Every so often we hear back from educators who are
interested in teaching about immigration but are unsure how to integrate it
into their curriculum. Is it too
controversial? Will it align to the Common Core? How will students respond?
Will they be absorbed and want to learn more? How can I support student
understanding of current immigration issues?
While we provide critical resources and guidance, we know
that real learning takes place in the classroom.
Ms. April Francis is a Social Studies teacher at Lawrence
Road Middle School in Uniondale, NY and is one of the educators selected to be
a part of our Teach
Immigration Project on Long Island. The project is an educational initiative
designed to increase and improve teaching and learning about U.S. immigration
law and policy at schools on Long Island. Paired with immigration attorney, Ms.
Rachel Baskin, they have team-taught two lessons. What follows is a description
provided by Ms. Francis of her seventh grade class’s experience using our
lesson plan, “Freedom,
Fairness, & Equality.”
A Teacher’s Account
of Teaching Freedom, Fairness, & Equality
Submitted by Ms. April
Francis
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Seventh-grade students introduced to the
lesson's essential questions by Ms. Francis.
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After students were introduced to these questions via the
lesson’s
Prezi, Ms. Baskin discussed current immigration issues, the preamble of the
Declaration of Independence, and the 5th amendment, drawing on students’ prior
knowledge. She highlighted that all people, regardless of immigration status,
were protected under the 5th amendment.
After the overview, Ms. Francis connected the idea of
"pursuit of happiness" to MLK Jr.'s actions during the Civil Rights
Movement. Students participated in a robust discussion of MLK Jr.'s quote
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Using their
class set of iPads, students shared their opinions of this famous quote on the
virtual blackboard tool, Padlet.
Students were informed that MLK Jr. and other civil rights activists were
largely successful due to the support of school-aged students, like them!
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A
student uses Padlet to respond to MLK Jr.’s quote "Injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere.”
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Next, students were placed into cooperative learning groups
to analyze a specific U.S. immigration policy that excluded certain groups.
They had a reading on the policy, and utilized their iPads for further
research. Ms. Baskin and Ms. Francis each worked with various teams to assist
them with the task. After this activity, each team reported out, while the
other teams jotted
notes down. Many were shocked to see that various groups had been excluded
by U.S. Immigration policy at different time periods in history. They
questioned whether our nation upheld the idea of "all" being allowed
to pursue happiness.
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Students
research historical examples of U.S. immigration law and policy on iPads.
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Ms. Baskin assists students and reviews their
work.
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Finally, primary
source readings of present day immigrant struggles were read and students
were asked to answer a series of critical thinking questions. The lesson
concluded with the inquiry question from the beginning "How can young
people enact change?" Some responses included "by educating others
about immigration policy and helping them be a voice for their community."
This was a fun, interactive, and engaging lesson!
Providing Classroom
Supports
The lesson plan, presentations, Padlet, and primary source
readings can all be found online.
What it takes to implement, however, is a
teacher who holds students to high expectations and provides the necessary
supportive framework. We think this
work is invaluable and we would love to hear back from you on how we can
continue to support you in the classroom. Please let us know by emailing us or by filling out this
short feedback form.
If you like what we
do, please forward this email to a friend or colleague, tell them about us,
and share with them this link http://bit.ly/1KdE5Zz
to sign up for updates and resources to teach immigration at no cost. Follow us
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#teachimmigration.
