Author:
Utah Lesson Plans
Subject:
Social Studies
Material Type:
Lesson
Level:
Upper Elementary
Tags:
  • Chinese Immigrants
  • Coolie
  • Immigrants
  • Immigration
  • Irish Immigrants
  • Lesson Plan
  • Railroad
  • Railroad Workers
  • UEN
  • Utah History
  • License:
    Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
    Language:
    English
    Media Formats:
    Text/HTML

    Education Standards

    Immigration in Utah

    Immigration in Utah

    Overview

    Students will understand why the Chinese and Irish immigrated to the U.S. and Utah and what they did when they got here.

    Summary

    Students will understand why the Chinese and Irish immigrated to the U.S. and Utah and what they did when they got here.

    Materials

    • Yin, 2001, Coolies, Puffin Books, ISBN 0-14-250055-0
    • Durbin, William, 1999, Journal of Sean Sullivan: A Transcontinental Railroad Worker: Nebraska and Points West, 1867. Scholastic, Inc., ISBN -- 13: 9780439049948
    • Fraser, Mary Ann, 1993, Ten Mile Day and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Henry Holt and Co., Inc., ISBN 0-8050-4703-4

     

    Background for Teachers

    A History Of Indentured Labor Gives 'Coolie' Its Sting 

    from NPR

    Intended Learning Outcomes

    Students will understand what brought the immigrants to the U.S.? Why they came to Utah and how they got here.

    Instructional Procedures

    Introduction Activity 
    Read Coolies. Discussion of book:

    • What is a Coolie? 
    • Why did they come to the U.S.? 
    • What did they do and the hardships they faced when they got here? 
    • What brought them to Utah?
    • Etc. 

    Read Passages from the Book- The Journal of Sean Sullivan. Discussion of information asking similar questions.

    As a class develop a Venn-diagram showing differences and similarities of the two groups.

    Given a map of the west plot what they think the course of the Central and Union Pacific R.R. was as they come together at Promontory. Then go over and plot the actual route of the tracks. Small group activity.

    Read the story -- Ten Mile Day 

    As a class make predictions as to what the R.R. workers did after the completion of the railroad. What did they do? Where did they go?