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Immigration and Immigrant Stories

Mapping to MN State Standards

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The resources on this page have been selected by eLibraryMN and Minnesota Digital Library librarians and curators to support the MN English Language Arts and the Social Studies standards, both current and pending, specifically related to Immigration topics that are relevant to younger students.  Resources in eLibraryMN and EbooksMN have unlimited simultaneous user access and are freely available to anyone geolocated in Minnesota. The primary source resources detailed are available to all, regardless of location.

Please reach out with questions or suggestions about linking to, using, or sharing these resources.  

Academic Research

Below is a collection of available topic overviews that link to many related articles and resources within ELM.

Brittanica for Kids: Elementary Immigration Topic 
Brittanica for Kids: Middle School Immigration Topic

When using this resource, remember that you can adjust reading levels as students need by clicking the 'Reading Level' numbers. This is a great way to differentiate the reading level while retaining the same themes for all students.


Ebsco Explora Kids Immigration Topic 
Ebsco Explora Middle Immigration Topic

Resources in Ebsco about Immigration Issues can be found under the Social Studies/Citizenship Topic.  Click Immigration to find resources specific to this idea.


Gale in Context Middle School: Immigration
Make sure to check out all types of resources available in Gale- biographies, magazines, video, audio primary sources, and more.

 

 

 


Scroll to the bottom of the page for a glimpse of the related topics:

Ebooks

This is a curated group of fiction and nonfiction ebooks related to Immigration, Grade Interest Level K-8. All titles are available to students geolocated in MN without login.  Linking directly to chapters is also possible.  To link directly to the titles and share in your LMS or libguides, copy the link to the title(s) you want from our persistent link spreadsheet (if you are not accessing through the MackinVia app).  Reach out to us with questions about linking. 


Seeking Refuge Series
This series of picture books features the stories of children who have had to emigrate from their home countries as refugees and adjust to life in a new home. 

Ellis Island
Traces the history of Ellis Island and examines how incoming immigrants were processed before being allowed to enter the United States.

Immigration
Describes immigration to the United States focusing on Ellis Island. Poses the question of why so many people move from their birthplace country to other countries and especially to the United States.

Immigration
Examines the history of immigration to America in the early twentieth century and the ordeals some immigrants had to go through just to get into the country and find work.

Angel Island immigration : a history perspectives book
Presents three viewpoints on immigration at Angel Island during the 1900s, from an immigrant boy, a Chinese immigrant wife, and a missionary.

The 1924 Immigration Act and its relevance today
Investigates the origins and history of the 1924 Immigration Act in the United States, arguing that it was an act based in the scientific racism of the time that sought to use scientific and legal terms to elevate white people of Northern Europe above other ethnicities.

Primary Sources


Resources below are recommended by MDL curators from partners in primary source history.

English class for new Americans

Y.M.C.A. English ClassPhotograph of students in a Y.M.C.A. English class for immigrants around 1900.

Workers at a hat factory

Workers at at hat factoryMany immigrants were employed in the clothing and textile manufacturing business, like some of these workers.

"My Arrival in the New Country"

My Arrival in the New CountryNick Borovac's account of his experience emigrating to the United States from Croatia.

 

Oreckovsky family picture

Oreckovsky family portraitSecond generation Russian Jewish immigrant family members.
 

Citizenship class at the Hmong Cultural Center

Citizenship class at Hmong Cultural CenterPhotograph of a teacher and students at a Hmong Cultural Center citizenship class.

Primary Source Set: Mining on the Iron Range

Zgonc familyLearn about the Iron Range, the immigrants who settled there and how iron mining has helped shape Minnesota.

Online Exhibit Series: Minnesota Immigrants

  1. People on the Move
  2. Immigrant Experiences
  3. Preserving Culture

Minnesota Immigrants exhibits

Interlibrary Loan/Resource Sharing

For in depth research into these topics, sometimes you need to request materials from other libraries. These can be digital or they can sometimes be printed books. There are two main options for requesting these materials. One, MNLINK, allows you to search all Minnesota libraries but it requires the use of a public library card and PIN. While many educators use their own library card to help students, it is recommended that students use their own. However, this is not always possible, so there is a second option: Minitex Resource sharing for schools. This allows one staff member per school to request items on behalf of students and have the items sent directly to the school building.  If you have questions about which option is better for you and your students, reach out to us and we can help.