Internet Resources

for

Migration

1.) National Geographic Lesson Plans

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/09/g912/migration.html

This website is part of the Xpeditions Resources from National Geographic.  It provides sample lesson plans that can be used for various topics including migration.  This site stresses geography and human interaction and provides activities and lesson plans for teachers who may be involved in teaching the subject matter.

I thought this resource was terrific.  First of all, it allowed you to select a grade level from K-2 all the way up to 9-12.  I have found it very difficult to customize some lesson plans for higher levels.  I may find a lesson that is great but it may be below my grade level.   I sometimes have problems adding things to make it more applicable for higher order thinking.  This website does this for you.  I also like the fact that it gives you a general overview so you can point out general themes like migration to your students.  I also like the fact that it gives you an estimated time for completion.  This helps greatly with short-term planning.  This site also gives you questions to ask as well as suggested student assessments and ways to extend the lesson.

2.) Jacob Lawrence: Storyteller

http://www.jacoblawrence.org/edu_lesson02b_body.html

This website describes a lesson plan developed by J. Paul Getty Trust regarding the Great Migration.  This website is very useful in teaching a unit on migration and specifically, the Great Migration.  Students learn by utilizing the 60 paintings from the Migration of the Negro series by Jacob Lawrence.  This lesson asks students to look at the paintings and asks them to write a few sentences describing what they see.  They can describe feelings, emotions and mood.  This is a powerful tool in demonstrating cultural awareness and getting students to think critically.  My main criticism of this resource is that it does not provide more secondary resources that may give background.  The lesson plans they describe would need to be incorporated with other materials to provide a full picture.  In my opinion, this could only be used as a discussion starter.

3.) The Great Migration: A Story in Paintings by Jacob Lawrence

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/history/odonnell/w1010/edit/migration/migration.html

I included another resource regarding Jacob Lawrence.  This resources has a series of slides that depict various aspects of migration among the African American population in the 20th century in the United States.  I thought this site would be helpful in beginning a unit on African American history.  It would be extremely useful in teaching students that learn visually and may be more artistic.  It could be used as a discussion starter or as a basis for a writing prompt for the beginning of a class period.  This site is not too overbearing with too much information.  All the slides have a simple description that briefly explains the subject.  This website should only be used as a resource and not as a sole instructional tool.