Immigration Now

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



Trade Book

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez

 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



Asian Immigrants to U.S Now Surpasses Hispanics

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 

             http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576313490871429216.html

Tajima-Peña, R., & Griego, E. (2012). The new Americans. Retrieved from  

           http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/index.html