Rationale
My classroom is very diverse. We have students from several different countries, and we have students on various reading and writing levels. Most of my students are African American, but we have a growing population of other cultures. Just within one classroom, I have students from Albania, Mexico, India, Kenya, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. When we read current events from various newspapers on Fridays, we connect to each of the students’ cultural backgrounds and discuss how these backgrounds affect who they are today. Most of my students from different parts of Africa and the Middle East do not speak much English. They recently moved to the United States, but we have never really explored why. Why do people decide to leave their country of origin and move to a different country, like America? What defines an immigrant? What is the purpose of immigration and why are we so afraid of every generations of immigrants? Are people still trying to pursue the American dream?
I will be looping with the sixth graders with whom I taught last year. I teach two periods of English for two hours every day. In my earlier years of teaching, I was timid to approach this topic of immigration and how immigrants were discriminated against and abused. I learned that it was my responsibility as a teacher to create a safe space for a child to question and read history. It is a far greater injustice not to discuss and learn about our past. If a student becomes upset, frustrated, or embarrassed by what he or she discovers or reads, then we can work through those moments together. We should embrace and learn about our culture from our ancestors. We wouldn’t be in America without them.
Another important reason to discuss and debate the issue of immigration is that both mayoral and presidential debates for the 2016 elections will focus on it. As the presidential candidates were announcing their bid for the presidency, reporters repeatedly asked them to describe his or her view on undocumented immigrants going to college, about how would they structure immigration reform, and whether undocumented immigrants pose a threat to our national security. Democratic candidates are seeking the Latino vote to help their chances in the Electoral College. My students love politics and social policy and they love debating right alongside the candidates. Sometimes I think my students’ arguments make more sense, but in these debates students learn how to argue a point with respect and factual evidence.
Further, we will also explore this topic of immigration through the medium of film. The films will be the crux of our study; they will become the mentor texts for plot development and character analysis. I selected Hester Street and West Side Story, because these two films explore the issues of assimilating into a new culture of America through two different ethnic groups. Hester Street is in black and white, while West Side Story is a theatrical performance filled with color and music. I think it is important to start with Hester Street, because it sets a foundation for analysis. If you started with West Side Story, the students would focus on the music, dancing, and costumes and would not analyze how immigrants adjust in a new city. Supplementing the films, students will read informational articles, speeches given by prior presidents and current presidential candidates, narrative short stories, and excerpts from West Side Story relating to immigration.
Students will have to develop background knowledge about immigration and why people leave their current homes to pursue another life in a different country. In terms of domain specific vocabulary, students will explore the differences between “refugee” and “immigrant.” Students will evaluate whether or not perception and laws are developed differently in terms of immigration and seeking asylum. How students will present this information will vary. Some students might develop a podcast--individually or as a cooperative pair-- that reflects on their ancestral heritage and what it means to be an immigrant. Other students might develop a three to four paragraph essay about their family or neighborhood based on the essential questions of the unit.
Students will write analytically throughout the entire four-week unit, but also produce expertise in many different forms of social media. When students utilize these different forms of media, they are promoting social action and social justice. It is a means of communicating with other students their age and their family members about what they
are learning in school and how their learning is impacting their outlook on the world. In the culminating unit assignment, I do not limit or restrict how they present their information and response to the essential questions, because they often produce superior work.
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