LaShante A. James
The basis for this unit is that texts, both complete and excerpts, will act as a model for student reflection and writing, as well as a starting point for discussion around interpretation and analysis of the pieces.
Below I have included a list of books that illustrate the experience of immigrant and migrant children and adolescents growing up in American cities. I have selected these texts for one major reason; they document or illustrate what it was like growing up during that particular time period. The themes of many of these texts mirror experiences the students reading have encountered and may offer some clarity on why they have had that experience (i.e. poverty, family issues, neighborhood violence, failure, finding themselves). Almost every single text has a child or adolescent as the main focus, and we are seeing the world through their eyes. Ultimately, we would like our students to connect to these experiences, and develop their own illustration of how they view their world. In addition, I have provided the ratings of movies in the event that parental permission is required prior to viewing:
So that students can begin to build background knowledge and explore immigration and migration on many levels, pre-, during and after reading activities, discussions and writing activities will take place. The list of various texts above will provide a much needed foundation in the subject of immigration and migration. Ultimately, the expected outcome is a student-centered product (visual display, written piece or digital media product) that depicts their personal experience of growing up on Urban America. This unit would be best implemented in a classroom with a reading/seminar setting. Teacher would conduct mini-lessons before allowing students to participate in a student-centered discussion about the subject of the texts.
