2.6 – Read the Text #4: Putting It All Together
Click the start button below to listen to a recording of Module 2 Reading Text [or listen as your teacher reads] OR take just a couple of minutes to scan the text again quickly. Think about any words or information you still have questions about. Then discuss the critical thinking questions as a class.
READING TEXT
Module 2: Immigration and Global Human Movement
When immigrants first came to the Americas, Native Americans had already been living there for thousands of years. People came to the Americas for different reasons. Europeans began traveling in ships across the Atlantic Ocean more than 500 years ago. They moved to the Americas for religious freedom and to earn money. In the 1800s and early 1900s, large groups of Europeans arrived in the United States to find work on farms and in growing cities.
Poor white immigrants wanted to come to the United States (U.S.) for freedom and opportunity. But Africans were forced to come to the Americas as enslaved people starting in 1619. They worked very hard without pay or freedom. Immigrants from China and many other countries helped to build railroads and cities in the U.S. Because of the hard work of people from all over the world, the U.S. became a rich and powerful country.
At any time, about 10% of the U.S. population are people born in other countries. Immigrant groups often live with discrimination and strong opposition. For example, in the 1800s and early 1900s, some people incorrectly thought that Chinese, Italian, or Irish immigrants were not smart or hard-working people and wanted to keep them away. However, these immigrants helped build the United States and today, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren continue to be productive in the U.S. The U.S. is home to a mix of many peoples, languages, and cultures. This country welcomes new immigrants because they bring new ideas and contribute to the country’s culture and economy.
It can be very painful to leave your home country and try to learn a new culture. Immigrants usually find other people to make a community in the U.S.; they can look for places to eat foods from home, practice their religion, speak their languages, or enjoy their culture. They might also build new communities at work, at school, or in their neighborhoods. With the help of these new communities, immigrants do something amazing: they learn about the culture and systems of their new home. They also find ways to combine this new culture and their culture of origin.
Immigration is at the center of U.S. history. Immigrants make the culture, economy, and future of the U.S. strong, successful, and hopeful.
Review Questions
Review the two questions below and be prepared to discuss the answers as a class or in small groups.
- What are some reasons why different groups immigrated to the Americas?
- Describe the kind of work immigrants did in the past to contribute to the economy and culture of the U.S.
Now, review the following question to learn more about SUMMARIZING:
ANSWER KEY
- If you chose “Immigration in the United States has played an important part in shaping the nation’s culture, economy, and society.” as the best summary, you are correct! Notice how this brief summary statement includes the reading’s main idea and also lists some general details from the text.
- These two are not good summaries because they are just details from the reading, and don’t represent the main idea. “Immigrant groups often live with discrimination and opposition from other groups.” “Many immigrants came from Italy.“
- This statement is not a good summary because it doesn’t represent what the reading is about. “I know many immigrants that have come to the U.S. from other countries.”
In future modules, you will be asked to briefly summarize the reading like you are explaining it to someone who hadn’t read it.
