Now
entering its 19th year, this contest inspires educators to bring
U.S. Immigration history and lessons into their classrooms and gives fifth graders the opportunity to explore
America as a nation of immigrants.
1. Free Interactive,
Common-Core Lessons
We’ve
designed lessons plans that engage students to learn more about our nation’s
immigrant past. These lessons are easy to use, complete with scripts,
PowerPoints and an interactive timeline to adapt as necessary for your
classroom. Learn more about our Immigrant Experience Jeopardy Game, our Famous Immigrant Contributions, and our Interactive Immigration Timeline lessons here on the contest website.
For more free interactive lessons, please visit our website.
2. Dedicated Contest
Coordinators
Your
local contest coordinator is usually a practicing immigration attorney who can
provide your students with practical knowledge and insight into immigration past
and present. Our coordinators go above and beyond simply running a contest:
they visit classrooms either in-person or virtually to meet with students, they
host award ceremonies for students and their families where students read their
work in front of large audiences, and they solicit prizes for the winners. Some
also work to get your school and classroom recognized as one coordinator did in
this clip from a TV news
broadcast.
3. Unique
Naturalization Ceremonies
Many
local contests regularly organize an opportunity for the winning student(s) to
read their entries at a naturalization oath ceremony. Where else does a fifth grader get to read in
front of an audience of potentially hundreds of new citizens?
4. Celebrity Judges
We
are fortunate every year to have a prestigious panel of judges volunteer their
time to read the winning entries. Previous judges have included prize-winning
authors Edwidge Danticat, Junot Diaz, and Dave Eggers, Valentino Achak Deng,
the Minister of Education in Sudan, Gerda Weisman-Klein, the Founder of
Citizenship Counts, and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), and the late Senator
Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA).
5. Opportunities to
Engage Student Voices
Perhaps
the most important reason to participate is that the contest offers several
opportunities for students to thoughtfully write on the contest theme “Why I’m
Glad America is a Nation of Immigrants.” Winning student entries are published
on our website and feature a variety of poems, plays, essays, and short stories
in response.
Additionally,
we offer ways for teachers to enrich student understandings through digital
storytelling. Our easy-to-use lesson
plan
guides teachers step-by-step through the process of helping students transcribe
their entries digitally with suggestions on how to share their stories with
school and community members.
Teachers
can also extend learning through collaborative, project-based assignments. Suggestions include: hosting a book drive for
diverse, multicultural books, partnering with local libraries, refugee centers,
and literacy programs to learn more about immigrants in your community, and/or
organizing a digital story viewing night for students and families. The
possibilities are endless!
How to Get Involved…
If
you’re a fifth grade teacher or elementary school professional, please visit
our contest website for more
information. Find your local
contest and
click on the link to register.
If
you’re not a fifth grade teacher or school professional, you can still help us
spread the word!
- Share this email and
this flyer with an educator you
know. Direct them to our contest website: www.celebrateamericawritingcontest.org
- Show them all the reasons the 2015 was so successful with this interactive resource made possible through our friends at HSTRY.
- Follow our contest Twitter @ImmTeacher and use the hashtag #celebrateamerica16
We offer free lesson
plans, resources, book/film
reviews, and grants to
#teachimmigration. Stay connected! Follow us on twitter @ThnkImmigration.
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