Immigration and Migration: Today and During the Great Depression

Mexican migrants

Overview

Students analyze historical primary sources, including oral histories, photographs and films and collection, to develop an understanding of the lives of immigrants during the Great Depression. Then students gather migration stories of a family member, friend, neighbor or community member, comparing the stories they collected to those of the past and considering the value that stories of everyday people play in creating a patchwork collection of the American memory.

Related Resources

Grade

High School, Middle School

Subjects

Civics, Social Studies

Length

240 minutes

Topics

Federal Writers' Project, Great Depression, immigration, interviews, life histories, migration, oral histories, WPA

Author

Teaching with the Library of Congress

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