Lesson Plans

With Tenement Museum resources, students become historians. Using our teacher-designed, teacher-tested lesson plans, students engage in inquiry and learn to use critical thinking to interpret objects, oral histories, and primary sources, while making history relevant to today. Our classroom resources support multi-state History-Social Studies and English Language Arts curricula and can be used with or without a museum visit.

We currently offer three kinds of resources for teachers, including unit plans, lesson plans, and family stories. Whichever resource you select, you will find primary sources such as video stories, oral histories, documents, and photos in each. Educators can sort by grade level, unit plan, lesson plan, family stories, or primary source type below.

Be sure to check out our new comprehensive suite of virtual field trips and sign up for our monthly teacher’s newsletter for tips from other teachers, event and webinar information, new resources, and more!

Lesson Plans: Respond to an Oral History
All Grades

Listen Closely to an Oral History

Teach using an oral history from the child of Italian immigrants in the 1930s.

Lesson: View 1980's Garment Factory Footage
All Grades

View 1980s Garment Factory Footage

Teach about community action through a 1980’s video of a Chinatown garment factory.

Lesson Plans: Respond to an Oral History
All Grades

Respond to an Oral History

Students chart parts of their identity before listening to an oral history from the...

Lesson Plans: Inspect an 1870's Charity Ledger
All Grades

Inspect an 1870s Charity Ledger

Students learn about a German community that worked together through an 1870’s Charity...

Lesson: Analyze a Video Interview
All Grades

Analyze A Video Interview

Students consider what it means to be American through media seen by a 1950’s refugee...

Lesson Plans: Examine a 1910 Census
All Grades

Examine a 1910 Census

Teach students about labor movements with the 1910 census and a 16-year old...

Lesson Plans: Think Deeply About Family Interviews
All Grades

Think Deeply About Family Interviews

Teach students about how a Puerto Rican family made a difference with their oral histories.

LessonPlans_FamilyStory_Gumpertz
All Grades

The Gumpertz Family Story

Learn about the Gumpertzes, a German American family who lived in 97 Orchard Street in the...

LessonPlans_FamilyStory_Levine
All Grades

The Levine Family Story

Learn about the Levine family, a Jewish American family who lived in 97 Orchard Street...

LessonPlans_FamilyStory_Confino
All Grades

The Confino Family Story

Learn about the Confino family, Greek Jewish immigrants who lived in 97 Orchard Street...

LessonPlans_FamilyStory_IrishMoore
All Grades

The Moore Family Story

Learn about the Moores, an Irish American family who lived in 97 Orchard Street in the...

LessonPlans_FamilyStory_Rogarshevsky
All Grades

The Rogarshevsky Family Story

Learn about the Rogarshevsky’s, a Jewish American family who lived in 97 Orchard...

Tools for Educators

Visit our Teacher Resources page for more tools, programs and information that can enrich learning and understanding about immigration and migration.

Learn More

Educator Newsletter

Sign-up here to receive our monthly educator newsletter featuring teacher resources, classroom activities, information on upcoming workshops and school program opportunities, and more.

Sign-Up