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American Society: Gilded Age
Immigration, Social Patterns, and African American Life 18780-1914
Planning this mini-unit
Immigration and Society is the second mini-unit of Unit 6: The Gilded Age. This mini-unit is taught after “Industrialization and Urbanization” (first mini-unit in Unit 6: The Gilded Age) and before “Populists and Progressives” (last mini-unit of Unit 6: the Gilded Age). Click 
HERE to get a copy of my pacing guide.
Pacing
Teachers should plan three to five days to teach this unit on a traditional schedule with one-hour class periods. However, for those on a block schedule with 1 1/2 hour classes, teachers should plan for 2-3 days. An effective way to structure this unit includes:
Openers
- Ellis Island
- Chinese Exclusion Act
- Political Machines and Graft
- Booker T. Washington
- Jim Crow Laws
This FREE resource includes 5 openers to use in order to supplement this unit. Begin each class with an opener question. Opener questions can be found on this webpage as an image (see “opener questions” at the bottom of this webpage) or free on TpT (see link). Give students 3-5 minutes to complete the opener question and allow 5-10 minutes for class discussion. Instead of openers, teachers may use this as an end of class check for understanding.
see link). Give students 3-5 minutes to complete the opener question and allow 5-10 minutes for class discussion. Instead of openers, teachers may use this as an end of class check for understanding. 
Lessons
After the opener, begin the Google Slides lesson. Students can take notes on paper using the note-taking guide provided with the Google Slides lesson, or they may take notes digitally with the electronic version (also included with the Google Slides).
- TEACHER TIP: I post a PDF version of the Google Slides to Google Classroom so that students can review their notes if they are absent. To do this, click “File, Download, PDF” on the Google Slide.
- TEACHER TIP: Some teachers post Google Slides in their Google Classroom and digital note-taking guides for students to complete as homework.
- TEACHER TIP: When pressed for time, I will edit the note-taking guides to include answers for some boxes or delete boxes and slides entirely. Teachers should feel free to modify the lesson to meet their students’ needs and individual learning targets.
- After teaching a concept, take a break from the lecture and show a quick review video to reinforce the concepts. Suggested videos to enhance the lesson are on this webpage.
- Mix up your unit by having the students complete the PROP (Point, Reason to lie or distort, Other sources, Public/private) analysis. For a free resource that reviews PROP, click HERE.
- TIP TEACHER: Group students together to complete this activity. This strategy sparks conversation and encourages critical analysis. Discussed as a class.
- Review additional suggested activities found on this webpage:
- FREE: Civil Rights and Economic Freedom from the Bill of Rights Institute
- FREE: The History of Immigration Law in the United States from the Bill of Rights Institute
- FREE: The History of Immigration in the United States from the Bill of Rights Institute
- FREE: Taking Responsibility: Ida B. Wells and the Anti-Lynching Campaign from the Bill of Rights Institute
- FREE: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) from the Bill of Rights Institute
- FREE: The Lost Promise of Reconstruction and Rise of Jim Crow, 1860-1896 from the Bill of Rights Institute
- FREE: Debating Strategies for Change: Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois from the Bill of Rights Institute
- FREE: Settlement House Movement from Stanford History Education Group
- FREE: Japanese Segregation in San Francisco from Stanford History Education Group
- FREE: The Liberator and the Black Press from the Stanford History Education Group
- FREE: Political Bosses from Stanford History Education Group
- FREE: Jacob Riis from Stanford History Education Group
- FREE: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois from Stanford History Education Group
- FREE: Chinese Immigration and Exclusion from Stanford History Education Group
- FREE: Thomas Nast’s Political Cartoons from Stanford History Education Group
- FREE: Irish in 19th Century America from Stanford History Education Group
5. Print the Prove It activity included in the Google Slides lesson at the end of the unit. Students read statements and determine if they are true or false. If the statement is false, they correct it. This lesson encourages students to review their note-taking guides.
key terms to know
People to Know
- Jacob Riis
- How the Other Half Lives
- Jane Addams
- Hull House
- Settlement House
- Thomas Nast
- William “Boss” Tweed
- Ida B. Wells
- Booker T. Washington
- W.E.B. Du Bois
Key Terms
- Ellis Island
- Angel Island
- Old Immigrants
- New Immigrants
- Nativism
- Chinese Exclusion Act
- Tenements
- Political Machine
- Muckraker
- Lynching
- NAACP
- The Niagara Movement
- Jim Crow Laws
- Black Codes
- Sharecropping
- Poll Taxes, Literacy Tests, Grandfather Clauses
Essential Questions
1. Examine the various push and pull factors affecting immigration in Gilded Age America.
2. Compare and contrast Ellis Island and Angel Island.
3. What is nativism? Outline the social, economic and political concerns of nativists.
4. What is the Chinese Exclusion Act?
5. Examine the living conditions many immigrants experienced during the Gilded Age. What strategies did reformers use to improve those living conditions? Evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies.
6. What are political machines? What is the connection to increased immigration and the growth of political machines?
7. What is a muckraker?
8. Examine social, economic, and political living conditions for many African Americans living in the South during the Gilded Age.
9. Compare and contrast the various strategies of Ida B. Wells, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. du Bois.
33 Slides (editable) with graphic organizer note-taking guide and summative assessment worksheet. This Google Slides reviews immigration and social issues during the Gilded Age.
This Google Slides:
- Editable
- Has checks for understanding/thinking questions throughout the Google Slides
- Interesting and varied graphic design
- A variety of different sources to catch your students’ attention and engage them with the content: maps, charts, primary sources, quotes, newspapers, etc.
- Major Concepts Reviewed:
- Immigration Patterns
- Immigration Push and Pull Factors
- Ellis Island
- Angel Island
- “Old” and “New Immigrants”
- Nativism
- Chinese Exclusion Act
- Tenements
- Jacob Riis
- Jane Addams
- Political Machines
- William “Boss” Tweed
- Thomas Nast
- African Americans in the South
- Lynching
- NAACP
- Ida B. Wells
- Booker T. Washington
- W.E.B. Du Bois
- The Niagara Movement
- The Atlanta Compromise
**ATTENTION: This lesson includes information on lynching and discrimination against African Americans during the Gilded Age. Some information may be considered sensitive to specific audiences. Please preview this lesson and it as necessary for your audience.
Note-Taking Guide with a Teacher’s Key:
- Works with Google Classroom (students can type in a document, or handwrite)
- Includes ideas on how to use this in your lesson
- Great for IEP, 504, EL students or students who need modifications
- Helps students be accountable for information during lecture
- Comes with print and digital notetaking guides.
Post-Notes Analysis Worksheet with a Teacher’s Key:
- Works with Google Classroom (students can type in a document or handwrite)
- Includes ideas on how to use this in your lesson
- Has a True/False checking for understanding
- Includes a document that connects to information from the slides.
- Comes with print and digital post-notes analysis guides.
- Students are asked to ” Prove It,” “Analyze It” “Personalize It” and “Explore Limitations.”
Helpful Videos for Your Students
Unit Activities
Click on the images below to access these suggested resources
Civil Rights and Economic Freedom
Bill of Rights Institute
Debating Strategies for Change: Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois
Bill of Rights Institute
Taking Responsibility: Ida B. Wells and the Anti-Lynching Campaign
Bill of Rights Institute
The History of Immigration in the United States
Bill of Rights Institute
The History of Immigration Law in the United States
Bill of Rights Institute
The Lost Promise of Reconstruction and the Rise of Jim Crow, 1860-1896
Bill of Rights Institute
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Bill of Rights Institute
Political Bosses
SHEG: Stanford History Education Group
The Liberator and the Black Press
SHEG: Stanford History Education Group
Settlement House Movement
SHEG: Stanford History Education Group
Japanese Segregation in
San Francisco
SHEG: Stanford History Education Group
Jacob Riis
SHEG: Stanford History Education Group
Irish in 19th-Century America
SHEG: Stanford History Education Group
Chinese Immigration and Exclusion
SHEG: Stanford History Education Group
Booker T. Washington and
W.E.B. Du Bois
SHEG: Stanford History Education Group
Irish in 19th-Century America
SHEG: Stanford History Education Group
quick links
hey there
Thank you for stopping by Teacher Bistro. I created this place as a resource for educators who wanted a easy way to find resources. In my first ten years of teaching I can’t tell you how many hours I spent gathering lesson plans, video guides and lectures. Hopefully, you have added this site to your bookmarks, and this place can make teaching a little bit easier.