LaShante A. James
For students who are gifted in other areas, various forms of media are being offered as a choice for summative assessment. Again, students must tie in the readings from the unit, and display of how American city life changes over time. They can focus on housing, schools, jobs, or people, but it there must be an inclusion of the material along with their personal experience from the journal.
Lyrics: Music is a large part of everyday life for my students, as well as their families. It's the preservationist of culture. People often stay connected to who they are through music. Every student has music downloaded on their phone or iPod, and argues that it helps them concentrate better during class time.
I would provide students with a model set of lyrics, showing the structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge and chorus. In addition, I would ask students to choose a popular artist who writes about their struggle or experience. The students will be able to creatively express how they have become a product of their environment, and how they have been impacted by their experiences.
I would like to see the song begin with the immigrant/migrant experience based on time period, not race. Each verse should move the reader through history, with the chorus as the unifying piece, the message.
Video: With access to cellular phones, students have a video camera at their finger tips. The students today have an obsession with taping negative events, such as fighting or bullying, and posting it online. This assignment will allow students to apply this skill of video taping and editing, and produce an amateur film depicting their environment and how it has shaped them. While filming, student should offer a verbal commentary about how what they depicting is similar or different from the immigrant/ migrant experience they have learned about, a comparative analysis. They should be very clear about what time period they will focus on.
The film would then be emailed to the teacher for a final project. I would only allow 12
th
graders this option, because I believe it requires a maturity level that 10
th
graders haven't developed just yet.