LESSON PLAN ON IMMIGRATION WITH VISITING LAWYERS #2
FAMOUS IMMIGRANTS & THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS
Target grades: 5th Graders participating in 2015 Creative Writing Contest
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What makes an American? What contributions have immigrants
made to US culture? What contributions have immigrants made in your community?
LEARNING GOAL: Students will be able to clearly articulate how the United States is a
country made up of many immigrants who help us to be a diverse and rich country;
students will identify diverse contributions of immigrants in order to understand how
immigrants enrich our society.
MATERIALS: Immigrant Contributions Powerpoint, pen and paper for students
Warm-Up: Introduce yourself and ask students to introduce themselves and where their
family immigrated from.
ACTIVITY: Famous Immigrants
ATTORNEY LEADS: Use the corresponding Immigrant Contributions Powerpoint for this
activity.
1. Slides 1-8: Find out how much students know about famous immigrants. Allow
time for students to raise hand their hands and share which famous person is an
immigrant.
2. Slide 9-10: Ask students to take out a pen and paper and jot down answers to the
questions:
 What famous immigrants can you add?
 Who do you personally know that is an immigrant?
Once students have finished jotting down some thoughts, ask them to share.
3. Slide 11: Present the following questions to students:
 Why do you think it’s important to think about the contributions immigrants
make to America?
Allow time for brief discussion.
(ASK A TEACHER TO LEAD THIS SECTION IF YOU FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE)
4. Slide 12: Ask students to engage in a short writing activity with. For 7 minutes, they
are going to write non-stop answering the following prompt:
Imagine you are welcoming an immigrant student for the first time to
America. What would you tell them about America? What are you proud of as an
American? What might you caution them about?
Encourage students to be as creative as possible. There are no wrong ideas here!
Allow time for sharing-out and discussion.
ATTORNEY LEADS:
5. Slides 13-14: Promote the contest and disseminate flyers.
Remember to direct students to the webpage and your state contest’s home site.
Wrap-Up: Ask for questions from students.
Classroom Extension Activities:
1. Illustrious Immigrants Lesson (American Immigration Council Community
Education Center) Have students embark on their own independent research
projects on an illustrious immigrant whose made a significant contribution to our
society and develop a virtual museum to share with other students and the school
community.
2. Contributions of Immigrants Lesson, “The New Americans” (Public Broadcasting
Service) Students research a notable immigrant of their choosing and write a
dramatic monologue in the voice of the individual they’ve learned about.
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.