Outcomes:
1) Students will acquire basic information about
German-American immigration and some famous German-Americans.
2) Students will become
familiar with Internet resources for learning about German-American
immigration and German-Americans.
Instructions:
Print the
worksheet for this activity. Answer the
following questions and record your answers on the
worksheet. Unless another site
is provided with the question, click on one of the web sites listed
below to find your answer. All information needed to complete this
task is available through one or more of the web sites that have
been provided for you. When you have completed all questions, turn
in your answers for scoring.
German-American Heritage Map
German-American Day
German
Ancestry in Relation to State Population
The Largest Ancestry Groups in the United States
German-American
Chronology
Hessians: Acctung Baby!
The German Revolution 1848
Famous German Americans
The Berlin Wall
Germany and America
in the 20th Century: A Hypertext Timeline
Ancestry 2000: Census 2000 Brief
Ancestry of U.S. Population by Rank via
infoplease
1. Translate the following from
German to English: Zeit, um zu beginnen. Use
Free Translation Online
to complete this item. Be sure to scroll down the translation menu
and select "German to English."
2. Two important words regarding the
movement of people from one country to another are
emigrate and immigrate. Using
Merriam-Webster Online,
determine which of these words means "to come into a
country of which one is not a native, for the purpose of permanent
residence."
3. The first Germans
came to the New World along with Captain John Smith, founder of
Jamestown, Virginia. In what year did they arrive?
4. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed
October 6th to be German-American Day in 1983 to commemorate the
300th anniversary of what historical event?
5. During the Revolutionary War,
nearly 30,000 German soldiers, called
Hessians because many came from
the
Germanic
state of Hesse-Cassel,
were paid by King George to fight on the side of the British.
However, some did not return to Germany after the war.
Approximately how many Hessians chose to remain in
America?
6. Many Germans, including some who
eventually settled in Minnesota, came to the US after being on the
losing side of a revolution in Germany that
occurred in 1848. What was this revolution
called?
7. All those who immigrated to the US
after this revolution, as well as those who came later, had to pass
through a famous island on their way into the
US. What is the name of this island? To answer this question, you
may have to do a little searching. Use the same web site as you did
for the last item. If you can't find the answer there, try the
American Family Immigration History Center.
8. Levi Strauss
was among the Germans who immigrated to the US after the revolution
of 1848. For what is he famous?
9. The Sioux uprising of
1862 resulted in an attack on what predominantly
German-American town in Minnesota?
10. In 1868, Joseph
Pulitzer became a reporter for a German-language newspaper in
St. Louis. Later, the prestigious Pulitzer prizes
were established in his honor. These prizes are given for
excellence in what field?
11. The year 1882
marked a peak in German-American immigration. How many Germans
immigrated to the US in that year?
12. Though hamburgers
are thought of as being very "American," they were actually first
introduced to the US by German-Americans living in St. Louis. And
what would a hamburger be without Ketchup?
What German-American created ketchup in 1892
?
13. Though many German-Americans were in
the US armed forces during World War I, the US entry into this war
resulted in a wave of anti-German sentiment.
The teaching of the German language was even banned in some states.
In what year did the US enter World War I?
14. Herbert Hoover
( formerly Huber) is a famous German American. What US political
office did he hold?
15. As the German economy worsened in
the 1930s, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialists
(Nazis) came into power, eventually bringing the nation into
World War II. Many Germans fled to America. Among them was the
famous physicist, Albert Einstein , who came
to the US the same year Hitler became Chancellor of Germany
In what year did this occur?
16. Many German-Americans played
important roles in the US war effort during World
War II, including Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower.
"Ike" later became the president of the United States. In what year
was he elected president?
17. After World War II, Germany was
divided into two nations, East Germany and West Germany, which
resulted in additional immigration to the US. (More than 128,000
immigrated in the peak year of 1950) The Berlin Wall
was the most infamous symbol of this separation of the German
nation. In what year was it built?
18. Today, German-Americans are the
largest ethnic group in the US. According to
the 2010 American Community Survey, how many
Americans are of German ancestry?
19. Though Minnesota is among the top six states
in percentage of German-Americans among its population, some other
states have even a higher percentage. Which state has the
largest percentage of Americans of German descent?
20. Wow! The last question. Using
Free Translation Online,
translate the following from German to English: Das
Ende. Glückwünsche!
Thanks for participating. We
hope you enjoyed this activity. Turn in your completed worksheet to
see how many you have gotten correct.
If you have finished
early, explore some of the web sites listed above, visit the
German Embassy Home Page or the
German-American Institute, view
the
German-American Heritage Museum,
or learn about the
Germans in Hollywood.
Go to the
worksheet for this activity.
This page was created a number of years ago by Edmund J. Sass,
Ed.D., Professor Emeritus of Education at the
College of Saint Benedict/St. John's University,
for use during Rocori
Middle School's German Day. I have done my best to keep the
page current because of the large number of page views it receives,
particularly around
German-American Day. If you have questions or comments about
this page, e-mail me at
esass@csbsju.edu.
Click here to access my main page,
Educational Resources and Lesson Plans.
Background
provided by Papagei Originals.