The lesson looks to teach the children that immigration was mainly a positive thing, as it focuses on solely positive aspects rather than focus on the negative connotations of immigration. It emphasises the fact that America was this land of hope and glory, stating right at the start of the lesson plan- "Even though the trip was very difficult people still considered America the land of opportunity"- this purposely focuses on the chance that all people were accepted and became part of America's melting pot, rather than the reality that many people were actually refused by American society before they even became citizens.
The lesson is well planned out and splits each group into different family members such as grandparents, mothers, fathers and children. This is clever because it helps the children realise that immigration is something that they can often easily relate back to, and that somewhere in their history, their ancestors would have been immigrants. A very powerful quote is used at the beginning of the lesson which supports this, "Remember, remember always, that all of us... are descended from immigrants and revolutionists"- Franklin D. Roosevelt. This quote shows the children how they all descend from immigrants, and the fact that 'revolutionists' is included shows how the immigrants revolutionised american society- this is also supported by some of the texts that are listed later on in the lesson that give examples of how different nations have made America what it is today.
In summary, the lesson focuses on the positive aspects of immigration rather than the reality; which in many cases is quite the contrary; however, this is expected because the lesson is for young children who might be quite shocked by many of the truths of immigration, such as the terrible living conditions many new migrants inhabited to begin with.
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