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Unit Packs / Expansion, Native Nations & Immigration

Unit pack · 10 class days

Expansion, Native Nations & Immigration

Students follow federal Indian policy from removal to the Indian Citizenship Act and compare it with the experiences and laws that met immigrants in the late 1800s.

Unit question: How did U.S. expansion and growth change life for Native nations and newcomers?

Suggested grades: 8, 11

Day-by-day calendar

  1. Day 1

    Launch the unit

    TimelineWalk the era timeline; students note three turning points.

    MapLocate the places in this unit on the source map.

    QuestionPost the unit question: How did U.S. expansion and growth change life for Native nations and newcomers? Students write a first-guess answer to revisit on Day 10.

  2. Day 2

    Investigate: How did U.S. policy toward Native nations change from 1830 to 1934?

    Source setWork through the suggested sequence of 8 sources with the graphic organizers.

    Leveled readingsUse grade 4, 7, or 10 versions of key passages next to the original wording for readers who need support.

  3. Day 3

    Lesson: Change-Over-Time Card Sort

    Teach itRun the lesson kit (copy the Slides and Lesson Plan from the set page).

    Quick checkClose with the 5-question Quick check (copy the student Doc; answer key included).

  4. Day 4

    Investigate: Was America a land of opportunity for immigrants?

    Source setWork through the suggested sequence of 7 sources with the graphic organizers.

    Leveled readingsUse grade 4, 7, or 10 versions of key passages next to the original wording for readers who need support.

  5. Day 5

    Lesson: Hot Seat: Voices of Immigration

    Teach itRun the lesson kit (copy the Slides and Lesson Plan from the set page).

    Quick checkClose with the 5-question Quick check (copy the student Doc; answer key included).

  6. Day 6

    Gallery Walk

    Gallery WalkPost the Immigration cartoon stations; students label parts A, B, C and write what they see.

  7. Day 7

    Corroborate across sets

    OrganizersPairs choose one source from each set and complete the Sourcing, Contextualization, Corroboration organizer: where do the sources agree, and where do they differ?

  8. Day 8

    Discussion: the unit question

    SeminarHold a structured discussion of the unit question. Each student must cite one source by title and respond to a classmate who sees it differently.

  9. Day 9

    DBQ workshop

    DBQ builderBuild a DBQ packet from “How did U.S. policy toward Native nations change from 1830 to 1934?”: pick 5 to 7 sources and print.

    DBQ builderBuild a DBQ packet from “Was America a land of opportunity for immigrants?”: pick 5 to 7 sources and print.

    WorkshopStudents annotate the documents and outline an answer.

  10. Day 10

    Final writing task

    Writing taskWrite an explanatory essay: How did federal law treat Native nations and immigrants between 1830 and 1924, and how did people affected by those laws respond? Use at least four sources and quote people from more than one side.

Get them moving

Movement activities for this unit. All activities

Hot Seat
15-20 min · 6-8 · 9-12

One student sits in the hot seat as a figure and answers the class.

See stepsPrint-ready materials
Wanted Poster
25 min · K-5 · 6-8

Make an old-style 'Wanted for questioning' poster about the person or group behind a source.

See stepsPrint-ready materials