Post on 17-Mar-2020
Maureen SouthornIST 668/Spring 2008Assignment #4: Collaborative Unit Plan Due May 4, 2008
Target Student Group
The target group for this lesson is Grant Middle School sixth grade students.
School demographics are heterogeneous. About 48 percent of students are white; 40
percent are African or African American; 8 percent are Hispanic; 2 percent are Asian or
Asian American; and 2 percent are Native American. Grant has very substantial sub-
populations of students with special needs (25%), economic disadvantages (80%),
and/or limited English proficiency (8%). The school has not made NCLB adequate
yearly progress ELA targets for a number of years and as of the 2007-08 school year is
in restructuring – year 4 status. Sixth grade ELA test passage rate currently sits at
about 35 percent. The administration has focused on teaching literacy skills within
content areas as key to making adequate yearly progress toward NCLB targets. There
are no dedicated full-time reading instructors; most teachers at Grant studied education
and/or their content area as an undergraduate and pursued literacy education as a
Master’s option.
Sixth grade students attend a secondary school yet fall under the “common
branch” category for education. Sixth graders at Grant attend classes with block
schedules of one hour each, with the same teacher for two blocks on most days. Their
teachers are required to teach literacy within the content area curriculum alongside
standard reading classes. This arrangement is ideal for unit studies, since students can
work on skills across the curriculum in one context for an extended period of time,
instead of just one short period each day or every other day.
ESL learners will also take part in the assignment. ESL learners at Grant
primarily hold SIFE status (students with interrupted formal education). Most came from
refugee camps abroad. Current ESL students are from Myanmar (Burma), Cuba,
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Vietnam, Puerto Rico, Yemen, Sudan, Russia, Turkey,
and Haiti. The SIFE students are eager to please and very appreciative of education,
but encounter many problems since many have not before experienced the concept of
rules, order, and authority. While earlier groups of refugees were highly educated and
well-traveled, over the last decade the camps have grown larger, disorganized, and
chaotic, leaving this set of students ill-prepared for a school setting.
Instructional Goal
While strengthening their literacy skills, students will learn about the historical
causes behind waves of migration to the United States, then compare and contrast the
experiences of several immigrant groups.
Related Content Area Standards
ELA 1/ Gather and interpret information from children's reference books, magazines, textbooks, electronic bulletin boards, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, and from such forms as charts, graphs, maps, and diagrams. Select information appropriate to the purpose of their investigation and relate ideas from one text to another. Select and use strategies they have been taught for notetaking, organizing, and categorizing information. Present information clearly in a variety of oral and written forms such as summaries, paraphrases, brief reports, stories, posters, and charts. Select a focus, organization, and point of view for oral and written presentations.
Social Studies 1/ Know the roots of American culture, its development from many different traditions, and the ways many people from a variety of groups and backgrounds played a role in creating it. Gather and organize information about the traditions transmitted by various groups living in their neighborhood and community. Explore different experiences, beliefs, motives, and traditions of people living in their neighborhoods, communities, and State.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
challenge their assumptions related to the root causes for human migration, as
demonstrated by an anticipation guide
Learn and demonstrate, in quickwriting exercises, vocabulary skills related to the
migration experience
Demonstrate, in double-entry journal format, knowledge connections about
migration
Exhibit interviewing skills by drafting as a group questions to ask present-day
immigrants about their experiences
Successfully create artifacts about their target country, showcasing their new
knowledge about a local immigrant’s culture
Part One/One Day
The Immigrant Experience: introduction
(The introduction will be held in the classroom and led by the teacher.)
Many immigrants have come to the United States. Many arrived from a certain
country at a certain time period. This was called a “wave” of migration. We’re going to
look at a few waves, and compare and contrast their experiences.
Essential Question
How are the experiences of different groups who have immigrated into the
United States similar? Different?
Vocabulary Review
See attached sample vocabulary activity sheet. The Jackdaws portfolio also
includes several glossary/vocabulary sheets that can be copied and handed out to
students for their reference. Vocabulary sheets will not be collected or graded, although
the class should go over the sheet together to ensure that all students have matched up
the correct definitions.
Teacher should focus on the words emigration and immigration by reviewing the
prefixes and what they mean (in, out) to support better comprehension and recall.
“E-“ is the Latin root for “out.” emerge (out + dip) / emotion (out + move) / emit
(out + sound) / elevate (out + lift) / eclipse (out + leave) / educate (out + lead) / effect
(out + do) / eject (out + throw) / elect (out + choose). Do not confuse with French root,
“em-,” which means “before.”
“Im-“, the Latin root for “into,” is used before the letter m, b, or p. “Im-“ can also
mean not, but usually readers can tell which of these two meanings apply. Imbibe (in +
drink) / imperil (into + danger) / implode (in + explode) / import (in + carry) / impound (in
+ shut) / imprint (in + press) / impoverish (in + poor) / impel (in + drive).
Anticipation guide
Students will fill out the anticipation guide before starting the unit. The teacher
will collect and save the anticipation guides until the end of the unit, then redistribute
them so students can compare before and after answers. The anticipation guide will not
be graded.
Before unit Statements After unitAgree Disagree Agree Disagree
All immigrants came to the United States to pursue opportunities for work or ways to earn money.Immigrants traveled in family groups when moving to the United States.Daily life in the United States was easier for immigrants, as compared to daily life in their country of origin.The people of the United States truly accept legal immigrants: the tired, the poor, the huddled masses seeking to be free.
What is Immigration?
Teacher will provide an overview of immigration waves, using the Immigrant Timeline
provided in the Jackdaws packet or a similar aid.
Part 2/ 5-7 days
Wave 1: Irish/The potato famine and Ellis Island
Day 1/Shared reading: Led by the TL in the LMC. The Amazing Potato, Chapters
4 and 5. Use shared reading strategies to boost comprehension. Illustrations
are black and white and smaller than a page; the TL may want to blow up and
display a few pictures during the session.
Day 2+/Independent exploration and Sustained Silent or Guided Reading. Led
by the teacher in either classroom or LMC. Teachers can present a centers-style
set-up depending on reading level and dynamics of the class. By end of part 2,
all students will have a) answered key questions using the Jackdaws portfolio
broadsheet on the Irish and non-fiction selections by Doalm, Rebman, Meltzer 1,
Meltzer 2, Bartoletti, and b) completely read Giff’s Water Street. The non-fiction
selections range in reading levels from grade 3 (The Amazing Potato) to grade 7
(Bartoletti’s Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine). Giff’s Water
Street is rated at a 4.8 reading level, an appropriate level since most students
prefer to read for pleasure at a grade level or two lower than their school
placement. Tan’s The Arrival, a wordless book, should also be made available to
support full reading range.
Days 2-7/Read-Arounds: In the classroom, facilitated by teacher. Students will
mark their favorite passages to share and discuss with the class.
Day 3 or 4/Quickwriting: In the classroom, facilitated by teacher. Two topics
could include Potato Famine and Ellis Island. Teacher should grade for
comprehension, vocabulary use, grammar, spelling, and syntax.
Circa day 7/SSR response: In the classroom, facilitated by teacher. Double
Entry Journal: Teacher will hand out the following quotes for students to write double
entry journal reflections. Double entry journals will be scored up to 3 points each for
writing voice and style, grammar, syntax, spelling, and comprehension. Total possible
score for each journal is 15 points (full total: 60 points).
Wave 1: Quote 1
…She’d waited for this day all summer. This was the last year she’d ever spend in school. It would be time for her to go to work…Would it be the box factory like Annie during the day? Would it be the fish store or a vegetable market? Or worse, cleaning someone’s house? How could she spend the rest of her life like that, doing something that didn’t matter to her? And remembering what Da always said: “We have to better ourselves in this new country. Each generation doing better than the last no matter
how hard it seems.” (Giff 58-59)
Wave 1: Quote 2
“If I were on a farm somewhere, working in a field, I wouldn’t care how hard I’d have to work… Do you know what it was like working in that caisson under the river? Closed in, knowing the river was just inches away, deep underneath.” (Hughie) shuddered… “I couldn’t do it either,” Thomas said. “Never.” “I think you could,” Hughie said. “I think you could do anything you had to do…. I’m going to fight until someone stops me, or bashes my head in. I’m going to fight until I get the money for a farm.” (Giff 114-115)
Wave 2: Chinese/The Transcontinental RR and Angel Island
Set-up will mimic format for wave 1.
Day 1/Shared reading: Led by the TL in the LMC. Lee and Choi’s Landed. This is
a color picture book, so no additional action is needed to prepare materials. TL
should introduce idea that Asian immigrants entered the U.S. at the Angel Island
location, and invite students to think about how the experiences of Asian
immigrants might compare or contrast with European immigrants.
Days 2-3/Independent Exploration: Also held in LMC. Students will rotate
between print documents (at tables in main room) and the web resource (in the
computer lab adjoining the main room). Teacher and TL will both be available to
help. Activities:
o Print documents: Jackdaws portfolio broadsheet, “The Chinese” and Pert’s
To the Golden Mountain: The Story of the Chinese Who Built the
Transcontinental Railroad.
o Li Keng Wong’s Asian Island experience website:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/asian-american/angel_island/
index.htm. This website links to other educational websites about Chinese
immigration. Teacher/TL can encourage students to explore these or not
depending on time constraints.
Day 4/Quickwriting: Golden Mountain, Paper Son, Angel Island
Days 4-7/Sustained silent and guided reading: Yep’s The Journal of Wong Ming-
Chung: A Chinese Miner (My Name is America: A Dear America Book).
Days 4-7/Read-Arounds: Students will mark their favorite passages to share and
discuss with the class.
Day 7: Double Entry Journal:
Wave 2: Quote 1
I’ve met the hungriest Americans I’ve ever seen. They were so thin their bones were like sticks… There was something familiar about the newcomers. As I stared at their gaunt faces, I realized what it was: their faces were the faces of starvation. Back in China, those had been our faces. The cheekbones of my parents’ faces had stood out just like theirs. I never want to see that again. The dream is the right one. As scared as I am, I have to try to find gold. (Yep 77-78)
Wave 2: Quote 2
There are a lot of things rich people aren’t supposed to do in China. You can’t even scratch when you itch. That kind of life would be tighter than a too-small jacket. Here on golden Mountain I am free. I can scratch all I want. And I can get all the books I want from San Francisco… I wondered if this is how the swans feel when they leave one home for another. (Yep 191)
Wave 3: Refugees
ESL student interview session: sample questions
1. Before you traveled to the US, you must have had some thoughts about what it would be like. Is life in the US what you expected it to be?
2. What is difficult about living in the US?
3. What is easy?
4. Please describe an example where an American has misunderstood or believes something untrue about your country.
5. Who has helped you the most to settle in to your new home country?
Day 1/In the LMC. Primary sources, part 1: Immigrant student interview
preparation. Students will gather at the tables in the LMC main room. TL will talk
about interviewing to the class, describing interview etiquette, techniques, and
the different kinds of questions students might ask their schoolmates. Teacher
will split students into small groups to prepare questions for several minutes.
Each group will record their question on large sticky paper placed on the wall in
several areas of the library. One member of each group will present their
questions to the class. As a large group, the class will eliminate duplicates and
discuss the remaining questions. The TL will facilitate discussion about how
appropriate and interesting the questions are. The teacher will suggest any
points that might have been missed. Selected questions will be written down on
the whiteboard. Chosen questions will be submitted to the ESL teacher, who will
determine which students will be selected for an interview based on the question
list.
Day 1-2/in the LMC. Primary sources, part 2: Teacher & TL will present
Kannon’s Beyond the Fire website at http://www.itvs.org/beyondthefire/ using the
main room LCD projector and a laptop secured by the TL for the activity.
Teacher and TL will co-present how to fully use the site by using John from
Sudan as the example. They should be sure to demonstrate all aspects of the
site, including how to view the country timelines and the full stories of each teen
on the site. After the presentation, students will move into the computer lab to
explore the site on their own. TL will ensure that the website is bookmarked and
that headphones are provided at each computer station. If computer availability
is limited, teachers may copy and hand out Oduah’s “To Be a Teen Refugee”
article and discuss this with class members not using computers. This activity
should begin right after the interviewing preparation session, and should continue
for at least one full class period to ensure that all students get a substantial, if not
comprehensive, look at the 15 stories presented on the website.
Day 3/Primary sources, part 3: held in LMC main room. ESL students will visit
class and answer interview questions. Teacher, TL, and ESL teacher will
moderate. Several students may be designated as note-takers. At the end, the
teacher will lead a summary of the interviews and write down the countries
represented by the students interviewed on the whiteboard. Students will be told
to select one of the countries listed to study. They should arrive on day 4 with
their choice selected.
Culminating Project: Country Study
Students will choose to study a country represented by the interviewees or provided
at the Beyond the Fire website. The teacher will give an overview of the project, noting
that students must use a certain number of print resources and the Culturegrams
database for their reports. The TL will provide a research orientation, demonstrating a)
the public catalog and how to find the call number for the country; b) the Culturegrams
subscription database; and c) the selected web resources students are permitted to use
for the project. Students will gather data on:
1. Country Facts and Figures – population, leaders, flag, currency, major cities, etc.
2. Celebrations and holidays
3. Myths and folktales
4. Culture groups (ethnicities, tribes, social strata, etc.)
5. Daily life – family and gender roles, work, school system, dating, common
hobbies
6. Food – staple foods, traditional recipes
7. Language – learn a greeting in target language, note one language or multiple
languages used, gestures
8. Sports – to play or watch
Students will capture this information in a graphic organizer, then turn this into an
artifact that will be shared with the class and displayed in the hall. The teacher can
allow students to work in pairs or as groups, if desired. The artifact could include a
collage, essay, book, or PowerPoint presentation. The teacher and TL should establish
in advance the milestones and deadlines, and make sure to present these up front so
students know what to expect. Deadlines and milestones should also be displayed on
the main room whiteboard as a reminder to all students. Teacher and TL will circulate
among all students to get progress checks and give individual feedback throughout the
project, over several days, as students research their topics.
Each student or group will show the class their project and tell the class the most
interesting fact they discovered and why they found this interesting.
Teacher will assess projects as a portfolio-type assignment, considering not only
the finished project but also the progress made from earlier discussions. TL can assist
with assessment as needed. Teacher/Tl should give immediate feedback after
presentation to reinforce student interest and help them understand the strengths and
weaknesses of their project.
Culmination: Instructional Conversation
After the presentations end, the class will sit at the LMC center tables for a grand
conversation on these topics:
Compare life in the country you studied to life in the U.S. If you were born in that
country, would you emigrate?
If you, as an American, were dropped off in the country you studied, would you
be welcomed? Attacked?
How has the immigrant experience changed over time? Do today’s immigrants
have problems similar to the European and Asian immigrant groups we studied?
Teacher and TL should end the unit by discussing their observations about what the
class has learned.
Text Set
>14 books/series, nine websites, and one primary document portfolio<
In-class, independent exploration, sustained silent reading, and guided reading
selections
Baker, L., Ed. (2004). U.S. Immigration and Migration Reference Library: Farmington
Hills, MI: Thomsen Gale. This comprehensive reference set provides all sorts of
resources for a migration unit and includes Almanacs vol. 1 and 2, Biographies
vol. 1 and 2, one-volume Primary Sources, and a Cumulative Index. Teachers
can photocopy and pass out copies of the Homestead and Chinese Exclusion
Acts, and students can look up and read full biographies of prominent and
successful immigrants by nationality.
Bartoletti, S.B. (2001). Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin. This Sibert Award winner will keep students’ interest
through eyewitness-style memoirs of the famine and a multitude of drawings and
news clips from the time period. Even students who merely views the maps,
quotes, and poems will gain much from flipping through this volume.
Dolan, E.F. (2003). The Irish Potato Famine: The Story of Irish-American Immigration
(Great Journeys). New York: Marshall Cavendish. This connects the famine and
other root problems in Ireland more closely to the decision to migrate. The books
contains many photographs and tables in black and white and color.
Giff, P.R. (2006). Water Street. New York: Wendy Lamb Books. Bird (short for Bridget)
and Thomas, children of Irish immigrants, carve out their new lives in an 1875
tenement building overlooking the construction of the new Brooklyn Bridge. The
book touches on the Irish potato famine, lives and recipes of a healer (Bird’s
mother), pop culture (a woman taking over the bridge’s construction after her
husband and son are incapacitated), and illnesses of the time (scarlet fever
outbreaks and Cassion’s Disease, a early form of “the bends” suffered by
underwater bridge workers). Giff’s descriptions focus on the close togetherness
of Bird’s family; Bird’s attempts to balance her fears with the expectations of her
immigrant parents; and problems of alcoholism, bloody boxing matches, and
illiteracy among the Irish immigrant group.
Kannon, S. (2004). Beyond the Fire. An Electric Shadows Project/ITVS Interactive.
http://www.itvs.org/beyondthefire/. This powerful website, based on an
independent film effort, asks readers “What would you do if you had to leave
forever? What would you choose to take with you?” Students can learn about
the refugee experience by clicking on one of 15 teens displayed on a world map.
Each teen image brings up their native country’s map and a timeline of the area’s
conflicts. A third click activates the teen’s “passport” including their name,
background, and current home and school in the U.S. From here students can
access 2-3 oral histories about key events in each teen’s life, from being shot at
age 7 to misunderstandings endured at a U.S. high school. Audio clips are
accompanied by family and home country photos. Each clip is horrifying, yet told
with a tone of acceptance and hope. This resource was a favorite among
teachers who looked over this unit plan. One teacher actually bookmarked this
to follow up a Holocaust unit covered in the Technology and Literacy curriculum.
Lee, M. (2006). Landed. Y. Choi, Illus. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. In the 1880s,
12-year-old Sun must study for and negotiate the immigration process at Angel
Island. How long will Sun stay on the island? Will he pass the test? Will his
friends be sent back to China? Will Sun ever see his father again? This book is
beautifully illustrated, with simple text for a read-aloud to middle school students.
Comprehensive author notes chronicle the life of the real Sun, who was the
inspiration for this book, and shed light on the rest of his life and connection to
the book’s author.
Meltzer, M. (1992). The Amazing Potato: A Story in Which the Incas, Conquistadors,
Marie Antoinette, Thomas Jefferson, Wars, Famines, Immigrants, and French
Fries All Play a Part. New York: Harper Collins. This book focuses very
specifically on the history of the potato itself, but Chapters 4 and 5 cover the
famine in Ireland and its impact on the migration patterns of Irish. This book is
written with simpler language than other resources on this topic, making it an
excellent choice for struggling readers.
Meltzer, M. (2002). Bound for America: the Story of the European Immigrants (Great
Journeys series). New York: Marshall Cavendish. Gives excellent charts, facts
and figures that will help students place Irish immigration into the bigger picture,
allowing them to compare and contrast motivations to migrate from other nations.
Full-page photographs add to the book’s attractive appearance.
Oduah, C. (2003 Oct. 20). To Be a Teen Refuge. WireTap Magazine Online. Retrieved
April 29, 2008 from http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/16975/. This article,
written by a high school student, explains in understandable prose many details
about the current influx of refugees into many area of the United States.
Pert, L. (2003). To the Golden Mountain: The Story of the Chinese Who Built the
Transcontinental Railroad (Great Journeys series). New York: Marshall
Cavendish. Another full-color, photograph-filled offering will give students more
background about the many jobs pursued and held by Chinese immigrants.
Gives great focus to daily life and the root causes behind anti-Chinese sentiment
in America.
Rebman, R.C. (2000). Life on Ellis Island (The Way People Live series). San Diego:
Lucent Books. This book will help students understand the treatment of all
immigrants during migration “in-processing.” Includes photographs of documents
and the immigrants coming in, and provides easy-to-understand prose for
struggling readers.
Scriabine, C. (1995). Immigration: 1870-1930. Jackdaw Portfolio #G84. New York:
Golden Owl Publishing. This portfolio combines fascinating primary documents
with a prepared set of document-based inquiries and fantastic reference
materials written by an expert in the field. Teachers will want to use Broadsheets
1 (Immigration in the Industrial Age), 2 (Northern Europeans: A Continuing
Stream), and 3 (Asians: The Chinese) as core reading, then allow students to
explore the interesting artifacts such as:
o Advice to Immigrants: What Every Immigrant Should Know/ A Simple
Pamphlet for the guidance and benefit of prospective immigrants to the
United States. By Cecilia Razovsky, Dept of Immigrant Aid, Council of
Jewish Women
o Telegram from the Asiatic Exclusion League of America to Immigrantion
Convention dated Nov 16 1911 calling for “a halt on the cheap labor that is
being dumped on our shores to be used as a club to reduce the wages of
laboring men now in the country… the League welcomes the immigrant
that comes here with his family to till the soil, but is opposed to the single
an who comes to be herded like cattle in a life destroying atmosphere to
work for a pittance that is insufficient to properly maintain a man in decent
surroundings…”
o Photographs and political cartoons capturing and skewering the
immigration waves
Tan, A. (2007). The Arrival. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books. This wordless book
follows a man who escapes a repressive nation and travels to his new home.
The illustrations are striking and highly detailed. Readers are thrown into a
foreigner’s shoes, where all signs are written upon with strange symbols and
communications take place primarily though gestures and facial expressions.
Each panel will transport readers though the protagonist’s memories and
impressions as he finds his way in a new world.
Yep, L. (2000). The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner (My Name is
America: A Dear America Book). New York: Scholastic. This first-person
account presents a fictionalized but historically accurate picture of Gold-Rush era
Chinese immigrants. Wong, nicknamed Runt, travels to California to help his
Uncle seek gold and earn wages to elevate their family in China out of poverty
and tax debt. Subtle text captures nuances from this controversial time period,
from the underlying hatred of native whites for the Chinese workers, to the status
Chinese gave to men who could read and write.
Pre-selected resources for culminating country study project
Culturegrams subscription database. http://www.culturegrams.com/. Ann Arbor, MI:
ProQuest K-12 http://www.proquestk12.com/about/default.shtml.
Series: Enchantment of the World. Sample Title: Willis, T. Afghanistan: Enchantment of
the World. New York: Scholastic Children’s Press.
Series: In America. Sample Title: Taus-Bolstad, S. (2006). Pakistanis in America.
Minneapolis: Lerner Publications.
Series: Visual Geography. Sample Title: DiPiazza, F.D. (2006). Sudan In Pictures.
Minneapolis: Lerner publications.
Websites:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ Library of Congress Country Studies and Country
Profiles
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm BBC Country Profiles
http://www.ethnologue.com/country_index.asp Languages of the World, Web
Edition
http://www.everyculture.com/index.html Countries and Their Cultures
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=21&year=2007 Freedom
House Country Reports
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/ U.S. Department of State Background Notes
References
Alessandro, A. (2008 Apr. 30). Syracuse City School District ESL Teacher. Interview.
New York State Office of Instructional Support and Development. (2007, Nov). Schools
and Districts in Need of Improvement: Elementary and Middle Schools
Accountability Status 2007-08 (Rest of State). Retrieved April 25, 2008, from the
NYSTAR website,
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/school-accountability/home.shtml
New York State Office of Testing Accountability and Reporting. (2007). The New York
State School Report Card: Accountability and Overview Report 2005-06: Grant
Middle School, Syracuse City School District. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from the
NYSTAR website, https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/AllDistrict.do.
New York State Office of Testing Accountability and Reporting. (2007). The New York
State School Report Card: Comprehensive Information Report 2005-06: Grant
Middle School, Syracuse City School District. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from the
NYSTAR website, https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/AllDistrict.do
Nugent, B. (2008 Apr 30). Syracuse City School District ESL Teacher. Interview.