Age of mass migration · 1880-1914

Across the ocean: the great migration

Between 1880 and 1914 tens of millions of Europeans cross the oceans in steamships to the Americas and beyond, while Asian migrants face new barriers. Students follow emigrants from village to port to Ellis Island and Buenos Aires, and ask why people leave home.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1900 to AD 1816
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Between 1880 and 1914 tens of millions of Europeans cross the oceans in steamships to the Americas and beyond, while Asian migrants face new barriers. Students follow emigrants from village to port to Ellis Island and Buenos Aires, and ask why people leave home.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain the push and pull factors behind mass migration from Europe after 1880.
  • Trace emigrant routes from European ports to the Americas on the map.
  • Compare how different groups of migrants were welcomed or shut out.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1900

Ports of departure

Open the map in 1900 and zoom in on Western Europe. Find Liverpool, Hamburg, Bremen, Rotterdam and Naples. Why would emigrants from inland villages travel to these ports?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1900

Cities grow

Turn on Cities and compare London, Paris and Vienna in 1800 and 1900 with the time slider. Many people moved to cities at home before others moved overseas. Why?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1816

A year without a summer

Turn on Weather of History and move to 1816. After a volcanic eruption, harvests failed across Europe, and many families left for America in the years after. How can weather push people to move?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Poverty, hunger, a lack of land and persecution pushed people to leave. Which push do you think was strongest?
  2. Jobs, land and letters from relatives pulled people to the Americas. Why were letters from home so powerful?
  3. Many migrants crossed in steerage, the cheapest part of the ship. What would a crossing of ten days have been like?
  4. The United States welcomed millions of Europeans but banned most Chinese workers from 1882. Why the difference?
  5. Many migrants went back home after a few years. Why might someone return?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Abraham Lincoln in Rule History. In 1862 he signed the Homestead Act, which offered free land in the West to settlers, including immigrants who meant to become citizens. Discuss: how did laws like this pull millions of people across the ocean?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.