American Centuries

Pocumtuck Valley
Memorial Association

American Centuries > Lessons > History Lessons By Teachers > Immigration in the Pioneer Valley: A Poem in Two Voices

Immigration in the Pioneer Valley: A Poem in Two Voices

Details

Author
Elyse Cann
Topic/Subject Area
Immigration; Eastern European
Historical Era
The New Nation, 1784–1815, National Expansion and Reform, 1816–1860, Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877, Rise of Industrial America, 1878–1899, Progressive Era, World War I, 1900–1928, Great Depression and World War II, 1929–1945, Counterculture, Civil Rights, and Cold War, 1946–1989, New Millennium, 1990–Present
Grade Level
High School (9–12)
Creation Date
2012
Last Revision Date
2024

Related items

About This Lesson

Summary and Objective

Students will understand that immigration has long been a controversial issue in the US, crossing time and ethnic boundaries. “‘Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ cries she With silent lips. ‘Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’”

Materials & Resources

Collection Items
Websites

Teaching Plan

  1. As a class, read the “The New Colossus” poem aloud, giving each student access to it on their devices or as a hard copy. Explain that it is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. It is a poem in two voices and students will learn how to make their own using the materials attached to this lesson.
The New Colossus
By Emma Lazarus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
  1. Discuss what the poem says about immigrants.
  2. Ask students to read about the Statue of Liberty here: Statue of Liberty. Discuss the timeframe of the installment of the statue and the poem.
  3. Provide access to the items listed above in “Materials & Resources.” The articles talk about Eastern and Southern European immigration from the period between the 2 World Wars, the early Irish Immigration, and the later migration of Puerto Ricans.
  4. Explain to students that a poem in two voices is a line-by-line or sentence-by-sentence comparison of two views of the same topic. Directions for writing one are in the second website listed above. Students will find contrasting views from the primary sources attached to this lesson and will create a second voice for “The New Colossus.” Explain that words may be added to make a coherent statement or line of poetry.
  5. As necessary, help student find words and phrases that contrast to the poem.
  6. Share poems by having students pair up and read alternate lines.