Lesson One:
Objectives:
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1. Students will activate prior knowledge about immigration and assimilation by responding to statements on the Immigration Anticipation Guide.
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2. Students will support their opinions in small group discussion.
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3. Students will reevaluate prior knowledge and make changes to their responses on the Anticipation Guide.
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3. Students will work cooperatively to brainstorm and develop three to five questions about the processes of immigration and assimilation that the group would like to have answered by the conclusion of the unit.
Materials
Immigration Anticipation Guide, chart paper and markers.
Activities:
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1. Students will work independently to complete the Immigration Anticipation Guide.
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2. Students will discuss their responses with their small group. As a result of the discussions, students will modify any responses they choose.
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3. Using the Anticipation Guide to generate ideas, students will work cooperatively to brainstorm and develop three to five questions immigration and assimilation that they would like to have answered.
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4. One member of each group will write the questions in large print on chart paper.
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5. One member of each group will read their group’s questions to the whole class.
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6. If any of the questions can be answered by a class member, the answer will be written on the chart paper.
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7. Students will visit the school’s library/media center to begin researching the answers to the remaining questions.
Lesson Two
This lesson will occur after the students have completed their interviews of a family member or friend who immigrated to the United States. Using the information gathered in the interviews, students will write a brief character sketch of their subject. This lesson will occur after the first draft of the character sketch has been written.
Objectives:
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1. Students will use editing skills to edit a fellow students character sketch.
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2. Students will provide constructive feedback on the fellow student’s writing.
Materials:
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1. Student written character sketches
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2. Peer editing worksheet
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3. pen/ pencil
Activities:
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1. Students will pair off and read their partner’s character sketch.
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2. Each student will be responsible for completing the Peer Editing worksheet for his/her partner’s essay.
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3. Each student will discuss his/her ideas on how to improve his partner’s essay.
Lesson Three
This lesson will occur during the fourth week of the unit. Students will be reading the novel
Lupita Manana
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Objectives:
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1. Students will understand the concept of point-of-view.
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2. Students will, in writing, show empathy with one of the main characters in the novel.
Activities:
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1. After reading chapter seven of the novel, students will be asked to imagine that they are either Lupita or Salvador. The class will discuss how each might have felt during their traumatic crossing of the border.
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2. Students will be asked to assume the character of Lupita or Salvador and, in their response journals, will write a letter to their best friend back in Mexico describing the experience, their feelings during the experience and what their hopes for the future are.
Immigration Anticipation Guide
Directions: Read each statement and indicate whether you agree or disagree with it. It is o.k. if you do not know a great deal about the topic. After we finish our unit on immigration, you will have a chance to go back to each statement and tell how the unit supported your first answer or made you change your answer.
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1. Most people emigrate to the U.S. because they
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have terrible lives in their home countries. _____
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_____
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2. Most immigrants are usually considered
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the poor people in their home country.
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_____
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_____
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3. It is easy to “fit-in” to our American
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4. All immigrants go to Ellis Island before
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they are allowed to enter the U.S.
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_____
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_____
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5. Illegal aliens are people who come to
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the United States without permission.
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_____
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_____
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6. Most illegal aliens come to the U.S.
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to take jobs away from U.S. citizens.
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_____
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_____
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7. It is not very difficult to illegally cross
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the U.S. border from Mexico.
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_____
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_____
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8. Immigrants usually don’t have the same level
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of education as “regular” Americans.
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_____
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_____
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