4th Grade United States Studies

Unit 3: Human Geography in the United States

SS040303
Lesson 3

Lesson 3: Push and Pull Factors - Immigration to the United States

Big Ideas of the Lesson

Both geographers and historians have studied how and why people have immigrated to the
United States.
Push factors such as a lack of freedom, a shortage of jobs, war, famine, or high cost of living
caused people to leave their home countries.
Pull factors such as economic opportunities, freedom, family, or culture of the region
encouraged people to immigrate to the United States.
Not everybody freely chose to immigrate to the United States. Under the system of slavery,
Africans were forced to immigrate.

Lesson Abstract:
In this lesson students expand their understanding of push and pull factors by exploring
immigration to the United States. They begin by reading and analyzing an informational article
about immigration to Michigan. Next, they explore immigration data looking for patterns. Then, they
compare two books about immigration to the United States and identify the push and pull factors in
each story. In history-related activities students explore primary sources relating to immigration
including photographs, memoirs, and artifacts. Finally, students briefly explore the concept of
forced migration as they consider the issue of slavery.
Content Expectations
4 H3.0.2: Use primary and secondary sources to explain how migration and immigration
affected and continue to affect the growth of Michigan.
4 - G1.0.1:
4 - G4.0.1:

Identify questions geographers ask in examining the United States (e.g., Where it is?
What is it like there? How is it connected to other places?).
Use a case study or story about migration within or to the United States to identify
push and pull factors (why they left, why they came) that influenced the migration.

Integrated GLCEs
R.CM.04.03 Explain relationships among themes, ideas, and characters within and across texts to
create a deeper understanding by categorizing and classifying, comparing and
contrasting, or drawing parallels across time and culture. (English Language Arts)
Key Concepts
immigration
movement
push and pull factors

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4th Grade United States Studies

Unit 3: Human Geography in the United States

SS040303
Lesson 3

Instructional Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
Large World Map
Overhead projector or Document Camera/Projector
Stickers
Student journal or notebook
Student Resource
Freedman, Russell. Immigrant Kids. New York: Puffin Books, 1980.
Hamilton, Virginia. Many Thousand Gone: African Americans From Slavery to Freedom. New York:
Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2002.
Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today. Scholastic. 13 November 2008
<http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm>.
Polacco, Patricia. The Keeping Quilt. New York: Aladdin Books, 2001.
Say, Allen. Grandfather's Journey. New York: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorrain Books, 1993.
Yates, Elizabeth. Amos Fortune Free Man. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1950.
Teacher Resource
Americans in the Raw. Ohio State eHistory website. 13 November 2008
<http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/Immigration/AmericansinRaw.cfm>.
Bode, Janet. The Colors of Freedom: Immigrant Stories. New York: Grolier Publishing, 1999.
Egbo, Carol. Supplemental Materials (Unit 3, Lesson 3).Teacher-made material. Michigan
Citizenship Collaborative, 2008.
Ellis Island. 13 November 2008 <http://www.ellisisland.org>.
Immigration Data. U.S. Census Bureau. 13 November 2008
<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/immigration.html>.
Immigration Photographs. Library of Congress. American Memory Collection. 13 November 2008
<http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/>.
Lawlor, Veronica, ed. I Was Dreaming To Come to America: Memories from Ellis Island. New York:
Puffin Books, 1997.
Lessons to Accompany Grandfathers Journey by Allen Say. 13 November 2008
<http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000597.shtml>.

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4th Grade United States Studies

Unit 3: Human Geography in the United States

SS040303
Lesson 3

Photographs of Ellis Island. The Statute of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. 13 November
2008 <http://www.ellisisland.org/photoalbums/ellis_island_then.asp>.
Plan of a Slave Ship. Africans in America. PBS. 13 November 2008
<http://africanhistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?
zi=1/XJ&sdn=africanhistory&zu=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1h295b.html>.
Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. Library of Congress. 13 November 2008
<http://memory.loc.gov/pp/pphome.html>.
A timeline of Immigration History. The Statute of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. 13
November 2008 <http://www.ellisisland.org/immexp/wseix_4_3.asp>.
You, Whoever You Are. Immigration. Library of Congress. 13 November 2008
<http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/immig/introduction.html>.
Lesson Sequence
Note to Teacher: Prior to this lesson send home the letter included in the Supplemental Materials
(Home Letter), which asks families to share information regarding their own family history relating
to immigration by completing a chart.
1. Remind students that in the last lesson they explored reasons people migrated, or moved
within the United States. In this lesson they will explore immigration, the movement of people to
the United States from other countries. Have students share information from the Home
Letter chart filled in by their families. As students share, use a large world map to place
stickers identifying the different countries from which family members immigrated. Encourage
students to compare and contrast their information with that of others by looking for similarities
and differences regarding why people immigrated and from where they immigrated.
2. Ask students to think of some examples of the immigration of people to Michigan from what
they have learned in third grade about Michigan history. List student ideas on an overhead
transparency or on the board. Guide students in placing the examples in chronological order.
Possible examples include the following:
Early Native Americans moved into Michigan long ago.
French people, and later British people, moved to Michigan to take part in the fur
trade.
People from different countries in Europe immigrated to Michigan to work in lumber
camps and mines.
3. Give each student a copy of the Moving to Michigan informational article and the Moving to
Michigan chart located in the Supplemental Materials. Review the directions on the chart with
students and then give them time to complete the activity. Note that a completed chart with
possible answers has been included to use in assessing student charts.

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4th Grade United States Studies

Unit 3: Human Geography in the United States

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Lesson 3

4. Discuss some of the reasons for immigration to Michigan outlined in the informational article
used in Step 3. Possible reasons include the desire for a better job, the desire for religious
freedom, and escaping poor conditions. Remind students that historians and geographers talk
about push/pull factors when they study movement. This means that some things pull
immigrants to a new area. Some things push people out of places. Have students complete the
assessment on Push/and Pull Factors included in the Supplemental Materials. Explain that
many of these same factors influenced immigration to other parts of the United States.
5. Refer students back to the informational article on immigration to Michigan. Draw students
attention to the fact that there were shifts in immigration patterns. For example, the French and
British were the first Europeans to immigrate to Michigan. Next came the Irish and Germans.
Recent immigrants often came from Asia or Latin America. Explain that similar patterns are
seen when studying immigration to the U.S. in general.
6. Give each student a copy of the Immigration Data sheet located in the Supplemental
Materials. Explain that students should work with a partner to draw conclusions about
immigration based on the data. Give pairs time to work together and then have them share their
conclusions with the whole class. Possible conclusions include:
In the 1800s most of the immigrants were from Europe.
Between 1880 and 1900 there was a shift in European immigration. More and more
people began to immigrate from countries in Southern and Eastern Europe.
Not many people from Asia immigrated to the U.S. in the 1800s.
Between 1920 and 1939 most immigrants came from countries in Europe or from
Mexico or Canada.
In recent times, the majority of immigrants have come from countries in Asia and the
Americas.
7. Explain that many authors have written stories of immigrants and their journeys. Explain that
you will be reading two different books about immigrants. Students should listen carefully to
each book and be ready to identify push and pull factors affecting the immigration of the main
characters. Read students The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco and Grandfathers Journey by
Allen Say. The first book is the story of a Russian immigrant mother and her family and the
second is about an immigrant from Japan. Use the following questions to discuss the two
books:
What push factors were evident in the two books?
What pull factors were evident?
How were the two immigrant stories alike?
How were they different?
What are some conclusions we can draw about immigration from the two stories?
8. Show students a photograph of Ellis Island which can be obtained from one of the following
website: http://www.ellisisland.org or http://memory.loc.gov/pp/pphome.html. As an alternative,
have students take the interactive tour of Ellis island at this website:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm. Explain that many European
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Unit 3: Human Geography in the United States

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Lesson 3

immigrants entered the U.S. through Ellis Island between the years 1892 and 1924. Explain
that photographs of these immigrants can be a useful tool for learning more about immigration.
Place students in pairs and give each pair a copy of the Analyzing Photographs Sheet located
in the Supplemental Materials. Tell the students to carefully look at the photographs and write
some possible conclusions about immigration in the early 1900s based on what they see. Give
students time to work in pairs and then have pairs share their ideas with the whole group.
Possible conclusions include:
People sometimes came with families and sometimes came alone.
People brought very little with them.
People wore numbers to identify them.
People brought things like instruments with them.
9. Explain that, as shown in the photographs, most immigrants could bring few things with them.
Give each student a copy of the What Would You Pack? Activity Sheet located in the
Supplemental Materials. Review the directions on the sheet. Give students a rough idea of the
size of a trunk, so they will know how much space they are dealing with when they choose their
items to pack. If you have access to an old trunk it would be an excellent idea to bring it in for
this activity. Give students time to complete the activity. Place students in pairs and have them
share their lists from the What Would You Pack? Activity Sheet. Encourage them to look for
similarities and differences in the items they chose.
10. Make an overhead transparency of What Did People Bring With Them? located in the
Supplemental Materials. Explain that an inspector that worked at Ellis Island wrote the
descriptions on the transparency. Read the descriptions of what two immigrants brought with
them out loud to students and define difficult terms. Compare and contrast the items each
immigrant brought.
11. Explain that another way to explore the kinds of things immigrants brought with them is to
analyze artifacts themselves. Place students in small groups and give each group the four
Artifact Cards and the Analysis Chart located in the Supplemental Materials. Explain that
groups should work together to try and identify each object and come up with a reason as to
why an immigrant would take the object with them to the United States. Give groups time to
work and then have them discuss what they have written on their charts. Note that the artifacts
and their countries of origin are listed below:
Object 1: an accordion from Italy
Object 2: a birth certificate from Poland
Object 3: a candlestick from Austria-Hungary
Object 4: A cloth apron from Ukraine.
12. If time permits, read a few of the short memoirs included in the book I Was Dreaming to Come
to America, a book created by the Ellis Island Oral History Project.
13. Explain that immigrants coming from Asia often entered the U.S. through an immigration center
called Angel Island in San Francisco. Have students read the story of Li Keng Wong who
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4th Grade United States Studies

Unit 3: Human Geography in the United States

SS040303
Lesson 3

immigrated to the United States from China. The story can be found at this website:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm. If time is short, have students just
read the sections entitled Arriving at Angel Island and Detained at Angel Island. Following
the reading, have students compare LI Keng Wongs experiences at Angel Island with what
students have learned so far about experiences at Ellis Island.
14. As an optional activity have students read about the experiences of recent immigrants to the
United States. Students can learn about three young immigrants from Kenya, India, and
Vietnam at this website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm>. You
could also have them read some of the short stories from the book The Colors of Freedom:
Immigrant Stories. This activity could be enhanced by sharing sections of the book Immigrant
Kids by Russell Freeman. This book includes information and photographs relating to young
immigrants in the early 1900s. Students could compare and contrast the experiences of these
immigrants with those of recent young immigrants.
15. As a final activity, show students the Image #1 and Image #2 located in the Supplemental
Materials. Ask students to describe what is shown in each image. Note that Image #1 shows
European immigrants aboard a ship sailing to the United States. Image #2 shows the way in
which enslaved Africans were taken to the United States. Ask students how the immigration of
these two groups differs. Guide students to the idea that Africans were forced to immigrate to
the United States. Share and discuss the following information regarding slavery:
It is estimated that as many as 15 million people were transported as slaves, with
unknown numbers dying while on the journey across the Atlantic.
They were taken from Africa by force, transported to the Americas, and enslaved
there.
Most of the enslaved people ended up in South America or the Caribbean, while
nearly 500,000 were transported to North America.
By the time of the Civil War, there were approximately 4 million enslaved African
Americans living in the southern region of the United States.
In fifth grade and eighth grade you will learn about the institution of slavery in depth.
16. Refer students back to Lesson 2 and what they learned about the Underground Railroad and
slavery in that lesson. If time permits, read aloud the first two chapters of Amos Fortune Free
Man by Elizabeth Yates or a similar book. These chapters describe the main characters
abduction as a teenager in Africa and the terrible journey across the Atlantic. As an alternative,
read the selection A Prince (pages 13-19) from the book Many Thousand Gone by Virginia
Hamilton.
Assessment
The Assessment activity from Step 5 can be used. In addition, students could write a paragraph
summarizing what they have learned about immigration including examples of push and pull
factors, specific groups of immigrants, etc. Alternatively, have students draw an illustration
depicting immigration to the United States. The drawing should identify at least one push factor
and one pull factor.

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