Sometimes people call America "the land of immigrants" or the "melting pot." When they say these things, they are trying to illustrate how the United States is a mixture of many different people from many different places. Nearly all American families began in other countries. Where did your family orginally come from? Argentina? China? England? France? Mexico? Vietnam?...
The best way to learn more about the different people that make up your community is to follow these steps:
  • find out the places you, your parents, and your grandparents are originally from
  • locate these various places on a world map
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  • World Map
  • Ok--to get started, you will need to ask your parents or another family member to help you list the places you, your parents, and grandparents are originally from (this is usually where you were born).

  • Now you can mark these places on a world map next time you go to class.

  • Use pieces of yarn or string to connect your community and your family's places of origin to see all the distances people have traveled to come to your community.

  • Are you ready to learn about the places your friends and their families are from? Good! Then use this Interview Worksheet to discover cool stuff about the people that have come together to make your school community.
    • To do your best and learn all that you can from this lesson, you'll need to finish the Interview Worksheet and four classmate interviews. Be sure to participate (that means listen and talk) in any class discussions and the mapping activity, and you'll do great!
    Well, now you probably see why some people call America the "melting pot." If you did everything you were asked to do in this lesson, answering these few questions should be a snap.
    • Who were the first people in my family to come to the US? To my city? To my neighborhood?
    • Where did most of my classmates' families come from?