Lesson
2
:
Thinking Critically about the Role of Compassion in U.S. Immigration Policy
Grade
Grade 7
UNIT
6
•
Compassion
In Unit 6, Lesson 2, students will read an article about the U.S. response to Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. Students will develop their critical thinking and academic dialogue skills by answering questions about the text and engaging in class discussion.
SUGGESTED TIME:
- 1 class period to introduce the topic and watch the short videos; 1 class period to discuss the article: “Voyage of the St. Louis.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- Students can be assigned to read the article either for silent in-class reading or for homework.
- Have students answer the worksheet questions as they read the article.
- Allow at least 50 min of class time to have a class discussion of the worksheet questions.
RELATED SUBJECT:
English Language Arts
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Read a nonfiction text and demonstrate understanding of the central ideas
- Determine the author’s purposes in the text
- Write answers to questions about the article, demonstrating an understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar
- Engage effectively in collaborative discussions about the article
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
- Article: “Voyage of the St. Louis.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- Video: How U.S. Antisemitism Shut the Door on Countless Refugee Children | The U.S. and the Holocaust by PBS (~7 min)
- Video: SS St. Louis survivors reunite by Miami Herald (~3 min)
- Prohuman Grade 7 Unit 6 Worksheet 2: Learning Compassion from a Nonfiction Text
ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET
CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET
LESSON PROCEDURE
Step 1:
- Explain that we will be reading an article about the U.S. response to the Jewish refugees aboard the German ship the St. Louis in 1939: “Voyage of the St. Louis.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Step 2:
- To understand the historical context of this event, we will watch two videos. The first video is a short excerpt from the documentary “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” Play video: How U.S. Antisemitism Shut the Door on Countless Refugee Children | The U.S. and the Holocaust by PBS (~7 min)
- The second video was filmed in 2009 and shows some of the survivors of the SS St. Louis. Play video: SS St. Louis survivors reunite by Miami Herald (~3 min)
Step 3:
- Have the students read this article, either as an in-class silent reading assignment or for homework: “Voyage of the St. Louis.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- Have students answer the worksheet questions while reading the article.
Step 4:
- Reserve an entire class period to facilitate a whole-class discussion of the worksheet questions.
GRADE 7 UNIT 6 WORKSHEET 2: THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THE ROLE OF COMPASSION IN U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER WHILE READING “Voyage of the St. Louis.” . United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:
- Where did the St. Louis depart from and how many passengers was it carrying? What were the passengers escaping?
- What did this article identify as the source of Cuban hostility towards Jewish refugees?
- What did the U.S. State Department decide about whether to admit the Jewish refugees on board the St. Louis?
- What does this article highlight as two obstacles to immigration to the United States at this time?
- What four European countries took in refugees from the St. Louis, and how many did each country take in?
- What happened to the 532 St. Louis passengers who were unable to emigrate in time and became trapped when Germany conquered western Europe?
- What pressures and motivations may have affected decisions made by Cuban and U.S. government officials about the St. Louis?
- To what extent do you think U.S. government policies should show compassion to refugees who are fleeing from oppressive governments in other countries?
- Is it legitimate for the U.S. to take in account an immigrant's job skills and financial stability when ruling on an immigration petition?
- What should U.S. policy be when immigrants attempt to enter the country by boat without proper authorization?
- Obviously, no individual can make public policy. What can you do as an individual to show compassion to refugees in today’s world?
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY
Prohuman K-12 Curriculum © 2025 by Prohuman Foundation is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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