Immersion Lesson Plan

Immersion Lesson Plan

Themes: English as a Second Language (ESL), school, math, bullying
Common Core State Standards (Grades 6-8)
Grade 6
Writing
1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Engage eectively in a range o collaborative discussions (one!on!one, in groups, and teacher!
led) with diverse partners on grade " topics, te#ts, and issues, building on others$ ideas and
e#pressing their own clearly.

%. &nterpret inormation presented in diverse media and ormats (e.g., visually, 'uantitatively, orally)
and e#plain how it contributes to a topic, te#t, or issue under study.
(ocabulary )c'uisition and *se
". )c'uire and use accurately grade!appropriate general academic and domain!speciic words and
phrases+ gather vocabulary ,nowledge when considering a word or phrase important to
comprehension or e#pression.
Grade 7
Writing
1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Engage eectively in a range o collaborative discussions (one!on!one, in groups, and teacher!
led) with diverse partners on grade " topics, te#ts, and issues, building on others$ ideas and
e#pressing their own clearly.
%. )naly-e the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and ormats
(e.g.,visually, 'uantitatively, orally) and e#plain how the ideas clariy a topic, te#t, or issue under
study.
(ocabulary )c'uisition and *se
". )c'uire and use accurately grade!appropriate general academic and domain!speciic words and
phrases+ gather vocabulary ,nowledge when considering a word or phrase important to
comprehension or e#pression.
Grade 8
Writing
1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Engage eectively in a range o collaborative discussions (one!on!one, in groups, and teacher!
led) with diverse partners on grade " topics, te#ts, and issues, building on others$ ideas and
e#pressing their own clearly.

%. )naly-e the purpose o inormation presented in diverse media and ormats (e.g., visually,
'uantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its
Immersion Lesson Plan
presentation.
(ocabulary )c'uisition and *se
". )c'uire and use accurately grade!appropriate general academic and domain!speciic words and
phrases+ gather vocabulary ,nowledge when considering a word or phrase important to
comprehension or e#pression.
Immersion Lesson Plan
Film Title: Immersion
Rnnin! time: 1. minutes
"rie# S$no%sis:
/en!year!old 0oises has 1ust immigrated to Caliornia rom 0e#ico. 2e doesn3t spea, English, but
he3s good at math, so he hopes to do well on his irst math test in the *S). Immersion plunges its
audience into the visceral e#perience o a child who cannot understand his teacher. (4ichard Levien,
*S), 1. min.)
&'(e)ti*es
Students will discuss the diiculties that non!English spea,ers ace in the classroom
Students will discuss how bullying aects other students
Students will generate ideas or helping 0oises and other struggling students succeed
+o)a'lar$
&mmersion 5 being surrounded by something, such as another language
&mmigrant 5 a person who moves to a new country
Liberty ! reedom
Ethnicity 5 a cultural group
6ationality 5 citi-enship or country you identiy with
E'uity ! airness
Emigrate 5 to leave one$s country and go to a new one
&mmigrate 5 to move to another country
"e#ore +ie,in! -)ti*ities
List and discuss some o the struggles that children who migrate to the *S) ace in the
classroom.
)s, i anyone has ever struggled understanding another language or noticed another student
struggling with language.
4eview the 'uestions with students so they have some sense o what to loo, or during the ilm.
.rin! +ie,in!
)ter 0oises and 7erardo tal, about s,ipping the test and going to get ice cream, pause the ilm.
)s, students to discuss with a partner and predict i 0oises will s,ip the test. What will happen to
him in the short term and long term i he s,ips the test8 What would you do8
-#ter +ie,in! /estions
2ave students discuss or write answers to some or all o the ollowing 'uestions.
1. &s 0oises good at math8 2ow do you ,now8
%. Why was 0oises conused about the bloc,s8
9. When did 0oises reali-e he was going to have diiculty with the math test8 Why was he going to
have diiculty8
.. Why do you thin, the director chose to show the words in the math problem loating around8
:. Why do you thin, the teacher$s voice is distorted when we irst hear 0oises listening to her8 2ow
do you thin, the ilmma,ers made her voice sound that way8
". Why did 0oises ,eep repeating ;.<=8
>. 2ow did 0oises eel ater he repeated ;.<= several times8
?. Why did the teacher try to ind 0oises a math test in Spanish8
@. Why couldn$t 0oises ta,e the test in Spanish8
1<. What was interesting about the Arincipal$s conversation with the 1anitor8
11. Why did 0oises stop playing ,ic,ball8
Immersion Lesson Plan
1%. What was signiicant about Enri'ue throwing trash on the ground in ront o 0oises$ brother
Luis8
19. What happened in the lashbac, that 0oises has when he was in the bathroom considering
s,ipping the math test8 What do you thin, the purpose was o the lashbac,8
1.. Where was the ence scene supposed to be8 2ow do you thin, the ilmma,ers ilmed the ence
scene8
1:. Why did 0oises choose to do the math test8 What would you have done8
1". Bo you thin, 0oises will do well on the test8 & not, do you thin, it means that he is not good at
math8
1>. Was 0s. Aeterson a good teacher8 Why or why not8
1?. What could have made her a better teacher8 Why didn$t she do these things8
1@. Why do you thin, the ilmma,ers made this ilm8
0ritin! Prom%ts
1. What do you thin, will happen to 0oises in the ne#t ew years8 Support your viewpoint with
reasons rom what you ,now about 0oises, his amily and his school.
%. What do you thin, other students could have done to help 0oises8 What can you do to help
students who struggle with language or academics at your school8 What can you do to stop
bullies rom teasing these students8
9. Bo you thin, this is an important story to share8 Why or why not8 What can we learn rom this
ilm8
12tension -)ti*it$
Charades ! 2ave students act out the ollowing words without using any language.
0ath test, Statue o Liberty, Camily, Daseball, San Crancisco
Biscuss the importance o language in school and society or communicating with others. What
would be the most diicult or you in school and outside o school i you didn$t spea, English8
Related "oo3s
Criends rom the Ether Side by 7loria )n-aldua
Esperan-a 4ising by Aam 0uno- 4yan
(oices rom the CieldsF Children o 0igrant Carmwor,ers /ell /heir Stories by S. Deth )t,in
If your students produce any work based on this film, please consider sending us samples for our
files, to Richard Levien, richard.levien@gmail.com or 7 Capp treet, an !rancisco, C" #$%&'.
Immersion Lesson Plan
.ire)tor4s Statement (,h$ ,e made the #ilm)
(e should replace bilingual education with immersion in )nglish so people learn the common
language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a
ghetto. ! 6ewt 7ingrich, 0arch 91, %<<>
2ow to educate new arrivals in the *S) is a hotly debated topic. Dut the debate rarely considers the
personal stories o new immigrants. /hree years ago, producer Gareen Levien was volunteering in a
:th grade classroom. Cor months a boy sat at the bac,, not participating at all. Li,e %:H o
Caliornian children, he was an English Language Learner (ELL). 2e had 1ust arrived rom 0e#ico
and didn$t spea, any English. /he teacher was e#cellent, but didn$t spea, Spanish. &n a public
school class with 9< students, she had little time to spend with him.
Caliornia$s policy o ;structured English immersion= allows this boy only 1 year o additional English
language instruction. )ter that, he$s e#pected to be at the same level as his classmates. 4esearch
indicates that it ta,es :!> years to develop academic English luency.
I&mmersionI shows a bright boy who, or no ault o his own, is sin,ing. /he ilm aims to start
conversations about educating immigrant children, and to give people who may have no e#perience
o trying to learn in another language, an insight into how diicult this can be.
Resor)es #or 1LL
1. Cor teachersF Gided Lan!a!e -)5isition .esi!n (GL-.) is a model o proessional
development in the area o language ac'uisition and literacy. /he strategies and model
promote English language ac'uisition, academic achievement, and cross!cultural s,ills.
7L)B was developed and ield tested or nine years in the Countain (alley School Bistrict
and is based on years o e#perience with integrated approaches or teaching language. /ied
to standards, the model trains teachers to provide access to core curriculum using local
district guidelines and curriculum. Cor more inormation, see httpFJJwww.pro1ectglad.com
%. ColorKn Colorado is a ree web!based service that provides inormation, activities and advice
or educators and Spanish!spea,ing amilies o English language learners (ELLs). ColorKn
Colorado is an educational initiative o WE/), the lagship public television and radio station
in the nation3s capital. 0a1or unding comes rom the )merican Cederation o /eachers, with
additional support rom the 6ational &nstitute or Literacy and the *.S. Bepartment o
Education, Eice o Special Education Arograms. Cor more inormation, see
httpFJJwww.colorincolorado.org
Immersion Lesson Plan
-#ter +ie,in! /estions -ns,ered
1. Is *oises good at math+ ,ow do you know+
Les. &n the irst scene he is doing his math homewor, and he is en1oying it. 2e is also the
only one in the class to get the right answer to the practice problem. )nd on the real test, he
seems to be doing well on the arithmetic problems beore he turns the page and sees the
word problems.
%. (hy was *oises confused about the blocks+
2e hears the English word ;bloc,s=. 2e ,nows that this word can mean building bloc,s, but
he doesn$t ,now that it can also mean city bloc,s. So he thin,s the boy in the math problem
is running with bloc,s instead o running city bloc,s.
9. (hen did *oises reali-e he was going to have difficulty with the math test+ (hy was he
going to have difficulty+
When he sees that the practice test is mostly word problems. 2e is going to have diiculty
because he can hardly read any English.
.. (hy do you think the director chose to show the words in the math problem floating around+
/o show that 0oises can$t read English. /o him, the words 1ust loo, li,e a 1umble o letters.
:. (hy do you think the teacher.s voice was distorted when we first hear *oises listening to
her+ ,ow do you think the filmmakers made her voice sound that way+
/o show that 0oises can$t understand spo,en English, e#cept or a ew words. /he
ilmma,ers had the teacher spea, normally, then aterwards they cut up the words into
syllables and re!arranged the order o them, so that parts o words sounded amiliar but it
was hard to tell what she was saying.
". (hy did *oises keep saying /$&0+
2e loo,ed up ;orty= in his dictionary, so he would ,now how to say it in English. 2e ,nows
that it is the right answer. 2e can$t understand 0s. Aeterson$s 'uestions about e#plaining
how he got the answer. 2e thin,s maybe he$s not saying ;.<= correctly in English.
>. ,ow did *oises feel after he repeated /$&0 several times+
2e eels conused and embarrassed.
?. (hy did the teacher try to find *oises a math test in panish+
Decause she ,nows he could do the math problems i he could understand the 'uestions.
She thin,s that inding him a test in Spanish will at least ma,e him eel better, even i it won$t
be accepted oicially.
@. (hat was interesting about the 1rincipal.s conversation with the 2anitor and why+
2e spea,s to the 1anitor in Spanish but tells 0s. Aeterson that the school needs to spea, to
the students in English.
1<. (hy couldn.t *oises take the test in panish+
)t the time o writing, Caliornia has 1." million English Learner children. 6o Child Let Dehind
imposes a mandatory duty on states to ensure that its academic testing o English Learners
is ;valid and reliable=, and where practicable ;in the language and orm most li,ely to yield
accurate data on what such students ,now=. Dut the State o Caliornia has oicial tests in
English only. )t least @ states ! 6ew Lor,, /e#as, Colorado, Belaware, Mansas, 6ew 0e#ico,
Ehio, Eregon and Aennsylvania ! do oer tests in other languages.
11. (hy did *oises stop playing kickball+
/he rules had been changed to ;no tagging= today, so 0oises is called ;out= even though he
tagged up. 0oises didn$t understand because he doesn$t spea, English.
1%. (hat was significant about )nri3ue throwing trash on the ground in front of *oises. brother
Luis+
Biscrimination e#ists between Latinos that can and cannot spea, English.
19. (hat happened in the flashback that *oises has when he was in the bathroom considering
skipping the math test+ (hat do you think the purpose was of the flashback+
0oises and his mother are crossing the border rom 0e#ico to Caliornia. &t is an indication
that heJhis amily traveled very ar and sacriiced a lot to have the opportunity to live in the
*S and go to school. 0oises chooses to go to class even though he won$t understand the
'uestions, partly because he and his mother have wor,ed so hard to get here.
Immersion Lesson Plan
1.. (here was the fence scene supposed to be+ ,ow do you think the filmmakers filmed the
fence scene+
/he scene is supposed to be at or near the border with 0e#ico. Decause the ilm had a low
budget, the scene had to ilmed closer to San Crancisco, where the ilmma,ers lived. /hey
ound a landill in Livermore, which had a ence, and they added barbed wire to the top.
1:. (hy did *oises choose to do the math test+ (hat would you have done+
0any answers hereN Decause he and his mother have sacriiced so much to be in the *S and
getting an education here. Decause he does not want to disappoint his amily. Decause he
reali-es that it is the right thing to do.
1". 4o you think *oises will do well on the test+ (hy or why not+ If not, do you think it means
that he is not good at math+
Arobably not (this particular test anyway), because the test is mostly word problems that he
doesn$t understand. Dut he is good at math and would do well i it was in Spanish, so the test
result doesn$t relect how good at math he is.
1>. (as *s. 1eterson a good teacher+ (hy or why not+
Some people say yes, because she ,eeps trying to help 0oises. Ethers say no, because she
lac,s many o the strategies or teaching English Language Learner students.
18. (hat could have made her a better teacher+ (hy didn.t she do these things+
/here are many resources available to help teachers become better at teaching English
Language Learners, but they ta,e time and money to implement, and it is very hard or
individual teachers to proactively see, these programs out, when they are already
overwhelmed by their wor,. )n e#ample program is httpFJJwww.pro1ectglad.comJ. /here is
also inormation at httpFJJwww.colorincolorado.org.
1@. (hy do you think the filmmakers made this film+
/o try to raise awareness o what it is li,e when you don$t understand what your teacher is
saying. We wanted to really draw the audience in, which is why we made a iction ilm rather
than a documentary 5 in iction it is a little easier to draw the audience in to the perspective o
the main character.