Description
In this lesson students will brainstorm reasons people leave their homes and move somewhere else.
After discussing modern day reasons for migration students will explore the motives of early settlers
to immigrate to colonial North Carolina. Motives will be explored using a primary source, specifically
letters from potential settlers asking for permission to come to the land of "milk and honey".
Grade Level 4th grade
Learning outcomes
Students will:Teacher Planning
TIME REQUIRED FOR LESSON
45 minutes
MATERIALS/RESOURCES
NC Colonial records vol. 4 pg 18 (Memorial of the Swiss to be Carried over to Carolina)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.php/document/csr04-0011
Pre-activities
To begin the lesson, ask students to consider why people move to different areas. Brainstorm reasons
and situations that would result in people moving. If relevant have students who have immigrated to
the United States share why they came.
Using a map or a globe show the children where Switzerland is, specifically look for the Rhine river (this is mentioned in the primary source).
Activities
Discuss that during colonial times many people decided to move to North America for different reasons,
some of the same reasons people move today. There were also unique reasons people choose to leave Europe
to explore the new world such as religious persecution, adventure, and in some cases forced migration.
Discuss how when we move today we can pack our belongings in a car, truck or airplane and quickly get
to another location. We also usually move right into another home. During colonial times it was not
that easy. There were not cars or airplanes. It would take several months on a ship to get to North
America. There were limitations on what you could bring with you. North America was not settled yet
so there was only land. Once colonists arrived they had to build their own homes. Many people would
get sick on the boat because they did not have the medicine we had today and they would sometimes
die. It was very risky to travel. Often people would have to get permission to travel, especially
if they did not have enough money to pay for the trip over. Some countries would not allow people
to leave or would only encourage people to leave who were considered unfit, such as those who were
really poor, widowed, or otherwise deemed different. Switzerland was an example of a country
that did not want its citizens to leave but would allow some people to go. We are going to
read a petition from a Swiss group asking to leave Bern, Switzerland and immigrate to the
Carolinas.
Read the text with the students.
After reading ask the students to think about why these people wanted to immigrate to the new world. Link this back to the discussion about why people immigrate today.
Show the students the map of North Carolina, show them New Bern. Explain that the settlers did come and they established the city of New Bern. Help them make the connection between Bern, Switzerland and New Bern, North Carolina.
Assessment
Have the students write a journal entry pretending to be a person interested in immigrating to the
colonies. Ask them to provide a reason they wanted to leave and what they thought they would find when
they arrived.
Extension
The students could write a letter asking for permission to leave and settle in a colony.
NC curriculum alignment
Social Studies
2.02 Trace the growth and development of immigration to North Carolina, over time from Europe, Asia,
and Latin America
Language Arts
3.01 Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive, critical, and evaluative processes by:
Lesson plan created by Lara Willox.