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Arriving in America, 1845 to 1920 is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on how immigrants arrived and how they were treated, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.7.3-5. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 24 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Arriving in America, 1845 to 1920

D2.Geo.7.3-5

NameDate

Read each text, then answer the questions.

1.Look at the source, then answer the questions.

The Chinese Exclusion Act

An information text written for this worksheet. Chinese immigrants worked in the California gold fields and built much of the transcontinental railroad. Some white workers blamed them for low wages, and Chinese Americans faced violence and unfair laws. In 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. It stopped Chinese workers from immigrating and kept Chinese immigrants from becoming citizens. It was the first major US law to keep out people of one nationality. Congress repealed it in 1943, during World War II, when China was an ally of the United States.

  1. 1. What did the law stop?
  2. 2. When was the law repealed?
  3. 3. Why did some people want to keep Chinese workers out?
2.Look at the source, then answer the questions.

Angel Island

An information text written for this worksheet. Angel Island, in San Francisco Bay, opened as an immigration station in 1910. Many of the people who arrived there came from China, Japan and other countries across the Pacific. Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinese immigrants were held for weeks or months, and some for up to two years. Officers questioned them closely about their families to decide whether they could stay. Some carved poems into the wooden walls about their sadness and their hopes. The poems can still be seen today.

  1. 1. Where did many of the people who arrived there come from?
  2. 2. Why were Chinese immigrants held for so long?
  3. 3. What do the poems on the walls tell us about the people held there?

LessonPrint · D2.Geo.7.3-5 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Arriving in America, 1845 to 1920

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It stopped Chinese workers from immigrating and kept Chinese immigrants from becoming citizens. 2. In 1943, during World War II. 3. Some white workers blamed them for low wages.
  2. 2.1. China, Japan and other countries across the Pacific. 2. Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. 3. They felt sadness while they waited, but still had hopes.

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.7.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.