Curriculumunit

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Mariana Marshall
C&T 4124
Spring 2016
Curriculum Unit
A Modern American Dream: Immigration in the US Today

Table of Contents
Cover Letter.2
Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions & Other Goals.....4
Culminating Product/Performance....4
Learning Experiences.5
Sample Lesson Plans.....11
Teaching Resources....20
Description & Rationale for Organization......27
Appendix....28
A: Common Core and NYC Standards Addressed Throughout Unit.28
B: Culminating Product Assessment Rubric....33
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Cover Letter
The following curriculum unit is imagined as an integrated Social Studies and ELA bend to take place
over approximately six weeks revolving around the topic of Modern Immigration in the United States. I
hope to use this theme to teach into understanding perspectives different from our own, and to build on
that as we move from studying our own immigrant community (Chinatown) to other immigrant
communities in the area of New York City. The unit will culminate in a conversation on what the best
way to receive new immigrants in our community might be.
In my practice as an educator, I have chosen to adopt the theoretical framework of Critical Theory to
inform my teaching. I feel that the ability to empathize is essential in applying a critical lens. That is why
perspective taking and ultimately empathy is such a big part of this curriculum on Immigration. Before
we spend any time looking critically at the way we view immigrants in this country and our community,
we must be able to understand the value in taking someone elses point of view.
We will start and end our unit in Chinatown beginning with a study on our own immigrant experiences
and the experiences of our community, and ending with asking ourselves to reflect on the best way to
receive newcomers in our community. The entrance to this unit is designed to provide a solid base from
which to begin to empathize when we start to look at immigrant experiences different from our own.
The exit is designed to bring the story of immigration back to ourselves and our roles now, not
necessarily as immigrants, but as established members of the community. Using what weve learned
about perspective-taking and empathy, its my hope that students will be able to take a critical look at
their community and attain a sense of agency over their own reaction to newcomers to our
neighborhood, city, and country.
With Critical Theory as our framework, we will be looking at the issue of power throughout the unit.
During our two community walks (one in our own neighborhood, and one in another immigrant
neighborhood in New York City), we will discover who owns the businesses in those neighborhoods. We
will also be looking for community leaders and the role that they play. Through this practice, we will
examine who benefits from immigration in these communities. Are local businesses owned by
immigrants or outsiders? Are the people making decisions about the community based out of the
community themselves?
We will also be looking critically at the power structures that might lead to the act of immigration. We
will explore the stories of immigrants both locally and across the country to discover what motivated
them to leave their home countries. We will ask ourselves about role power plays in the story of
immigration. Do people leave their homes when they feel that they have power over their lives? What
are they looking to find here in the United States? Since the language of power is not always obvious
when scaffolded for second graders, you will find questions related to the framework of critical theory
highlighted in blue throughout the Learning Experiences section of this plan.
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Finally, we will look at our own position in the communities that new immigrants enter. What kind of
role do we have as established residents? We will put ourselves in the position of an outsider both
physically (by exploring an unfamiliar neighborhood on our second community walk) and intellectually
(by learning about cultures and places different from our own). We do this in order to try our best to put
ourselves in the shoes of recent immigrants. Then - and only then - are we ready to tackle the biggest
question of the unit: How could we best receive newcomers to our community?
In order to answer this question, we will study the policies already put in place regarding immigration.
Then we will look at proposals made by the major political parties during this election season. We will
practice empathy once more by participating in a mock debate. Students will be assigned either a
Democrat or Republican stance which they will then research. A part of this research will include not just
looking up the policy, but attempting to understand the reason behind policymakers decisions. Whose
experiences are these proposals rooted in? Who benefits from these policies?
My goal is not to elicit a particular answer to any of these questions throughout this process. Instead,
my vision is to scaffold a critical inquiry into the history and modern state of immigration to the U.S. My
hope is that in this way, students will become involved in the topic in a way that a textbook experience
could not provide them. They will practice many skills outlined by Common Core and New York City
while exploring the rich history of their neighborhood, city, and countrys immigrant roots. They will also
engage in discussion about current political trends in our country, and they will be encouraged to form
ideas of their own. While students will be engaged in active learning within the realms of social studies
and english language arts, the primary goal in my classroom will always be to cultivate critical thinkers
and problem solvers who will grow to be informed, well-rounded citizens who actively contribute to a
more just society.
A Note on the Intended Classroom
Responsive teaching is central to my identity as educator. This unit was crafted for a particular
classroom and can/will be amended to fit different needs in the future. That being said, I feel that
understanding my teaching decisions and rationale is difficult without some insight into the classroom I
was working in when I conceived this unit.
This unit was designed with my current (Spring 2016) student teaching placement in mind. This is a
general education, second grade classroom located in the Chinatown area of Manhattan. Nearly all of
the students in the class are themselves either first or second generation immigrants. And yet, I have
been shocked as I have grown to know and love these children to learn how little they know about the
history of their community and to come to realize how isolated they are from the rest of their city. The
first two weeks of this unit will be focused solely on immigration in Chinatown, and I hope that this will
help students get to know and celebrate their own immigrant identities.
At the same time, I also want to expose these students to the myriad of cultures that sit - quite uniquely
- just blocks away from their homes and our school. Living in a city as diverse as New York should be
taken advantage of as an opportunity to practice perspective-taking and empathy every day. And yet, I
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have seen many communities segregated by forces both internal and external on this island, and I worry
that this limits my students perspectives. Over the course of my semester with these students, I
witnessed nearly every child struggle at some point with interpersonal issues within the classroom. It
became apparent to me that, for whatever reason, explicit socio-emotional instruction might be
beneficial not just for our study of immigration, but to improve students everyday interactions. That is
why youll see empathy emerge over and over throughout the learning experiences designated here as a
prevalent theme and explicit study.
Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, & Other Goals

Enduring Understandings:
Students will understand that experiences vary greatly and that perspectives are the result of
these experiences.
Students will understand the concept of empathy, and place a value on practicing it in their
lives.
Students will understand that there are many reasons people choose to immigrate - few (if any)
of which threaten established populations.
Essential questions:
Can you really ever put yourself in someone elses shoes? What can we do to try to understand
where someone is coming from (physically/experientially/emotionally)?
Why would someone choose to leave their country? Why choose to come to the United States?
How could we best receive newcomers to our community?
Other goals:
To examine the role of a country like the US as a land of opportunity and what responsibilities
we have as Americans because of that.
What does our community look like to outsiders? How do we feel about that?
Culminating Product/Performance
The culminating product of this unit will take place in two parts:
Part 1
As referenced in the cover letter, students will participate in a mock debate. They will be assigned to
research and represent either Republican or Democratic views on the issue of immigration. Students will
work in small groups and begin their research from a teacher-facilitated pool information (see Teacher
Resources). From there they will have the opportunity to come up with additional questions they have
regarding their sides stance and take on a second round of research. Groups will then present their
arguments to the class in an official mock debate. In assessment, emphasis will be placed on students
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remaining true to their sides stance in order to preserve the integrity of the debate as well as to
continue the practice of putting themselves in anothers shoes. See Appendix B for full rubric.
Part 2
After the debate has taken place, students will be given time to reflect on their own views and opinions
on the subject of immigration. They will be asked whether they would vote Republican or Democrat on
the issue of immigration - or alternatively, if they feel neither side represents their views - and why. In
assessment, emphasis will be placed on the backing up of their opinions with examples pulled from our
course of study (again, refer to Appendix B for complete rubric). In order to accommodate a range of
learning strengths and styles, students will be allowed to work in pairs or individually and will have two
options to choose from for their final assessment:
Option 1: Vote For ______ Newspaper Editorial
You are the editor of a local Newspaper based out of New York City and its time to endorse a
candidate. Write an editorial for your newspaper explaining which candidate - if any - you want
your readers to vote for. Make sure to include why you feel the way you do!
Option 2: Create a Campaign Commercial
You are the head of a major marketing company and your favorite candidate has asked you to
create a commercial explaining why his/her stance on immigration is the best for our country.
Create a commercial - either recorded ahead of time and screened to the class or performed live
- explaining who your candidate is, what they want to do, and why that is the best choice for our
country. If you dont agree with either side, make a commercial explaining why! Presentation
options include video, skit, voicethread, or powerpoint presentation.
A Note on Adaptation
If the culture of your school community is not friendly or conducive to the idea of bringing politics into
the classroom, this activity can be adapted by simply assigning students stances without connecting
political ideologies or personalities. For example, students may argue pro or against closed borders, the
Dream Act, or immigration quotas. However, explicitly examining the positions of those in power
eliminates an element I inserted mindfully in order to more closely align this unit with my theoretical
framework of critical theory. Studying the role that politics play in creating the policies that affect
immigration and ultimately forming an opinion one way or another based on that gives students the
opportunity to practice engaging in informed citizenship in a scaffolded and supportive environment.
Learning Experiences
Week 1: Our Community & Ourselves
Read Aloud: My Chinatown by Kam Mak
In this picture book, a boy who recently moved to New York Citys Chinatown from Hong Kong goes over
the course of a year from being sullen and homesick to falling in love with his new neighborhood.
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Community Walk 1
In this first of two community walks, students will spend a morning exploring their home neighborhood
in search of answers to the following questions: Who lives here? Who works here? Who owns
businesses here? What languages do you see/hear? As well as additional questions brainstormed in
class discussions (see KWL Chart & Discussion below). After the walk, students will eat a picnic lunch in
Columbus Park. In a perfect world, community leaders would join us for this lunch, so students have a
chance to interact with them and learn a little about their stories and motivations. Alternatively if this is
not possible, students may write letters to community leaders during their time in the park. Through this
interaction, we would like to establish who are leaders in the community are, where they came from,
and what their priorities are.
KWL Chart & Discussion
Before embarking on our community walk, we will create a Know-Want to Know-Learned chart that we
will fill in throughout the next two weeks. At this point in the unit, we will talk about the things we know
about our community, as well as the things that we want to know. We will use this discussion to
brainstorm questions we would like to answer in our community walk. Teachers may also use the want
to know section as a guide in planning the next weeks activities. After returning from our community
walk and throughout our study of Chinatown, we will amend and add to the chart to reflect our learning
and any misconceptions we may have started out with. This will act as an evolving assessment
throughout the first two weeks of this unit.
Identity Poems
Self-reflection is an important element to any practice of empathy. Before we learn how to see the
world from someone elses shoes, well spend some time thinking about ourselves and our identities.
We will spend the week preparing for and writing acrostic identity poems using words that we feel
represent ourselves.
Week 2: The Story of Our Community
Read Aloud: Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng
In this picture book, a young Chinese-American girl gets to know her grandfather who has just come
from China to live with the family in the States. At first our main character is frustrated by her
Grandfathers inability to speak English. But soon she finds a special way to bridge the gap between
language and culture.
Chinatown Stations
Students will rotate through 4-5 stations assembled by the teacher to learn more about the history of
immigration to their neighborhood. The topics/themes of these stations should be at least partially
driven by questions still unanswered in our want to know column of our KWL chart, but potential
stations could include: 1 - Chinese geography: China is a large and varying country with many regions. In
this station, students can explore maps of China and learn details of some of the regions the majority of
the people in their neighborhood have immigrated from. 2 - History of Immigration from China to New
York: a station with information on why Chinese immigrants began coming to the States, when they
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came, and where they settled. 3 - New Yorks Chinatown - Historical documents, pictures, and maps
showing NYCs Chinatown as it evolved through the years. 4 - American Response to Chinese
Immigration - articles/pictures/information on how locals have responded to immigration from China
over time. Any of these stations could be entire units in themselves. The point here is to give students a
place to start in their learning on immigration that is relatable and relevant to them.
Interviewing Our Neighbors
This assignment will begin with a class visit from a member of the community who has immigrated from
China (could be a parent, friend, or fellow school employee). Before this visit, we will brainstorm
questions to ask them about their immigrant experience. Possible questions to include: How long have
you lived here? Have you ever lived anywhere else? Why did you come here/Why did you leave China?
What do you like about living here? What dont you like? What do you do here (job/place in the
community)? During the interview, we will practice ways to take notes from this interview (use a
worksheet, writing in notebook, record with audio/visual recorder). Then students will be given an
assignment to conduct an interview on their own. Students may interview parents/relatives/neighbors anyone as long as they live in Chinatown. Students will be given a series of questions to use in their
interview for support, but may insert their own questions as well. Then, we will share what weve
learned from our interviews in a class discussion We will talk about whether we have anything in
common with our interviewees and what is different between our experiences.
*Introduction to Empathy
This lesson will teach explicitly into the concept of empathy. In addition to defining empathy, we will use
Grandfather Counts as a model of empathy in action. We will talk about how the story may have gone
differently if the main character had not practiced empathy with her grandfather, and use that to start a
conversation about the benefits of being an empathetic person. Finally, we will brainstorm some of the
ways we can be empathetic in our own lives.
Identity Poems Round 2
In our first official empathy practice, we will use what we learned from our interviews to write a
second acrostic poem - this time from the point of view of our interviewees. We will present these
poems to our interviewees as a thank you for working with us.
Quick Write/Draw
In this on-the-fly assessment, students will take just a few moments at the end of the week to think
about whether it was easy or difficult to write an Identity Poem from someone elses perspective. Also
ask students: What are some of the things you did to put yourself in your interviewees shoes? Students
may express their answers in writing or drawing form to accommodate all learners.
Week 3: Other Immigrant Communities in New York City
Read Aloud: Waiting for Papa/Esperando a Papa by Rene Colato Lainez
In this book written in both English and Spanish, a young boy tells his story of immigrating to the U.S.
from El Salvador - and having to leave his father behind. Even though only one of the students in the
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class speaks Spanish, the book will be read in both English and Spanish in order to introduce to the class
to a language most of them have never heard before. We will chart the similarities and differences
between this story and the stories we have learned from our neighbors. I anticipate the theme of
leaving family members at home will be one that the two groups have in common.
New York City Immigration Stations

Students will rotate through 4-5 stations that represent the diversity of immigrant stories in New York
City today. Potential stations include: 1 - Prominent Immigrant neighborhoods in the past: Irish/Italian. 2
- Prominent immigrant neighborhoods today: Dominican (Washington Heights). 3 - Prominent
immigrant neighborhoods today: Polish (Ridgewood) 4 - Prominent immigrant communities today:
Korean (Murray Hill) 5 - Prominent immigrant communities today: Ghanaian (Concourse Village)
Community Walk 2
This second community walk will take place in one of the communities studied in the Immigration
Station (based on feasibility). The walk will mirror the first community walk in that the amount of time
spent in the neighborhood and all of the questions students will be asked to answer will be the same. If
possible, students will also meet with community leaders. Upon returning from the community walk,
students will work in small groups to discuss: What do the two neighborhoods have in common? What is
different? What does it feel like to look/speak/act differently from those around you? How would you
feel if you lived in this neighborhood? How do you think people from this neighborhood would feel
coming to your neighborhood? After discussing in small groups we will come together to chart our
responses.
Journal Entry: How Would You Feel If?
Students will be asked to journal in-depth on the topic of our previous discussion, namely: How would
you feel to live in the neighborhood we visited today? The purpose of this assignment is twofold: 1st Up until now we have only looked at immigrants living, for the most part, in enclaves that are similar to
their home country. In the next week, we will start looking at stories of immigrants who arrive as a total
outsider to a new place. Since we have one outsider experience to reflect on now, I want to challenge
students to think deeply about what that might feel like in preparation for our next section of study.
Also, this will serve as a pre-assessment to measure how students are writing about their feelings. Next
week, we will be looking carefully at ways writers express their feelings (helping readers to empathize),
and Im curious to see what crafts students are already drawing on. Will there expressions be literal (I
would feel sad)? Or will there be any use of figurative language?
Week 4: Immigrants Around Our Country
Read Aloud: One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
A recent immigrant goes on a field trip to an apple orchard on her second day of school in the U.S. She
thoughtfully describes the experience of not being able to speak English and of looking different than
everyone around her while also noticing the things that are the same between her old country and her
new country.
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One Green Apple Stations

Based on our read aloud of One Green Apple, students will rotate through the following ELA and Social
Studies stations: 1 - What are some of the things Farah noticed was the same in her old country and her
new country? What are some of the things that are different? Discuss and make a list. 2 - Figurative
language station. This station will be based largely off of whether or not we have discussed figurative
language in this class yet and what kind of figurative language students used to describe their feelings in
last weeks journal entry. Potential station themes could include: Introduction to figurative language,
vibrant verbs, show not tell, simile and metaphor, or onomatopoeia. This station would likely include a
definition of one of these devices, some examples, and instructions for students to find examples of the
devices in the book. 3 - Station on Arab cultures. Bunting does not specify where Farahs family
immigrated from, but gives enough clues for us to infer she is Arab. This station will give a brief overview
of Arab countries, cultures, and immigration patterns. 4 - My father has explained to me that we are
not always liked here. In your small station group, discuss what you think Farah is talking about here.
Make a KWL chart to record your discussions. Teacher will combine all groups KWL charts into one to
use as a guide for the next weeks course of study.
*Scholastic Young Immigrants Series Activity
Using resources from Scholastics Meet Young Immigrants Website, divide students into small groups
and have them either read the story or watch the video (info is the same) of one of the young
immigrants featured on the site. Ask the groups to pretend the young immigrant they have learned
about is about to join their class. Students will put together a presentation to introduce the rest of the
class to their young immigrant. Specifically, ask the groups to discuss: What are some things students
could do to make their new classmate feel more at home? What is something new students might learn
from
their
new
classmate?
KWL & Full Class Discussion: Why Do People Immigrate?
Based on the immigrant stories we have heard so far, make a KWL chart as a class around the question:
Why do people immigrate? Keep this chart on display over the rest of the unit, making revisions and
adding information as necessary. This will serve as an evolving assessment.
Newspaper Clips
After the discussion on why people immigrate, explain to the class that as it seems there are many
reasons people immigrate (as is likely to be evidenced on our KWL chart), lets make sure to keep an eye
out for news stories that might give us more answers. Set a google alert or otherwise actively follow
immigration stories in the news and collect stories to bring into class for the next week. Ask students to
bring in any relevant news stories they encounter for extra credit.
Write A Narrative
This week students will be building on their journal entry from last week by writing a narrative imagining
that they are one of the young immigrants we studied this week. Using what they learned about the
students in the activity, write a narrative story from the point of view of one of the young immigrants
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describing their first day of school in the U.S. Include figurative language studied in One Green Apple
station. Before we begin writing, review some of the ways that we can practice empathy by putting
ourselves in others shoes.
Week 5: US Reaction to Modern Immigration
Read Aloud: News Articles
Instead of picture books, this weeks read alouds will consist of recent news articles on the topic of
immigration. In order to prepare for the upcoming debate, students will need to have knowledge of the
various immigrant issues currently involving the U.S. Topics to be on the lookout for: Unaccompanied
minors from Central America crossing the border, Presidential candidates talk of immigration (Trumps
call for a ban on Muslims, for example), U.S. response to the refugee crisis in Syria, etc. As we read,
make sure to update our Why People Immigrate chart as appropriate. See Teacher Resources section
for information on kid-friendly news outlets.
*Modern Immigration Stations: Who is here and what it takes
Students will rotate through the following stations: 1 - Foreign-born populations in the U.S.
(http://www.census.gov/library/infographics/foreign_born.html) Students will examine the infographics
and answer questions like: What percentage of the current US population was born in another country?
Where did/do the highest populations of foreign born citizens come from in the past/now? Where in the
U.S. do the majority of foreign-born residents live today? What surprises you about the information in
these graphics? 2 - Questions for the Naturalization Test: At this station, students will be given a test which will actually be adapted from the list of questions people have to answer in order to gain
citizenship
(https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenship%20Resource%
20Center%20Site/Publications/100q.pdf). The test will comprise of 10 questions, and students will be
told they need to get six correct in order to pass (as is the requirement for actual aspiring U.S. citizens).
After the test, students will discuss the following questions: Did you pass or fail this test? Do you think it
is a good idea for potential U.S. citizens to take a test in order to get their citizenship? Do you think
passing this test proves you will be/are a good American citizen? What do you like about this test? What
dont you like about this test? If you designed a test people had to take in order to be an American
citizen, what would be on it? 3 - The Dream Act: At this station, students will learn about the Dream Act,
a controversial proposal that creates a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought into
the U.S. by their parents before that age of 16. Students will read arguments for and against the act,
then watch a video interview of Dreamers hoping to take advantage of the proposal. After, students
will be asked to discuss: Who benefits from the Dream Act? What are the arguments for the Dream Act?
What are the arguments against it? Who belongs in America? What do you think about the Dream Act?
Preparation for Debate
Students will be introduced to what a debate is and will watch clips of debates in order to familiarize
themselves with the concept and prepare them for the expectations of Part 1 of the culminating
product/performance. They will be separated into small groups and will spend much of the week the
researching their assigned candidate or political party. Depending on when this unit takes place, groups
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may be divided to represent the republican vs the democratic views OR to represent the views of
individual candidates (for example, students may be assigned to research the platform of Donald Trump,
Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton, or Bernie Sanders). Questions students will be asked to research that may be
asked during the debate include: What are the solutions to illegal immigration in America? Should
immigration quotas be increased? Does immigration harm American workers? How should the United
States respond to the ongoing refugee crisis? See Teaching Resources for helpful resources to scaffold
this research.
Week 6: Culminating Product/Performance

Part 1
The mock debate will take place early in the week. See Culminating Product/Performance section for
description.
Quick Write/Draw
Students will be asked to write and draw on the the topic of what they learned while taking part in and
watching the mock debate.
Part 2
See Culminating Product/Performance section for description.
*Lesson plan included in Sample Lesson Plans section below.
Sample Lesson Plans

Lesson title: Intro to Empathy
Learning Objective(s)
What do you want students
to know, understand, or be
able to do as a result of this
lesson?
Evidence for assessment

Where will you look
What will you look for?
Rationale
Why are you teaching this
lesson? What connections
does it have to standards?
Students will understand the concept of empathy as being able to put

yourself in someone elses shoes/see things from a different perspective.
Students will understand the value of practicing empathy.
Students will be able to identify ways to be more understanding of others.
Where: class participation; How Would You Feel? responses; group-created
skits; How We Show Empathy poster
What: Students will appropriately consider how another person is feeling and
will be able to craft a response according to that consideration. Students will
brainstorm ways we can show empathy.
Why: Empathy serves as the base to much of the learning in this unit.
Teaching explicitly into empathy is important in order to support that.
Standards:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6
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Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters...

Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g.,
Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures. CCSS.ELALITERACY.SL.2.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2
topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1.A
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful
ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics
and texts under discussion).
Learning Experience
In each section below, specify the sequence of instructional activities.
Consider how you will manage materials, bodies, and time. Use small
boxes to indicate time.
Assessment
What will you look/listen to/for? How are
you figuring out what students are
learning?
Starting It
*This lesson should begin shortly after
How will you invite
reading Grandfather Counts
students into the learning
experience?
Im thinking about Gong Gong from our
story Grandfather Counts - I wonder what
it must have been like for him to move to a
whole nother country and not be able to
understand what anyone is saying - not
even his own family!
Lets all take a moment and try to imagine
what it would be like to be Gong Gong.
Imagine going someplace youve never
been before. Now, imagine everyone is
speaking a language you dont understand.
Anticipated student responses: scared,
How do you feel?
frustrated, sad, lonely
Yes! It must be very [insert prominent
student response here]! But the good
news is, if there is someone around who
can understand what you are feeling, they
can help you to feel better! What did
Helen and her family do to help Gong Gong
Anticipated student responses: Helen gave
feel better?
Gong Gong her bedroom, Helen let Gong
Gong watch the train with her, Helen and
her family decided to learn Chinese
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Doing It
Outline your sequence of
instructional moves
including participation
structures, materials,
intellectual resources, and
time allotted. Is there a
product or performance
you will be expecting
students to create?
When we are able to imagine what it is like

to be in someone elses shoes, we are
Have students repeat empathy
practicing something called empathy.
Empathy is important, because it helps us
to understand why someone might be
acting a certain way. Lets look at our book
for an example.
Cece drew him a picture of flowers and
butterflies. He smiled at her and handed
the picture back.
Im thinking that if I drew someone a
picture and gave it to them, I might feel a
little sad if they gave it right back to me.
But maybe there is another way to see it!
Let me practice empathy Lets see, how
would I feel if I was living with people who
dont speak the same language as me. I
think that it would be hard for me to
understand what is happening around me!
Helen must have been practicing empathy
too. Who remembers what she did when
Appropriate student responses: She taped
Gong Gong tried to give the picture back to
it to Gong Gongs door/She figured out a
Cece?
way to show Gong Gong the picture was
for him without using words.
Wow, Im beginning to really see how
practicing empathy can come in handy!
Lets practice some more!
*As a class, we will look at four stories of
people reacting in certain ways. We will
turn & talk with our partners and practice
empathy by sharing how we would feel if
we were in the characters shoes. Teacher
may write stories him/herself or use these
examples from Teaching Tolerance.
Students should be using language such as

I would feel and If it were me. Display
these sentence starters either on the
smartboard or on chart paper to help
students craft their responses. We want to
see students reacting directly to the
prompt, not to the reaction of the
character in the story (i.e. If the story is
about a student who acted a bit
overzealously in response to a good grade,
students should be saying things like Id be
really excited too! instead of That kid is
annoying.)
Marshall 14
Finishing It
*Divide class into four groups and assign a Characters in the skits should now be
How will you bring students previously discussed story to each group. reacting positively (i.e. congratulating
to closure with this learning Ask the group to come up with a skit that instead of acting annoyed, being forgiving
experience and connect it
shows the same scenario - except this time instead of being defensive, etc.).
to future learning?
one of the characters is practicing empathy
- he is showing that he is understanding of
the other persons feelings.
*As a class, discuss how practicing
empathy changed their stories. How did
groups decide how one character should
react to another?
Students should notice how both

characters felt better when they changed
the story around to include empathy.
Students should say that they depend on
some version of trying to see where the
other person is coming from when
crafting the reactions in their stories.
*Make a chart: We practice empathy by

Display prominently in classroom!
Potential appropriate responses:
Be understanding
Ask questions (are you okay? what
happened?Can you tell me more?)
Be happy for others
Think about what the other person might
be feeling
Materials Needed
Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng

Smartboard or chart paper
Empathy practice stories
Lesson title: Scholastic Young Immigrants Series Activity

lesson?

Where will you look
Students will be exposed to immigrant experiences of children that they can

relate to, widening their idea of the immigrant experience.
Students will learn about new cultures (Ukraine, South Korea, Sierra Leone,
India, Mexico).
Students will continue to practice their empathy skills.
Students will perform collaborative research with minor adult support.
Where: Students will collaborate to create an introduction of their students
to other classmates.
What: Students should be using what theyve learned in their research of
Marshall 15
their assigned immigrant to present their student to the class and suggest
appropriate ways to make this student feel welcome. Appropriate
presentations will include information about where their immigrant is from,
what they have in common, what is different about them, and suggestions
that show they are thinking about where that person is coming from (i.e. I
know Gabriella likes horses and lived with them on her ranch in Mexico so I
will tell her about my favorite toy horse).
Rationale
Why: This lesson brings both studies of immigration and empathy together by
posing a realistic scenario for students to practice their empathy skills while
simultaneously being exposed to true immigrant stories.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to
demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided
sources to answer a question.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.2
Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information
presented orally or through other media.
New York City Social Studies Standards
2.2 People share similarities and differences with others in their own
community and with other communities. 2.2a, 2.2b (Standards 1, 2, 3)
New York City Social Studies Practices
C. Comparison and Contextualization
Learning Experience
Assessment
learning?
Starting It
Earlier this week, we read One Green Apple
How will you invite
- which told us the story of a recent
students into the learning immigrant who was a student just like you
experience?
all. Today, we are going to spend some
I hope that students will be excited to
time getting to know more kids just like
learn immigrant stories of students
Farah in One Green Apple - except all of
similar in age to them!
these stories are real!
Doing It
instructional moves
*Divide class into 5 groups. Supply with

information from Scholastic website.
*Directions: Pretend your young
immigrant is about to join this class as
Students would benefit from both

reading the materials and viewing the
video clips - but if technology does not
allow videos, reading will suffice.
Marshall 16

students to create?
a new student. Use the materials

provided to research your young
immigrant. Then put together a
presentation to introduce them to the
rest of the class. Tell us a little bit
about them as well as some things we
students could do to make our new
classmate feel more at home. What is
something our new classmate could
teach us? What is something new
students might learn from us?
Students should be working

collaboratively to look through the
information. They may take turns
reading or read as group. They may
assign roles such as note taker
reader and presenter. They should
be listening to each other and offering
suggestions as they discuss how to
welcome the new student and what
the class could teach them/they could
teach us. Hearing language explicit to
empathy (If I was him/her...I think
he/she would feelI wonder if
he/she would feel) demonstrate
they are adopting empathy.
Finishing It
Groups will present to the class.
How will you bring students
to closure with this learning
to future learning?
Final presentations should include

suggestions for how to be empathetic (i.e.
we should be patient with Gabriella
because she doesnt know much english)
as well as details on where the immigrant
Afterwards, students will journal on which is coming from and why.
young immigrant they would like most to
Journal entries should should include
be friends with and why.
things the two students have in common.
Materials Needed
Materials from scholastic website

Note Taking/presentation-giving materials
Journals
Lesson title: Modern Immigration Stations - Who is here and what it takes
lesson?

Where will you look
Students will understand the makeup of the U.S. population as containing

large percentages of foreign-born populations (immigrants!)
Students will gain insight into the process of becoming a legal citizen
Students will understand the main components of the previously proposed
Dream Act - and have insight into the controversy surrounding it.
Where: At each station students will be asked to discuss and record their
answers to a series of questions in order to assess their understanding.
What: At the foreign-born population station, we want students to interact
with the infographics ultimately for them to understand the scale of the
Marshall 17
immigrant population in this country. Their answers to the question should

reflect this learning. At the Naturalization station, assessments should show
student thinking about the process. There is no right answer- students are
allowed to believe its an easy/appropriate task or that its a ridiculous one
and everything in between. The answers to their questions should
demonstrate their understanding of the naturalization test as a task
necessary to gain citizenship. At the Dream Act station - Students should
answer the questions in a way that shows that they understand both sides of
the argument for and against the act.
Rationale
Why: Up to this point we have looked at individual immigrant experiences

very closely. As we approach our culminating project, we need pull back and
look at the immigrant phenomena on a larger scale. This lesson will also
provide them with the base knowledge to have an understanding of some of
the political issues that we are bound to come across as we start reading
news stories on immigration and begin to research our debate.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.6
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to
answer, explain, or describe.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.8
Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on
the same topic.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1.B
Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the
remarks of others.
Learning Experience
Assessment
learning?
Starting It
Weve spent a lot of time looking at why
How will you invite
people are immigrating to the U.S. Today,
students into the learning we are going to rotate through stations
experience?
that will help us to learn who is here and
and what it takes for them to become a
U.S. citizen.
Doing It
instructional moves
Station 1 - Foreign-born populations in the At this station, students will work mostly
independently. Quiet conferring will be
U.S.
okay, but each student will work on an
Students will examine the infographics and individual worksheet to answer the
answer questions: What percentage of the
Marshall 18

students to create?
current US population was born in another questions.

country?
12.9% - 40 million people!
Where did/do the highest populations of
foreign born citizens come from in the
past/now?
In the past: Europe
Where in the U.S. do the majority of
foreign-born residents live today?
Now: Latin America
Answers could range from specific

(California, Nevada, Texas, Florida, New
What surprises you about the information Jersey, New York) to broader (the south,
the west/the coasts).
in these graphics?
I anticipate most students will be surprised
by the high number. I think because of
their environment they will be surprised
that China is not the #1 place where
immigrants come from (it is high on the list
though!). I am curious to hear other
Station 2 - Questions for the Naturalization
surprises.
Test
At this station students will first take the
At this station, students will be given a
test quietly and independently. After
test - which will actually be adapted from
everyone has finished, students will
the list of questions people have to answer
discuss the questions, then write their
in order to gain citizenship. The test will
answers on post-it notes to place on a
comprise of 10 questions, and students will
chart that will be placed in a public spot in
be told they need to get six correct in
the classroom with areas for the answers
order to pass (as is the requirement for
to each question.
actual aspiring U.S. citizens). After the test,
students will discuss the following
questions: Did you pass or fail this test?
Do you think it is a good idea for potential
U.S. citizens to take a test in order to get There are no right answers - the point is to
have a discussion. I am curious to see if
their citizenship?
students think this practice is worthwhile
Do you think passing this test proves you or not and why. If there is a clear divide, it
will be/are a good American citizen?
would be interesting to assign debate
groups for the culminating project based
What do you like about this test?
on the answers to these questions.
What dont you like about this test?
If you designed a test people had to take in
order to be an American citizen, what
Marshall 19
would be on it?
Station 3 - The Dream Act
At this station, students will learn about
At this station students will watch the
the Dream Act, a controversial proposal
video and read the articles collaboratively.
that creates a path to citizenship for
They may choose to read the articles
undocumented immigrants brought into together, pass them around and look at
the U.S. by their parents before that age of them individually, or read them in pairs.
16. Students will read arguments for and
Students answers will be documented on
against the act, then watch a video
worksheets. Students will be
interview of Dreamers hoping to take
advantage of the proposal. After, students allowed/encouraged to confer on and
discuss their answers, but it is not
will be asked to discuss:
required.
Who benefits from the Dream Act?
Undocumented young people who are in
the country illegally and were brought
here as a minor by their parents.
What are some arguments for the Dream
Act? What are some arguments against it? See resource articles. A summary is
sufficient as long as it names several of the
Who do you think belongs in America?
arguments.
Why?
The last two questions are open ended. I
What do you think about the Dream Act? want to see what their thinking is and
where its going. Again, if there are
obvious divisions it would be interesting to
assign debate topics based on these
answers.
Finishing It
We will complete the session by looking at
How will you bring students the chart groups have posted their post-it
to closure with this learning notes on concerning the naturalization
test. We will share and record some of our
to future learning?
Does the class have a consensus on their
take-aways from the session on chart
thoughts on who should be allowed to be a
paper or on the smartboard.
citizen and how? Are there conflicting
views? Ask students to back up their
thoughts with examples from their
learning.
Materials Needed
Census infographics: http://www.census.gov/library/infographics/foreign_born.html

Naturalization Study Guide:
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenshi
Marshall 20
p%20Resource%20Center%20Site/Publications/100q.pdf
Pro-Dream Act article:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/03/10-reasons-we-need-dreamact
Against-Dream Act article:
http://townhall.com/columnists/iramehlman/2011/07/01/five_moral_argume
nts_against_the_dream_act
Dream act video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JMArfZQuaY
Video viewing device

Worksheets (questions listed on lesson plan)
Chart Paper
Post-its
Smart board/chart paper to record final discussion
Teaching Resources
Week 1
My Chinatown
Mak, K. (2002). My Chinatown: One year in poems. New
York: HarperCollins.
Summary: A boy who recently moved to New York Citys
Chinatown from Hong Kong goes over the course of a year
from being sullen and homesick to falling in love with his
new neighborhood. Motivation: I chose this book to
represent an experience I knew would be familiar and
relevant to many of my students. Even for students who
did not immigrate themselves, this book paints a vivid and
accurate picture of life in New York Citys Chinatown.
Critique: The book is slightly outdated. Students may notice certain references to elements of the
neighborhood that are no longer there.
Google Maps
Google maps. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/maps/place/Chinatown,+New+York,+NY/
Summary: An online interactive database of maps. Motivation: This tool comes in handy for planning
community walks in Chinatown and elsewhere. Critique: Google maps may not be accurate in certain
places (especially outside of the U.S.) and is not always compatible with some electronic devices. Google
is sometimes blocked in schools. Street view is not yet available in certain countries.
Marshall 21
The Greater Chinatown Community Association

Greater Chinatown community association. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gccanyc.org/
Established in 1972, the GCCA aspires to better the well-being of the Chinatown community within
New York City through unique, individualized program services. Motivation: Get in touch with the GCCA
for tips on Community Walk planning and to to inquire about local community leaders. May also be able
to help with resources for Week 2s Chinatown stations. Critique: Involving the community in the
planning of the early stages of this unit is an important part of helping students to establish their own
identities.
Week 2
Grandfather Counts
Cheng, A., & Zhang, A. (2000). Grandfather counts. New York: Lee & Low
Books.
Summary: A young Chinese-American girl gets to know her grandfather who
has just come from China to live with the family in the States. At first our
main character is frustrated by her Grandfathers inability to speak English.
But soon she finds a special way to bridge the gap between language and
culture. Motivation: The book serves as a story of both immigration and
empathy, and will facilitate conversations on both topics. In particular, it will
serve as our entry point for our formal introduction to empathy. Critique:
Many students in the class will be able to relate to the experience of a
relative coming to live with them, and several will also share the experience of having a relative who
does not speak the same language. While the characters in the book do come from China, they refer to
the language only as Chinese and do not distinguish between Cantonese and Mandarin - something my
class (which includes 17 ELLs) may pick up on.
Kidport
Kidport reference library. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.kidport.com/reflib/worldgeography/China/China.htm
Summary: This section of the Kidport Reference Library contains kid-friendly facts about China.
Motivation: Use this website to cull information for a station on China during Chinatown stations. Print
out the information, adapt it in a separate document, or have students explore the website themselves.
Critique: The information here is very much simplified, but is already in appropriate language for
elementary school-level, and in combination with other resources serves as an adequate introduction
for the purposes of this unit.
Asia for Educators
Chinese geography: Reading and maps. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/china/geog/maps.htm#1b
Summary: An initiative of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University, this website is
intended as a resource for educators on the topic of the continent of Asia. Motivation: Use maps from
this site as a resource to show students at the station on China during Chinatown stations. Critique:
Marshall 22
There is quite a lot of information on this page and very little is appropriate to elementary school level.
However, the outline maps in particular might be helpful to give some context of China to students and
other relevant information can easily be adapted to appropriate language by a teacher.
placeMatters
Place matters chinatown search results. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://placematters.net/place_explorer/results/field_neighborhood_0%3A%22Chinatown%22
Summary: City Lore and the Municipal Art Society founded the Place Matters project in 1998 to identify,
promote, and protect places in New York City that connect to the past and cultural traditions.
Motivation: Use information from this database to present information on the history of Chinatown
during Chinatown stations. Critique: This website encompasses stories from all over New York, and may
be useful in future stations. The link above contains only results for Chinatown.
Wikipedia
Chinatown, Manhattan. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_Manhattan
Summary: This wikipedia article on Chinatown offers a huge amount of information on the history and
current demographics of the area, including pictures. Motivation: Use this page as a resource from
which to cull pictures and tidbits for the Chinatown station. Critique: Because anyone can edit
Wikipedias articles, some argue that this website is not a reputable source. However, I find Wikipedia to
be a good place to begin research on a number of topics and have yet to find an internet source thats
easier to navigate or more wide-ranging.
National Park Service Article
Chinatown and Little Italy history district. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/asia/2010/chinatown_little_italy_hd.htm
Summary: This article associated with the Asian Pacific American History Month portion of the National
Park Service website is on Chinatown and neighboring Little Italy - which has been placed on the
National Register of Historic Places. Motivation: Use this page for information on the history of the
neighborhood for Chinatown stations. Critique: Since this is an article published by the National Park
Service, we can count on the accuracy of the information. Any narrative pulled from this article,
however, will need to be adapted to more appropriately meet student reading level.
Museum of Chinese in America
Database Online. (n.d.). Retrieved from Museum of Chinese in America database.
Summary: The Museum of Chinese in America was founded in 1980 to preserve and present the history,
heritage, culture and diverse experiences of people of Chinese descent in the United States. The
collection at MOCA consists of over 65,000 artifacts, photographs, books, and documents that chronicle
the lives and experiences of Chinese Americans from the late 19th century to the present. Motivation:
Use the online database to cull historic photos and primary sources for the Chinatown stations. Critique:
The online database is an immense resource - but it can be a bit tricky to navigate due to the sheer
number of entries in the collection.
Marshall 23
Week 3
Waiting for Papa
Colato Lanez, R., & Accardo, A. (2004). Waiting for Papa =: Esperando a
Pap. Houston, Tex.: Pinata.
Summary: In this book written in both English and Spanish, a young boy tells
his story of immigrating to the U.S. from El Salvador - and having to leave his
father behind. Motivation: This will be the first non-Chinese story of
immigration to the US that we will use to move our study of immigration as
we begin to consider stories of immigration happening outside of our
neighborhood. Critique: Waiting for Papa is written in both English and
Spanish - a language I know the majority of my students have very little
knowledge or understanding of. However, I still think its valuable for the
students to hear another language (side-by-side with English to facilitate understanding) as we move
towards learning about experiences more and more different from our own.
New York Times Map
Fessenden, F., & Roberts, S. (n.d.). Then as now New Yorks shifting ethnic mosaic. Retrieved from The New York
Times website: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/01/23/nyregion/20110123-nyc-ethnic-neighborhoodsmap.html
Summary: This map from the New York Times uses data from the 2010 census to map out where people
of many different origins live in New York City. Motivation: Use this map as a resource to present to
students in the NYC Immigration stations. Critique: Map uses 2010 statistics - may be slightly outdated.
New York Public Library

Researching New York City neighborhoods. (n.d.). Retrieved from New York Public Library website:
http://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/05/12/researching-nyc-neighborhoods
Summary: This page on the NYPLs website is a fantastic starting point for research on particular
neighborhoods in NYC. Motivation: Use this page to begin research on neighborhoods to create stations
for NYC Immigration Stations. Critique: There is a lot of information here! Depending on which
neighborhood you choose to research, it could take some time to narrow down your search.
Week 4
One Green Apple
Bunting, E., & Lewin, T. (2006). One green apple. New York, N.Y.: Clarion.
Summary: A recent immigrant goes on a field trip to an apple orchard on her
second day of school in the U.S. She thoughtfully describes the experience of
not being able to speak English and of looking different than everyone around
her while also noticing the things that are the same between her old country
and her new country. Motivation: In addition to reading this book to gain an
additional immigrant perspective, we will be completing a series of stations
around the immigrant experience depicted in the book, some of the language
Marshall 24
used in the book, and the history of the area the main character comes from as well as touching upon
the history of conflict between the middle east and the U.S. See Learning Experiences for more details.
Critique: The author of this book, Eve Bunting, is an Irish American writer something to be aware of
when considering this particular perspective of an immigrant experience.
Arab Stereotypes and American Educators
Wingfield, M., & Karaman, B. (n.d.). Arab stereotypes and American educators. National Council for Social Studies.
http://www.teachingforchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ec_arabstereotypes_english.pdf
Summary: This article published by the National Council of Social Studies examines Arab stereotypes in
American schools and the implications of those stereotypes for Arab and Arab American students.
Motivation: Use as a teacher resource to inform any discussions on the main character in One Green
Apple. Critique: I think this article was most helpful in naming out misconceptions to be ready to
intercept in class discussion. Is it a resource to hand directly to students? Probably not. But informative
all the same.
Middle Eastern American Resources Online
MEARO: Middle Eastern American resources online. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mearo.org/
Summary: This website contains a number of resources - pictures, videos, histories, even lesson plans in relation to the Middle Eastern American experience. Motivation: Use website to cull resources for
One Green Apple stations. Critique: Most of the materials on this website are geared for older students,
however are quite usable with just a little adaptation.
Arab American National Museum
Arab American national museum. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://arabamericanmuseum.org/
Summary: The Arab American National Museum may be located in Michigan, but its website contains a
number of interesting and usable resources - including details on all of the museums exhibits
(containing text from an entire exhibit on immigration to the US)! Motivation: Use website to cull
resources for One Green Apple stations. Critique: Finding the Immigration exhibits/resources through
site navigation can be tricky. I found I got the best results through using the websites search feature.
Scholastics Young Immigrants Series
Scholastic. (2015). Meet Young Immigrants. Retrieved March 7, 2015, from Immigration: Stories of
Yesterday and Today website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/young_immigrants/
Summary: This website contains videos of interviews with and stories of five young immigrants who
recently came to the U.S. Motivation: Use in week 4 activity (see Learning Experiences). Critique: The
site is easy to navigate and appropriate for students to browse on their own. Only five stories are
represented on the website, but as we will be spending time with immigration stories in other places I
think this is okay.
Week 5
Democracy Now! Immigration Updates
Marshall 25
Immigration.
(2015).
Retrieved
from
Democracy
Now!
website:
http://www.democracynow.org/topics/immigration
Summary: This page contains all news on immigration from the news source Democracy Now! and is
constantly updated to include most recent happenings. Motivation: Throughout the unit - but especially
during week 5 - keep an eye on these updates to stay up-to-date on immigration happenings. Critique: I
love Democracy Now! because it is a rare voice in news media in that it is independent. The only
downside to Democracy Now! is that it produces only video news reports. While it includes transcripts
of these reports below most videos in the case that you cannot watch, I sometimes find an article easier
and quicker to browse through when overviewing the news on limited time.
Time for Kids
Time for Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.timeforkids.com/
Summary: This news website designed for kids is a good one to keep an eye on for news on immigration.
Motivation: Check regularly for news stories on immigration! Critique: Currently, the site only has a few
stories on themes relevant to our lessons. But the websites has pictures, articles, and videos that would
require very little adaptation for elementary schoolers.
DOGO News
Dogo News. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dogonews.com/
Summary: Another great news site for students, Dogo describes itself as an online network
empowering kids to engage with digital media in a fun, safe and social environment. Motivation: Dogo
would be a great resource to give to students to do research in the classroom. Articles can be filtered by
grade level, and teachers can make content-specific class pages. Critique: Grade level isnt always an
indicator of reading level, so some adaptation may still be necessary.
Scholastic News For Your Classroom

Scholastic News For Your Classroom. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://magazines.scholastic.com/
Summary: Yet another great news resource for student research! Motivation: Again, check here for
recent articles on immigration. This site also has a great 2016 election section for kids to explore.
Critique: You have to subscribe to the physical magazine in order to search the archives.
Foreign Born Populations in the U.S.
How Do We Know? America's Foreign Born in the Last 50 Years. (2014, November 4). Retrieved March,
2015, from http://www.census.gov/library/infographics/foreign_born.html
Summary: This link leads to a number of infographics put together by the United States Census Bureau
that demonstrate the foreign born populations living in the U.S. over the last fifty years. The
infographics illustrate how numbers have changed, where immigrants come from, and where they live
today. Motivation: Use these infographics during the Modern Immigration Stations (see Learning
Experiences for more details). Critique: These infographics were created by the census, so we can count
on their accuracy. However, students may need support in interpreting them.
Marshall 26
Civics (History and Government) Questions for the Naturalization Test
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Civics (History and Government) Questions for the
Naturalization Test, Doc. (2011).
Summary: This sources is a study guide for the test all aspiring U.S. citizens must pass in order to be
naturalized. It contains 100 questions with very specific answers. Motivation: Use as a part of the
Modern Immigration stations (see Learning Experiences for more details). Critique: I think this will be a
powerful tool to help students think about what the requirements are the be an American Citizen. Some
of these questions will undoubtedly go over their head - but that is kind of part of the point of the
exercise.
10 Reasons We Need the Dream Act
Valencia, S. (2010, December 3). 10 reasons we need the dream act [Blog post]. Retrieved from
https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/03/10-reasons-we-need-dream-act
Summary: This blog post from the official White House blog gives a brief summary of The Dream Act
along with an argument for the passing of the proposal. Motivation: Use in conjunction with the next
resource to present the Dream Act to students in the Modern Immigrations stations. Critique: The
document is undeniably biased. I plan to balance this out by presenting a con article as well. This article
may need to be adapted for accessibility.
5 Moral Arguments Against the Dream Act
Mehlman, I. (2011, July 1). Five moral arguments against the DREAM act [Blog post]. Retrieved from:
http://townhall.com/columnists/iramehlman/2011/07/01/five_moral_arguments_against_the_dream_
act
Summary: This is an article espousing an opinion against the Dream act posted by a leading conservative
blog. Motivation: Adapt the blog post to give students a window into both sides of the Dream Act
conversation. Critique: Again, this is a very biased article - but that is the point!
Dreamers YouTube Video
DIY, A. (2013, February 17). We all belong, dreamers, citizens, and immigrants everywhere [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JMArfZQuaY
Summary: This YouTube video contains clips of people who have benefited from DACA, the sort of
compromise policy settled on by our government after the Dream Act failed to pass. Motivation: In
order to answer the question: who does this benefit? I thought it was important for students to hear
from the voices most affected by this decision in their study of the story. Critique: This video does
portray DACA and the dreamers as a very positive thing! This is probably a place where my own bias is
coming out but I couldnt find any clips of non-legal young people speaking against The Dream Act or
DACA!
Example of Elementary School Debate
This House believes that the Olympics will be good for Hackney [Video file]. (2015). Retrieved from
http://noisyclassroom.com/primary/video/olympics-good-for-hackney.html
Marshall 27
Summary: This is a clip of another elementary classroom debate on the topic of whether the Olympics
would be good for (presumably) the debaters hometown. Motivation: Finding clips of political debates
will be easy, but I wanted to make sure my 2nd graders could see what a debate could be like when
performed by other children their age. We will not watch this entire video, only a few selected clips to
help introduce the concept of debate. Critique: The video is long and not local (Im sure my students will
have something to say about the accents), but overall the students in the video are great models for our
class.
Week 6
GOP Stance on Immigration
Republican
National
Committee.
(2014).
Immigration.
Retrieved
from
https://www.gop.com/issue/immigration/
Summary: This page on the official website of the Republican party contains the most up-to-date news
and stances on the issue of Immigration from the GOP point of view. Motivation: Use this page as a
starting point for resources to adapt and/or present to students for research for their debate. Critique:
This website is not particularly set up for student-research, but particular articles can be bookmarked or
adapted easily for student use.
Democrat Stance on Immigration
Democrats.
(2015).
Immigration
Reform.
Retrieved
from
http://www.democrats.org/issues/immigration-reform
Summary: This is the page within the official website of the Democratic party describing their view on
Immigration. Motivation: Use this page as a launch point for student research on the Democratic stance
on immigration. Critique: The Democratic stance is much more neatly laid out on this website than on
the GOP website. However, there is less in the way of current event updates on the issue than the GOP
has on their Immigration site.
Description and Rationale for Organization

As is my practice as an educator who places a high value on responding to the classroom, there are
areas in this unit that were left intentionally vague. My hope and goal is that there is room within the
planning of this unit for student inquiry to drive our movement through the curriculum.
While the unit is presented in this plan to take place over six weeks, one may also view each week as a
bend within the unit and - with that in mind - move through the curriculum through a faster or slower
pace as is appropriate for ones classroom.
This unit involves teaching directly, through student-driven research, and with stations. Certain
classroom procedures will be necessary to be in place prior to the starting of this unit in order for
management to be successful. Students should already be familiar at practicing accountable talk and
group conversations, as well as the procedures regarding stations. The research students are asked to
Marshall 28
do in this unit is heavily supported by teacher-provided content, but if students have never been asked
to research independently or in groups before it would be wise to teach directly into that skill before
setting up students with some of the research-oriented learning experiences listed above.
It would be helpful to have access to a smartboard and personal video-playing devices in order to enact
this unit - but it is not required. This unit may be adapted to be very low-tech by using whiteboards and
chart paper to record class discussion and sharing multimedia clips in a full-class format. All website
content can be printed and distributed on paper.
This curriculum unit is organized so that the practice of empathy has time to evolve as our awareness
and study of the issue of immigration grows. We start the unit looking at ourselves and our community
so that we can begin our practice of empathy with those scenarios most familiar to us. As our skill
improves, we begin to look at individual stories that perhaps dont mirror our own. Here we practice
stretching our ability to understand where someone else is coming from to situations that we ourselves
may have never encountered. Once we have the background knowledge and experience of empathizing
with individual stories of immigration, we can start looking at the issue at a national scale. This is when
we start examining policy and politics, pushing ourselves always to think: From what perspective is this
coming from?
Appendix
Appendix A - Common Core and NYC Standards Addressed Throughout Unit
Common Core Reading Anchor Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1
Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite
specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and
figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and
quantitatively,
as
well
as
in
words.1
Marshall 29
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning
as
well
as
the
relevance
and
sufficiency
of
the
evidence.
Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to
compare the approaches the authors take.
Common Core Writing Anchor Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.1
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and
relevant
and
sufficient
evidence.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and
accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, wellchosen details and well-structured event sequences.
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating
understanding
of
the
subject
under
investigation.
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy
of
each
source,
and
integrate
the
information
while
avoiding
plagiarism.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time
frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.w evidence from
literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Common Core Speaking and Listening Anchor Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1
Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse
partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually,
quantitatively,
and
orally.
Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of
reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Marshall 30
Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance
understanding of presentations.
Common Core Language Anchor Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.L.3
Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make
effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context
clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as
appropriate.
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term
important to comprehension or expression.
Common Core Grade 2 Reading: Literature Standards
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central
message,
lesson,
or
moral.
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm
and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice
for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different
authors or from different cultures.
Common Core Grade 2 Reading: Informational Text Standards
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate
understanding of key details in a text.
Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in
technical procedures in a text.
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
Marshall 31
Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
Common Core Grade 2 Writing
Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion,
supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion
and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by
revising
and
editing.
With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing,
including in collaboration with peers.
Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to
produce
a
report;
record
science
observations).
Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Common Core Grade 2 Speaking and Listening
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with
peers
and
adults
in
small
and
larger
groups.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1.A
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others
with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1.B
Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1.C
Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion.
Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or
through
other
media.
Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather
additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts
of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
New York City Social Studies Scope & Sequence
Marshall 32
2.6 Identifying continuities and changes over time can help understand historical developments.
(Standard 1)
New York City has changed over time and will continue to change in the future
2.7 Cause-and-effect relationships help us recount events and understand historical development.
(Standard 1)
New York City changed and grew during the 1700s, 1800s, 1900s
Population/immigration/migration
2.1 A community is a population of various individuals in a common location. It can be characterized as
urban, suburban, or rural. Population density and use of the land are some characteristics that define
and
distinguish
types
of
communities.
(Standards
1,
3)
Communities
affect
peoples
development
and
identity
Urban, rural, and suburban communities have special events, people, traditions, practices, and
ideas
2.2 People share similarities and differences with others in their own community and with other
communities.
2.2a,
2.2b
(Standards
1,
2,
3)
Communities
are
diverse
Urban, suburban, and rural communities embrace traditions and celebrate holidays
Community
events
may
reflect
the
communitys
cultural
diversity
Community
events
promote
a
common
community
identify
A community is strengthened by the diversity of its members
FOCUS: Comparative case study of urban, suburban, and rural communities 2.1a, 2.1b, 2.1c
New York City as an Urban Community
People
all
over
the
world
visit
New
York
City
New York City remains connected to its historical heritage (street and place names, old
buildings,
parades,
museums,
historical
re-enactments,
etc.)
New York City is made up of neighborhoods that reflect diversity (Flushings
Chinatown, Harlem, Brownsville, Woodlawn, El Barrio, Bronxs Little Italy, etc.)
New York City Social Studies Practices
A.
Gathering,
Using,
and
Interpreting
Evidence
1.
Develop
questions
about
the
community.
2. Recognize different forms of evidence used to make meaning in social studies (including
sources such as art and photographs, artifacts, oral histories, maps, and graphs).
3. Identify and explain creation and/or authorship, purpose, and format for evidence.
4.
Identify
arguments
of
others.
5.
Recognize
arguments
and
identify
evidence.
6. Create an understanding of the past by using primary and secondary sources
B.
Chronological
Reasoning
and
Causation
1.
Retell
a
community
event
in
sequential
order.
2. Understand the concept of time measurements including minutes, hours, days, weeks,
months,
years.
3. Identify causes and effects using examples from his/her family life or from the community.
4.
Identify
change
over
time
in
his/her
community.
Marshall 33
5. Identify events of the past, present, and future in his/her community.
6. Recognize and identify patterns of continuity and change in his/her community.
C.
Comparison
and
Contextualization
1.
Identify
similarities
and
differences
between
communities.
2. Identify similarities and differences between his/ her community and other communities.
3. Describe an event in his/her community.
4. Recognize the relationships between geography, economics, and history in his/her
community.
5. Describe a historical development in his/her community with specific details including time
and place.
D.
Geographic
Reasoning
3. Describe how his/her actions affect the environment of the community; describe how the
environment
of
the
community
affects
human
activities.
4. Recognize a process that applies to population and a resulting pattern.
5. Describe how human activities alter places in a community
F.
Civic
Participation
1. Demonstrate respect for the rights of others in discussions and classroom debates regardless
of
whether
one
agrees
with
the
other
viewpoint.
2. Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, or community issue or problem.
4. Identify the role of the individual in classroom, school, and community participation.
5. Show respect in issues involving differences and conflict; participate in negotiating and
compromising
in
the
resolution
of
differences
and
conflict.
6.
Identify
situations
in
which
social
actions
are
required.
8. Identify rights and responsibilities within the classroom, school, and community.
Appendix B - Culminating Product Assessment Rubrics

Part 1 Class Debate : Immigration - Republicans vs Democrats
Group:
________________________________________
CATEGORY
4 - Above Standards 3 - Meets Standards
2 - Approaching
Standards
1 - Below Standards
Marshall 34
Research
Group researched
the subject and
integrated 3 or
more "tidbits"
from their
research into their
argument.
Group researched
the subject and
integrated 2
"tidbits" from
their research into
their argument.
Group researched
the subject and
integrated 1
"tidbit" from their
research into their
argument.
Group did not

research and/or
did not include
any "tidbit" from
their research into
their argument.
Understanding of
Topic
The team clearly

understood the
topic in-depth and
presented their
information
forcefully and
convincingly.
The team clearly

understood the
topic and
presented their
information with
ease.
The team seemed

to understand the
main points of the
topic and
presented those
with some
difficulty.
The team did not

show an adequate
understanding of
the topic.
Allegiance to
Assigned Stance
The group always

represented the
stance of their
assigned political
party.
The group mostly

represented the
stance of their
assigned political
party, but
referenced points
of view not
associated with
their party's
stance as well.
The group
sometimes stuck
to the stance of
their assigned
political party, but
referenced points
of view not
associated with
their party's
stance as often.
The group did not

represent their
assigned stance.
Respect for Other

Team
All statements,
body language,
and responses
were respectful
and were in
appropriate
language.
Statements and
responses were
respectful and
used appropriate
language, but
once or twice
body language
was not.
Most statements
and responses
were respectful
and in appropriate
language, but
there was one
sarcastic remark.
Statements,
responses and/or
body language
were consistently
not respectful.
Group Work
The group
functioned
exceptionally well.
All members
listened to, shared
with and
The group
functioned pretty
well. Most
members listened
to, shared with
and supported the
The group
functioned fairly
well but was
dominated by one
or two members.
The group (all
Some members of
the group were
often off task
AND/OR were
overtly
disrespectful to
Marshall 35
supported the
efforts of others.
The group (all
members) was
almost always on
task!
efforts of others.
The group (all
members) was
almost always on
task!
members) was
almost always on
task!
others in the
group AND/OR
were typically
disregarded by
other group
members.
Part 2 Take a Position: Newspaper Editorial/Commercial

Student Name:
________________________________________
CATEGORY
Position
There is a clear,
strong statement
of the creator's
position on the
topic.
There is a clear
statement of the
creator's position
on the topic.
An attempt to
state a position is
made, but the
creator's position
clear.
There is no
position.
Support for
Position
Includes 3 or more
pieces of evidence
(facts, examples,
real-life
experiences) that
support the
position. The
creator anticipates
the reader/viewer's
concerns, biases or
arguments and has
provided at least 1
counter-argument.
Includes 3 or more
pieces of evidence
(facts, examples,
real-life
experiences) that
support the
position.
Includes 2 pieces
of evidence (facts,
examples, real-life
experiences) that
support the
position.
Includes 1 or
fewer pieces of
evidence (facts,
examples, reallife experiences).
Accuracy
All supportive facts

and statistics are
reported
accurately.
Almost all
supportive facts
and statistics are
reported
accurately.
Most supportive
facts and statistics
are reported
accurately.
Most supportive
facts and
statistics were
inaccurately
reported.
Style
Creator has clearly
Creator has taken
Creator has made
Creator has
Marshall 36
taken on the role

of Newspaper
Editor/Marketing
Expert and has
creatively
constructed a
convincing
newspaper
editorial/commerci
al.
on the role of
Newspaper
Editor/Marketing
Expert and has
constructed a
convincing
newspaper
editorial/commerci
al.
some effort to
present a piece
that resembles a
newspaper
editorial/commerc
ial
made no effort
to present a
piece in the
formats
required.

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Marshall 1

A Modern American Dream: Immigration in the US Today

Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, & Other Goals

New York City Immigration Stations

One Green Apple Stations

Week 6: Culminating Product/Performance

Sample Lesson Plans

Evidence for assessment

Students will understand the concept of empathy as being able to put

Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters...

When we are able to imagine what it is like

Students should be using language such as

Students should notice how both

*Make a chart: We practice empathy by

Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng

Lesson title: Scholastic Young Immigrants Series Activity

Evidence for assessment

Students will be exposed to immigrant experiences of children that they can

*Divide class into 5 groups. Supply with

immigrant is about to join this class as

Students would benefit from both

time allotted. Is there a

a new student. Use the materials

Students should be working

Final presentations should include

Materials from scholastic website

Evidence for assessment

Students will understand the makeup of the U.S. population as containing

immigrant population in this country. Their answers to the question should

Why: Up to this point we have looked at individual immigrant experiences

intellectual resources, and

current US population was born in another questions.

Now: Latin America

Answers could range from specific

Census infographics: http://www.census.gov/library/infographics/foreign_born.html

Video viewing device

The Greater Chinatown Community Association

New York Public Library

Scholastic News For Your Classroom

Description and Rationale for Organization

Appendix B - Culminating Product Assessment Rubrics

4 - Above Standards 3 - Meets Standards

Group did not

The team clearly

The team clearly

The team seemed

The team did not

The group always

The group mostly

The group did not

Respect for Other

Part 2 Take a Position: Newspaper Editorial/Commercial

All supportive facts

Creator has clearly

Creator has taken

Creator has made

taken on the role

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