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Stories of Immigration
In this unit, students explore immigration by reading a series of narrative nonfiction and fiction texts that highlight the experiences of early and recent immigrants.
ELA
Unit 4
2nd Grade
Unit Summary
In this unit, students explore immigration by reading a combination of informational nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, and fiction texts that highlight the experiences of early and recent immigrants. In the first part of the unit, students are encouraged to notice and think about the different reasons people choose to leave their homes and settle in a new community or country. They will also learn about—historically and in the present day—who is allowed to come to the United States and wrestle with whether or not the system is fair.
In the second part of the unit, students will be encouraged to think about the different memories, cultural traits, goods, ideas, languages, and skills that individuals and families bring with them when they move to a new place and how these characteristics enrich the community. While students are exposed to a wide variety of immigrant experiences over the course of the unit, not every experience or feeling about immigration is captured in this unit. Because students might be first- or second-generation immigrants, it is crucial to be sensitive to and respect the varying experiences and feelings of students and families. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with others, will help students build sensitivity and empathy for varying cultures and experiences within the United States.
Students focus on noticing the connection between events. While the language of the standards does not explicitly state the type of connections students are exploring, students notice the cause-and-effect and chronological connections between events and how the connections influence events in a person's or family's life. Students also begin to explore the author's purpose, exploring why an author may write a particular text, how that influences the type of details they include in the text, and why. When discussing the text with partners, small groups, or the whole class, students will continue to work on engaging with the thinking of others. Students will continue to focus on building on others' talk in conversations, with an emphasis on asking for clarification and further explanation if needed.
Students will continue to work on building writing fluency by writing daily in response to the Target Task question using simple and complex sentences. Throughout the unit, students will also participate in both informational and opinion writing: Students will research culture in their community and, through a variety of opinion writing projects, learn to state an opinion, include reasons to support the opinion, use linking words to connect the opinion and reasons, and write a strong concluding statement.
Please Note: In July 2025, this unit and its lesson plans received a round of enhancements. This unit is now 35 instructional days (previously 39 days). Teachers should pay close attention as they intellectually prepare to account for the updated pacing, sequencing, and content.
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Texts and Materials
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Core Materials
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Book: Coming to America: The Story of Immigration by Betsy Maestro (Scholastic Press, 1996) — 780L
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Book: Ellis Island (National Geographic Readers) by Elizabeth Carney (National Geographic Kids, 2016) — 800L
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Book: Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story by Lesléa Newman and Amy June Bates (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2019) — 700L
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Book: Landed by Milly Lee (Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux, 2006) — 790L
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Book: Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams (Lee & Low Books, 2005) — 610L
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Book: Islandborn by Junot DÃaz (Dial Books, 2018)
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Book: My Diary from Here to There by Amada Irma Pérez (Children's Book Press, 2009) — 780L
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Book: La Frontera: El Viaje Con Papa/My Journey with Papa by Deborah Mills, Alfredo Alva, and Claudia Navarro (Barefoot Books, 2018) — 730L
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Book: The Storyteller's Candle by Lucia Gonzalez (Lee & Low Books Inc., 2012) — 730L
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Book: Xochitl and the Flowers by Jorge Argueta (Children's Book Press, 2008)
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Book: The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story by Aya Khalil (Tillbury House, 2020) — 710L
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Assessment Text: “Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist” by Julie Leung and illustrated by Chris Sasaki (‎ Schwartz & Wade) — AD890LL
Supporting Materials
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Video: “Angel Island Immigration Station Tour - AIISF” by JJMediaLabs (YouTube)
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Video: “Discovering Angel Island: The Story Behind the Poems” by KQED (YouTube)
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Rubric: Opinion Writing Rubric (G2)
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Rubric: Editing Checklist 1 (G2, U4)
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Rubric: Editing Checklist 2 (G2, U4)
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Resource: Single Paragraph Outline
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Resource: Ellis Island Image Set (G2, U4, L4)
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Resource: Angel Island Image (G2, U4, L9)
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Resource: Sentence Expansion Guide (G2, U4, L14)
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Resource: Kernel Sentence Cards (G2, U4, L14)
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Resource: Shuffled Sentences Handout (G2, U4, L28)
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Resource: Revision Texts (G2, U4, L29)
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Resource: Revision Strategy Menu (G2, U4, L29)
- Resource: Book List for Further Reading
Assessment
The following assessments accompany Unit 4.
Content Assessment
The Content Assessment pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions in writing. The Content Assessment should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.
Cold Read Assessment
The Cold Read Assessment tests students' ability to comprehend a "cold" or unfamiliar passage and answer standards-based questions. The Cold Read Assessment can be given in addition to the Content Assessment as a pulse point for what students can read and analyze independently, a skill often required for standardized testing.
Fluency Assessment
The Fluency Assessment allows teachers to monitor students' oral reading fluency progress with a reading passage drawn from one of the unit's core texts. Find guidance for using this assessment and supporting reading fluency in Teacher Tools.
Unit Prep
Intellectual Prep
Essential Questions
- Why do people immigrate to the United States?
- What challenges do people face when they are immigrating to the United States?
- How are our communities enriched by the contributions of immigrants?
Reading Focus Areas
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To understand the big idea in an informational text, readers need to think about how key details are connected.
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Authors always have a purpose for writing a book. They use the details in the book to convey their purpose.
Writing Focus Areas
Informational Writing
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Participate in shared research and writing projects.
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Brainstorm and outline using a Single Paragraph Outline.
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Introduce the topic to a reader.
Opinion Writing
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State an opinion.
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Include two to three reasons to support the opinion.
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Choose strong evidence to support an opinion.
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Use linking words to connect opinion and reasons.
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Write a strong concluding statement.
Speaking and Listening Focus Areas
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Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.
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Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.
Vocabulary
Text-based
admitamnestyappealauthoritiesbitterbordercitizendescendantdeporteddeniedexamineflourishforsakenhastilyhardshiphumiliationimmigrantinterrogationinterpreterlimitofficialopportunitiesreuniterefugeeregulatesettlespeechlessstealthyunite
Root/Affix
-ful-lessde-in-re-
To see all the vocabulary for Unit 4, view our 2nd Grade Vocabulary Glossary.
Supporting All Students
In order to ensure that all students are able to access the texts and tasks in this unit, it is incredibly important to intellectually prepare to teach the unit prior to launching the unit. Use the intellectual preparation protocol and the Unit Launch to determine which support students will need. To learn more, visit the Supporting all Students teacher tool.
Content Knowledge and Connections
- People immigrate to a new country for many reasons: Some are looking for a better life (push); others are fleeing poverty, violence, or persecution in their home country (pull). Others live in a place that is not safe and need to leave to live in a safer place. Enslaved people did not get to choose—they were forced to move without their consent.
- Refugees are people who leave their country because it is unsafe.
- People migrate, or move, in order to solve a problem, such as moving closer to relatives and friends, to be safe, to find a less expensive, healthier, or better life, to find work or education, or to be free to practice religion.
- It is not easy to come to a new country. Sometimes, the new country only lets certain people come in. Other times, the journey itself is dangerous. Even though it is difficult, people come because they are desperate to move to the United States.
- Immigrants make their communities even richer. They bring memories, cultural traits, goods, ideas, and languages or ways of speaking when they move to a different place, which makes the community more beautiful.
- A person's immigration journey is a major transition that involves a long process of moving to another country and establishing a new life. Not everyone wants to immigrate, but they need to for a better life for themselves and their family.
- People experience an enormous transition and adjustment in moving to another country. Experiences vary based on how different their new home is, why they left their old home, and if they have support in the new community.
Previous Fishtank ELA Connections
Future Fishtank ELA Connections
Lesson Map
Research a culture that is represented in your class or community. Create a presentation to teach others about the contributions of that culture.
- Informational Writing Rubric (G2)
- Single Point Informational Writing Rubric (G2, U4, L28)
- Editing Checklist 2 (G2, U4)
- Culture Research Project Notetaker (G2, U4, L28)
- Culture Research Project Notetaker Example (G2, U4, L28)
- Single Paragraph Outline
- Single Paragraph Outline Example (G2, U4, L28)
- Shuffled Sentences Handout (G2, U4, L28)
- Presentation Slide — Digital (G2, U4, L28)
- Presentation Slide — Printable (G2, U4, L28)
- Culture Presentation Example (G2, U4, L28)
Brainstorm a shared research question and begin researching the contributions of an immigrant culture on the community.
- Culture Research Project Notetaker (G2, U4, L28)
- Culture Research Project Notetaker Example (G2, U4, L28)
Standards
W.2.2W.2.7W.2.8
Draft an informational paragraph about the contributions of a culture that introduces a topic, includes related details, and provides a concluding statement.
- Single Point Informational Writing Rubric (G2, U4, L28)
- Single Paragraph Outline
- Single Paragraph Outline Example (G2, U4, L28)
Standards
W.2.2W.2.7
Revise and edit an informational paragraph to prepare for a presentation.
- Editing Checklist 2 (G2, U4)
- Shuffled Sentences Handout (G2, U4, L28)
Standards
W.2.2W.2.5W.2.7
Finalize a presentation about the contributions of a culture in your classroom or community.
- Single Point Informational Writing Rubric (G2, U4, L28)
- Presentation Slide — Digital (G2, U4, L28)
- Presentation Slide — Printable (G2, U4, L28)
- Culture Presentation Example (G2, U4, L28)
Standards
W.2.2W.2.7
Write an opinion essay celebrating the ways immigrants enrich a community, supporting ideas with reasons and evidence.
- Opinion Writing Rubric (G2)
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric (G2, U4, L29)
- Editing Checklist 2 (G2, U4)
- Single Paragraph Outline
- Single Paragraph Outline Example (G2, U4, L29)
- Notice and Wonder Peer Feedback Form (G2, U4, L29)
- Friendly Letter Mentor Text (G2, U4, L29)
- Revision Texts (G2, U4, L29)
- Revision Strategy Menu (G2, U4, L29)
Brainstorm reasons and evidence to support an opinion about how immigrants enrich a community.
- Single Paragraph Outline
- Single Paragraph Outline Example (G2, U4, L29)
Standards
W.2.1W.2.7
Draft an opinion paragraph that includes a clear opinion, supporting reasons, and a concluding statement.
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric (G2, U4, L29)
- Single Paragraph Outline
- Notice and Wonder Peer Feedback Form (G2, U4, L29)
- Friendly Letter Mentor Text (G2, U4, L29)
Standards
L.2.2.bW.2.1W.2.5
Revise and edit a friendly letter that includes an opinion paragraph.
- Single Point Opinion Writing Rubric (G2, U4, L29)
- Editing Checklist 2 (G2, U4)
- Revision Texts (G2, U4, L29)
- Revision Strategy Menu (G2, U4, L29)
Standards
W.2.1W.2.5
Common Core Standards
Core Standards
Supporting Standards
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