Lesson Plan, Primary Source, Activity, Video The Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project

In this lesson, students discuss the topic of racism and discrimination broadly and learn specifically about discrimination directed toward Chinese immigrants in the United States.
Students learn a brief history of Chinese Americans, including various waves of immigration, push-pull factors, the impact of exclusionary laws, the reception of Chinese by other Americans, and the diversity of the Chinese-American community. Students then observe and analyze several political cartoons from the 1870s and 1880s to enrich their understanding of the social, political, and economic climate in the United States at the time and the impact it had on Chinese immigrants.
They also read four short documents regarding issues of immigration, discrimination, and assimilation written by Chinese at different periods of time. Students then read satirical, fictional letters written by Mark Twain that portray the mistreatment and discrimination of Chinese in the mid- to late-1800s.
On the final day, students view a documentary and trace the path to assimilation of one Chinese family in the San Francisco Bay Area as seen through generations of its family members.
The lesson concludes with a discussion about how issues of immigration, discrimination, and assimilation relate to Americans today.