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.
