What it Feels Like in a Foreign Country:
The Immigrant Experience
Grade Level: 4th Grade Subject: Social Studies
Time Needed: 1 hour Topic: Immigration
Time Needed: 1 hour Topic: Immigration
What School of Education Standards did you try to address in this lesson?
· Standard 5: I designed this lesson with specific goals in mind and with consideration for my individual students. Each step of the lesson is designed to provide students with an engaging or unique learning experience they may not have had before. The specific accommodations I have made are listed throughout this document.
· Standard 7: Understands and Adapts to Multiple Forms of Communication: Different components of this lesson will appeal to students who prefer different modes of communication. I have integrated spoken language, nonverbal gestures/cues, and written word into the lesson to address the differences in my students.
· Standard 13: Is a Reflective Practitioner: As an educator I am constantly reflecting on how my lessons are going as well as how my teaching affects my students. Not only would I reflect on this lesson afterwards, but I would also plan to make adjustments during the lesson as I saw it develop.
MMSD Standards
Behavioral Science
· Give examples of the importance of multiple viewpoints for understanding people, events, and issues.
Language Arts
· Infer and evaluate author’s purpose
· Interpret text from various points of view
NCSS Standards
· Culture
· People, places, and environment
· Individual development and identity
· Power, authority, and governance
Essential Questions
Overall:
· Why do people immigrate?
Specific:
· What is the experience like for immigrants after they arrive in a new country?
· What challenges do they face?
Materials Needed:
· A variety of art materials
· The Arrival by Shaun Tan
· Copies of images in the book (one image per student)
· Writing paper
· Pencils
Objectives
· SWBAT express their feelings after engaging in a simulation related to immigration.
· SWBAT interpret the experience of immigrants after looking at a graphic novel.
· SWBAT write a story about an image from the perspective of an immigrant.
Lesson Context
So far we have talked about what immigration is, the historical trends and timeline of immigration in the United States, and reasons why individuals might have/are immigrating to this country. What we have not covered explicitly yet is what the experience is like for many immigrants once they arrive. This lesson will strive to cover this idea and will use a simulation and writing exercise to do so.
Lesson Opening
The lesson will begin by me breaking the students up into groups of 4-5. I am not going to give them any background about what we are doing but instead am going to jump right into the activity.
Procedures
1. After splitting the class into groups I will walk around and give each one a set of art materials (Ex:/ glue sticks, popsicle sticks, plastic cups, index cards, staplers, tape, string, construction paper, foil, stickers, etc.) Any materials could be used as long as each group gets the same thing.
2. I will tell them that their task will be to work as a group to create a creature of their choice. They can use any of the materials provided and will get 20 minutes to complete their design. The only catch is that they are absolutely forbidden to speak to one another in words or writing. Gestures and facial expressions are okay, but no other communication is allowed.
3. After the 20 minutes is up each group will be given time to display their creature and explain the pros and cons of working in a group that could not communicate in words or written responses. The general consensus will be that it was a very frustrating experience and that they found it difficult to share how they thought the creature should be put together.
4. I will then ask the students to relate this to our study of immigration and how they might feel as they come to a new country. We will have a discussion that ties our frustrations with the activity to that of many immigrants entering a new country without the knowledge of the languages of the majority of people they encounter.
5. Once our discussion is complete we will gather in the large carpeted area of the room to examine the graphic novel The Arrival by Shaun Tan. This book is about one man’s immigration experience to a new city. He must leave his family behind, travel by boat, pass through immigration, and try to find a home, work, and friends in an unfamiliar place. The book has no words and instead uses powerful images to express the struggles of immigrants as they try to comprehend a place that is foreign to them.
6. When we are finished paging through the book and discussing what we think is going on, I will send the students back to their desks. I will then come around and give each student one page or image from the book. Their job will be to look at the picture and then write a story about what is going on in the scene. They will be writing as if they are one of the characters in their image.
Closing
The lesson will end by having students share their images and stories if they feel comfortable. We will then go back to our original list of questions to see if we have answered any of them and will add anything else we are curious about now.
Special Considerations and Accommodations:
· To accommodate the range of abilities in my class I will have them work in small groups to create their creatures. I will make sure to put them in heterogeneous groups so they all will benefit from the activity.
· I am having students volunteer to share their writing so they do not feel pressured if they are uncomfortable.
· During the large groups discussions it will be important for me to make sure I call on each of my students and to allow everyone, especially those who tend to be more reserved, to express their ideas.
Assessment:
A lot of informal assessments will occur during our large group discussion after the simulation. I will also ask them questions as we look at the graphic novel to gauge their understanding. I will use formal assessments by collecting their writing samples and looking for completion and quality of work. I will specifically look at whether they were able to make connections between their image and the experience of many immigrants that come/came to a new country.
· Standard 5: I designed this lesson with specific goals in mind and with consideration for my individual students. Each step of the lesson is designed to provide students with an engaging or unique learning experience they may not have had before. The specific accommodations I have made are listed throughout this document.
· Standard 7: Understands and Adapts to Multiple Forms of Communication: Different components of this lesson will appeal to students who prefer different modes of communication. I have integrated spoken language, nonverbal gestures/cues, and written word into the lesson to address the differences in my students.
· Standard 13: Is a Reflective Practitioner: As an educator I am constantly reflecting on how my lessons are going as well as how my teaching affects my students. Not only would I reflect on this lesson afterwards, but I would also plan to make adjustments during the lesson as I saw it develop.
MMSD Standards
Behavioral Science
· Give examples of the importance of multiple viewpoints for understanding people, events, and issues.
Language Arts
· Infer and evaluate author’s purpose
· Interpret text from various points of view
NCSS Standards
· Culture
· People, places, and environment
· Individual development and identity
· Power, authority, and governance
Essential Questions
Overall:
· Why do people immigrate?
Specific:
· What is the experience like for immigrants after they arrive in a new country?
· What challenges do they face?
Materials Needed:
· A variety of art materials
· The Arrival by Shaun Tan
· Copies of images in the book (one image per student)
· Writing paper
· Pencils
Objectives
· SWBAT express their feelings after engaging in a simulation related to immigration.
· SWBAT interpret the experience of immigrants after looking at a graphic novel.
· SWBAT write a story about an image from the perspective of an immigrant.
Lesson Context
So far we have talked about what immigration is, the historical trends and timeline of immigration in the United States, and reasons why individuals might have/are immigrating to this country. What we have not covered explicitly yet is what the experience is like for many immigrants once they arrive. This lesson will strive to cover this idea and will use a simulation and writing exercise to do so.
Lesson Opening
The lesson will begin by me breaking the students up into groups of 4-5. I am not going to give them any background about what we are doing but instead am going to jump right into the activity.
Procedures
1. After splitting the class into groups I will walk around and give each one a set of art materials (Ex:/ glue sticks, popsicle sticks, plastic cups, index cards, staplers, tape, string, construction paper, foil, stickers, etc.) Any materials could be used as long as each group gets the same thing.
2. I will tell them that their task will be to work as a group to create a creature of their choice. They can use any of the materials provided and will get 20 minutes to complete their design. The only catch is that they are absolutely forbidden to speak to one another in words or writing. Gestures and facial expressions are okay, but no other communication is allowed.
3. After the 20 minutes is up each group will be given time to display their creature and explain the pros and cons of working in a group that could not communicate in words or written responses. The general consensus will be that it was a very frustrating experience and that they found it difficult to share how they thought the creature should be put together.
4. I will then ask the students to relate this to our study of immigration and how they might feel as they come to a new country. We will have a discussion that ties our frustrations with the activity to that of many immigrants entering a new country without the knowledge of the languages of the majority of people they encounter.
5. Once our discussion is complete we will gather in the large carpeted area of the room to examine the graphic novel The Arrival by Shaun Tan. This book is about one man’s immigration experience to a new city. He must leave his family behind, travel by boat, pass through immigration, and try to find a home, work, and friends in an unfamiliar place. The book has no words and instead uses powerful images to express the struggles of immigrants as they try to comprehend a place that is foreign to them.
6. When we are finished paging through the book and discussing what we think is going on, I will send the students back to their desks. I will then come around and give each student one page or image from the book. Their job will be to look at the picture and then write a story about what is going on in the scene. They will be writing as if they are one of the characters in their image.
Closing
The lesson will end by having students share their images and stories if they feel comfortable. We will then go back to our original list of questions to see if we have answered any of them and will add anything else we are curious about now.
Special Considerations and Accommodations:
· To accommodate the range of abilities in my class I will have them work in small groups to create their creatures. I will make sure to put them in heterogeneous groups so they all will benefit from the activity.
· I am having students volunteer to share their writing so they do not feel pressured if they are uncomfortable.
· During the large groups discussions it will be important for me to make sure I call on each of my students and to allow everyone, especially those who tend to be more reserved, to express their ideas.
Assessment:
A lot of informal assessments will occur during our large group discussion after the simulation. I will also ask them questions as we look at the graphic novel to gauge their understanding. I will use formal assessments by collecting their writing samples and looking for completion and quality of work. I will specifically look at whether they were able to make connections between their image and the experience of many immigrants that come/came to a new country.
