Brief Description

Students discuss, describe and display their family histories, their stories of immigration to the U. S. A., the way they adapt to the new culture and preserve their ethnic roots.

Standards and Frameworks

Technology Standards

3T-E3. Publish and present information using technology tools.
4T-E2. Use technology tools for individual and collaborative writing, communication and publishing activities to create curricular related products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.

2FL-E3. Support opinions with factual information.
3FL-E4. Prepare tape- (audio) or video-recorded materials.
3FL-E2. Perform short, student-created skits and scenes.
7FL-E3. Interview community members who speak the target language on topics of personal or professional interest; report the results orally or in writing.

Academic

• Students will analyze the history of immigration in the U.S. A. and relate it to themselves,  composing reports about their own immigration process and adaptation to a new country.

• Students will apply a variety of technological tools to collect information and arrange it for a visual display that augments their oral presentations.

• Word-processing
• Scanning
• Using a camera

• A word processor
• A scanner
• A digital or a regular camera
• A cassette-recorder and cassettes
• Newspapers or news sites on the Internet
• A color printer
• Poster boards

My ESL beginners and low intermediate students need to be addressed in a simple vocabulary.  Most of my students are Hispanic, which affects the choice of topics for discussion.

Procedures

1. Students read a book on history of immigration ("Coming to America" by Betsy C. Maestro)

1. Students do a written assignment analyzing the book and reviewing the vocabulary. (Appendix 1)

1. Students do a written assignment discussing how their families came to the U. S. A. (Appendix 2)

1. Students write a story "How I Came to the U. S. A."   The final draft is typewritten and illustrated with a picture of their native country, a picture of the U.S. A. and their own digital photo.

1. Students develop 5-8 questions to ask members of their families who have immigrated to the U. S. A., conduct the interview as a homework assignment, take their pictures and record their stories on a cassette-recorder.  In class, students transcribe the recording and re-write it in indirect speech.

1. Students look for 1 or 2 reports on immigration in recent newspapers or on Internet news sites.
• http://www.google.com
• http://www.ditto.com
• http://www.altavista.com


 They re-write the reports paraphrasing it in their own words and adding their opinions to it.
 

2. All the collected photos are scanned and printed.

1. All the materials are arranged on a poster board: stories, paragraphs, interview and news reports and photos with students' original captions.

1. Two partners make up a dialog on family history and issues of immigration and present it to class displaying their poster boards.

Students' work will be assessed in progress according to the attached rubric.

Teacher Name: Katherine Engel
Site: AMS
Date Submitted: May 12, 2002