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 four 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.

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Upper Elementary: 4-5th Grade

Defining Immigration and Migration

Explore students’ prior knowledge of im/migration with a contemporary photograph.

Upper Elementary: 4-5th Grade

Explore Push and Pull Factors

Chart and discuss push and pull factors for im/migration.

Upper Elementary: 4-5th Grade

Developing a Timeline

Construct a timeline for the study of im/migration in your classroom.

Upper Elementary: 4-5th Grade

Introduction to Primary Sources

Define “primary sources” and analyze one contemporary and one historic source.

Upper Elementary: 4-5th Grade

Investigate a 1914 Report Card

Students learn about Victoria Confino through her 2nd grade report card from 1913.

Upper Elementary: 4-5th Grade

Examine a Factory Inspection Report

Explore how im/migrants get started through an actual factory inspection report from 1892.

Tools for Educators

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

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