Website The New Americans This website is very interactive and provides students with access to a quiz, Myth and Realities about Immigration, the opportunity to read about real immigrants and access samplings of immigrant contributions to America. This site was chosen to give students an opportunity to test their knowledge about what they have learned through the entire unit. The quiz on this site will be the students' closing activity, a way to for them to find out about what they have actually learned about immigration. Article Why America Needs Immigrants
This article provides an insight into immigrant contributions to American society. This article will provide students with information that they might not have known. This will give the students facts about immigrant contributions to their own country. It will also provide yet another take on the debate of immigration. Guiding questions will be asked before students enter into a discussion and it will also be used to find out if students had prior knowledge of immigrant contributions. This article will be used as a spring board for students to discuss about immigrant contributions
This book tells the tale of three undocumented immigrant workers who have come to the U.S. to better their lives. This book also is told from two perspectives that of the American teenager and that of an undocumented Mexican immigrant. This was chosen for my students because it will give them two different sides of the same story: what is it like for an undocumented worker to live in the U.S. and what is it like for the family that hires them. After reading this book, students will complete a reading guide and also to utilize higher thinking skills, students will be asked to discuss and share their take on this story. Students will be asked to think about what they would do in this situation. Video
This video is from an online web program produced by Current TV. It highlights some facts that students might not know. The students will get to see the new statistics provided about immigration issues. They will even be made aware that immigration is down and that more Asian immigrants are moving to the U.S. This video also gives information on the possible reasons why these statistics have changed. Students will complete a video guide that goes along with this video. Before watching we will discuss prior knowledge, after watching the video we will discuss how the facts and figures have changed and the new knowledge that they have gained.
References
Alvarez, J. (2011). Return to sender. New York, NY: Yearling
Asian immigrants to u.s. now surpasses hispanics. (2012, June 19). The Young Turks. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ktxuJSSNqo
Lehrer, J. (2011, May 14). Why america needs immigrants. Retrieved from
This website is an interactive database for people affected by the 'Pedro Pan' operation. The largest exodus of unaccompanied minors to the Western Hemisphere in order to flee Cuba during 1960 - 1962. This website provides a way for them to reconnect with family and friends. The site also provides videos, links, photos, and other resources to provide a background on Operation Pedro Pan. Students will use this as a gateway to read about these personal stories. This is also very helpful as some of the posts and articles are in the target language, therefore students will not only have an opportunity to practice their critical reading skills in English but also in Spanish. Students will perform a web quest using this site and the other links that are provided on this site.
This article is another story that gives a face to Operation Pedro Pan. It tells an immigrant's tale, but it's an immigration that was done out of necessity. This article highlights the fact that minor children had to flee their home country because of a revolution. Students will use this article as a spring board for a writing activity. They will post their response/reaction to Guillermo Vidal's tale on the class' discussion board.
This is the story of the reality of being a Cuban immigrant, it is the story of a refugee minor child that had to flee a revolutionary Cuba. This story not only focuses on the immigrant-refugee tale but uses sibling rivalry, coming of age issues, etc.. to put a personal take on the era of the Pedro Pan Operation. Students will get a real account of this period in history to give them yet another perspective, to put a face to what they are learning. After reading, students will work on creating a title for their own tale if they had to write their own story about fleeing their own country of origin because of a revolution.
Video - CNN's Latino in America: Chasing the Dream
This is two-part video from CNN's Latino in America program. This video revolves around Latinos chasing the American dream and what they have done whether legal or illegal to achieve it. This video also explores the history of Operation Pedro Pan and what happened to the children after. Before watching the video students will give their opinion on immigration. After watching this video students will participate in a class discussion using another video guide. After watching this video, have student opinions changed? What do students think about immigration now?
Part 1
Part 2
References
Cuban 'Peter Pan' immigrant now Denver mayor. (2011, February 11). Retrieved from
Flores-Galbis, E. (2012). 90 miles to Havana. (Reprint ed.). Square Fish.
O'Brien, S. (Reporter) (2009). The Garcías [Television series episode]. In Nelson, M. (Executive Producer), CNN Presents: Latino in America. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2vAbnMR3FE O'Brien, S. (Reporter) (2009). The Garcías [Television series episode]. In Nelson, M. (Executive Producer), CNN Presents: Latino in America. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbaE4GD4lUM
Operation Pedro Pan. (05/1). Retrieved from http://www.miamiherald.com/pedropan/
This website is a how-to guide for immigrants. From this website, students will be able to see a breakdown of basic everyday information that might be very useful to a recent immigrant. This site takes a look at everyday general knowledge that students might take for granted and gives students another perspective. This site gives students a view into the culture shock that immigrants might experience. This site has been prepared by real immigrants that have willingly created a website to provide a guide to other recent immigrants.
After exploring this website, students will have the opportunity to create a website for recent teenage immigrants. Their website should provide information that students would deem necessary for a teenager to know after having moved to the United States. For example, best places for affordable shopping, ideas for what do on the weekend, useful expressions and phrases, etc. This will be a survival guide for the immigrant teenager from an American teenager's perspective. Students will be using grammar and vocabulary structures learned in class as the website will be in the target language, Spanish.
This article examines the impact that immigration has or has had on US Culture. How has immigration changed our society? Is American society becoming more Hispanic or are Hispanics becoming more American? This article is a quick read with facts that displays the impact immigration has had and will have on American culture and the creation of a new Hispanic sub-culture. This article also will give the students other useful links to aid in the process of learning about this topic.
Students will use this article as a transition for question and answer guide that will lead to an in class discussion on immigration and the impact it has had on American culture. Is it positive or negative? Ideally this will be done in the target language as the course is primarily a language course. Students will be provided with key vocabulary words and structures to facilitate communication.
Based on the product reviews, this book tells the tale of what happens to immigrants after they get to the US. They are out of their comfort zone - do they adapt to the US culture? What does this mean to their own? Students are yet again provided with another perspective. This book tells the tale of the Garcia girls and what happens to their traditions and their rebellion against them after fleeing to the US. Most of my students will not have had any experience with assimilating to another culture and what this means, therefore this book provides the students with the opportunity to do so.
After reading this book, students will complete a writing assignment in which they will write a mini-tale in Spanish from an immigrant's perspective of what their life is like after having to flee the United States. To make it more applicable to the students' daily lives, it will be set around 10 years into the future. Students will also be provided with the necessary grammar and vocabulary structures to aid them.
This is a video clip (split in two parts) taken from CNN's Latino in America. This video focuses on how Latinos try to preserve their culture while surrounded by American culture - another aspect of the immigrant experience. This video links to the above book, as in that it addresses the same theme - immigration and assimilation. What is the price that Latinos pay when they come to the US - losing their own culture? Is it too high a price? This will expose students to this important issue that is another aspect of the immigration debate - should immigrants adapt to their adopted culture or should they preserve their own at all costs?
After watching the video students will participate in a discussion on what they saw, share their opinions, and complete a video worksheet. Questions will be open ended to continue debate and discussion.
References
Alvarez, J. (2010). How the Garcia girls lost their accents. Algonquin Books. Are Latinos assimilating or is America assimilating to them?. (2011, December 02). The Huffington Post.Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/01/latinos- assimilating-american-culture_n_1123862.html O'Brien, S. (Reporter) (2009). The Garcías [Television series episode]. In Nelson, M. (Executive Producer), CNN Presents: Latino in America. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7dvPQdB3ls
O'Brien, S. (Reporter) (2009). The Garcías [Television series episode]. In Nelson, M. (Executive Producer), CNN Presents: Latino in America. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dwZBBJ_q6w
The moving to America guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.moving-to-america- guide.com/index.html
This is the official website of US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Students will have the opportunity to browse around the site and get a chance to see what is involved in the immigration process. This site will provide another perspective for the students - not all immigrants are illegal, so what is the process like for them? I will also have students fill out mock applications and to go through the naturalization process so they can get an idea of what the process is really like.
This article will give the student an opportunity to read about an immigrant that has been raised in the US for a majority of his life but is still an illegal immigrant. This article ties into the video that I have posted below for my students as it deals with same issue of immigrants that have been raised in the US but are still illegal. This will allow me to ask my students to employ critical reading skills and lead to a class discussion - how should children that were brought to the US illegally be treated - should they have our sympathy?
Based on the reviews provided by the editors and everyday readers, this book would be very appropriate to open discussions on the topic of immigration. It provides the perspective of the immigrant - something that is not often seen in the media or told. The author Bettina Restrepo has first hand experience dealing with immigrants and also draws from their experiences to tell this tale. This novel will provide a different perspective for my students. Students will complete a question and answer worksheet to facilitate comprehension. Students will complete an in class round-robin tale of an illegal immigrant. Each student will contribute an original aspect to the class story. Appropriate grammar and vocabulary structures will be used.
Taken from the critically acclaimed CNN's Latino in America - this video (split into two parts) provides a first hand account of an illegal immigrant's tale. This video not only gives you a view of the experiences of an illegal immigrant, it also gives you a view and a backdrop of the controversial issue of immigration. This video will be helpful in my courses as I plan to introduce the video with leading questions such as what are the students' current views on immigration in general. I also intend to conclude with questions on whether their views have changed or have remained the same after watching this video clip.
O'Brien, S. (Reporter) (2009). The Garcías [Television series episode]. In Nelson, M. (Executive Producer), CNN Presents: Latino in America. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJMf1Y9GBrA&feature=relmfu
O'Brien, S. (Reporter) (2009). The Garcías [Television series episode]. In Nelson, M. (Executive Producer), CNN Presents: Latino in America. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY0AO81vHls&feature=relmfu
Preston, J. (2010, March 15). Raised in the U.S., but still illegal. The New York Times Upfront: The Newsmagazine for Teens, 142, Retrieved from http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp? article=f031510_immigrants Restrepo, B. (2011). Illegal. New York: Katherine Tegen Books. US Citizenship and Immigration Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
Immigration whether legal or illegal has become an area of concern across the United States. As a part of language learning goals and standards, we are preparing our students to become global citizens. One of the aspects of becoming a global citizen is to be able to understand another culture and issues that concern them. This blog will provide resources outside of a general textbook to give students another perspective on immigration.
This book tells the tale of three undocumented immigrant workers who have come to the U.S. to better their lives. This book also is told from two perspectives that of the American teenager and that of an undocumented Mexican immigrant. This was chosen for my students because it will give them two different sides of the same story: what is it like for an undocumented worker to live in the U.S. and what is it like for the family that hires them. After reading this book, students will complete a reading guide and also to utilize higher thinking skills, students will be asked to discuss and share their take on this story. Students will be asked to think about what they would do in this situation. 
