reasons for these patterns? Consider the social, political, and economic circumstances that surrounded the times.
• What roles might race and racism play in the events listed?
• How has the definition of citizenship changed over the course of U.S. history? What effect does this have for different immigrant groups to this country?
• What would a nonracist immigration policy look like?

Advantages

• Helps students think about the culture of immigration in a potentially new and enlightening fashion
• Pushes students to open up the conversation of why certain trends have transcended through time and still appear today, even when they negatively affect a whole group of people
• Teaches an important topic on multiculturalism in an interactive and refreshing way

Adapted from:
Adams, M., Bell, L.A., & Griffin P. (2007) Teaching Diversity and Social Justice.