America is a nation of immigrants. Every person living in the United States is the descendant of someone who came to this land from another continent. For your term project, you will compare the experiences of three groups of immigrants.
1. From the list of topics below, select one from Column A, one from Column B, and one from Column C.
2. On or before MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2006 you MUST submit to Mr. Davidson:
A. Your TOPIC choices AND
B. A list of at least THREE of your SOURCES of information.
If you do not submit your topics and sources, you will lose ten [10] points.
*****YOU MAY NOT CHANGE YOUR TOPICS! Therefore, you MUST locate your sources of information BEFORE you submit your topics.
3. Sources of information:
A. You MUST use at least THREE [3] library sources plus an interview.
B. Your sources may include the following:
i. encyclopedias vi. biography of an immigrant
ii. almanacs vii. books (other than your textbooks)
iii. pamphlets viii. oral history - interview an immigrant
iv. magazine articles ix. television or radio programs
v. newspaper articles x. museums - Ellis Island Immigration Museum
Since many of you are either immigrants or the children or grandchildren of immigrants, you have an excellent source of information for this report--your families. You should interview a member of your family (or a friend's or neighbor's family) as one of your sources. The information from
this interview should be included in the main body of the report. Do NOT transcribe the interview in a separate section.
You may wish to visit the Ellis Island Immigration Museum or the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
4. There is a wide variety of material available on reserve in the school library. If you cannot locate enough information in the school library or in your local public library, you can find a wealth of information at the Mid-Manhattan Library. This library is located on the corner of Fifth Ave. and E. 40 St., diagonally across from the Main Building of the New York Public Library. (Take the #7 Flushing Line subway to Fifth Ave. and walk two blocks to E. 40 St.)
5. In addition, QVTHS students are now permitted to use the library at LaGuardia Community College. (Show your program card to get in.)
6. Your report should contain the following information:
A. Title page with the title of your report, your name, official class, H5$H class, and the date.
B. Brief introduction: What will this report be about? (1/2 page)
C. Why did your groups of immigrants come to the U.S.? Include both the factors that drove them out of their homelands and the factors that made them want to come to the U.S. (2 to 3 pages)
D. Describe the journey to America. When did they come to the U.S. in large numbers? How did they come to the U.S.? What were conditions like on the boat? How long did the journey take? (1 to 2 pages)
E. When they arrived in America, where did they settle? What problems did they face in the new land? Describe their life in America. (2 to 3 pages)
F. Conclusion: This is the most important part of your project. In this section, you should ANALYZE the information you obtained through your research and presented in your paper. How many immigrants came to the U.S. from those countries? How were your groups SIMILAR? What experiences do most immigrant groups have in common? How were your groups DIFFERENT? What experience did only ONE of your groups have? Why didn't the others have a similar experience? Which group had the EASIEST time adapting to life in the new land? Why? Which group had the most DIFFICULT time? (3 pages)
G. Works cited page: A list of the sources of information that you used AND FOOTNOTED [cited] in your report.
7. If you follow the guidelines above, your report should be approximately 9 to 12 pages, handwritten. Ideally, your report should be at least eight pages, but no more than fifteen pages long. (Of course, quality is much more important than quantity!)
8. Typewritten reports are preferred. Therefore, if you type your report and proofread it, you will receive a BONUS of TEN [10] extra points. Remember to type double-spaced. All reports should be written or typed on ONE side of a page only. Please leave a one inch margin on the left side of the page.
9. All direct quotes MUST be FOOTNOTED. Use direct quotes ONLY when appropriate. You must link your quotes to the rest of the report by using transitional words or phrases.
10. Most of your report should consist of paraphrases. When you paraphrase you do not use the author's exact words. You must be creative enough to translate the author's words into your own. Your teacher will recognize the sentence structure and vocabulary used by the writers who gave you information. Avoid the trap of using the author's language and sentence structure. Let's see your language skills, not someone else's. Be direct, purposeful, and clear in your presentation.
11. You MUST include a Works Cited page which includes at least three library sources plus your interview. All works cited must appear in your footnotes.
12. If you have any questions or need additional help, please speak to me in room 101.
13. This report is DUE on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2007. If you hand in the report on or before FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2006, you will receive a BONUS of FIVE [5] extra points.
*****ABSOLUTELY NO LATE REPORTS WILL BE ACCEPTED! If you are absent from school due to illness on January 3, then the report is due on your first day back in school. You must bring in a note to explain your absence.
14. For each of your groups, be sure to include:
A. when they came B. why they came
C. how they came D. how many came
E. where they went F. what happened to them in America
15. PLEASE RE-READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS.
List of topics
Column A: before 1880 Column B: 1880-1920 Column C: after 1965
1. English 12. Italians 18. Puerto Ricans (1945-1970s)
2. Scots 13. Jews (from Eastern Europe) (they are migrants,
3. Scots-Irish 14. Greeks not immigrants)
4. Irish 15. Austrians 19. Mexicans
5. Dutch 16. Poles 20. Cubans
6. Slaves from West Africa 17. Russians 21. Haitians
7. Germans 22. Dominicans
8. Danes 23. Jamaicans
9. Norwegians 24. Guyanese
10. Swedes 25. Central Americans
11. Chinese workers 26. Colombians
27. Ecuadorians
28. Peruvians
29. Indians (from India)
30. Pakistanis
31. Vietnamese
32. Filipinos
33. Koreans
34. Chinese
35. Soviet Jews
36. Arabs
Indicate the three groups you will compare on the Topic Form.
Hand it in on or before November 6, 2006.
You may NOT change your topics after you hand this form in.