Immigration Project Outline

This is the outline Linda Christensen distributed to her class when she described the immigration project outlined in "What Happened to the Golden Door."

By Linda Christensen

In this unit, you will work with a self-chosen group to study the history, politics, and stories of a past or contemporary immigrant group. You will conduct research in and out of the library. You will find and read poetry, novels, short stories, and watch videos in order to understand their lives and circumstances more clearly. During a presentation, your group will teach the history and stories of these immigrants to your classmates. Listed below are the questions your group needs to research, the criteria for your presentation, and a list of related individual tasks to complete on your own during this quarter.

Content Questions to Research:

1. Background history: Why did this group come to the United States? What was happening in their home country that caused them to leave? Famine? War? Poverty? Political disagreements? Or was something happening in this country that encouraged their immigration?

2. Treatment in U.S.: What kind of reception did this group receive in the United States? Any problems entering? Who else was coming at the time? Any quotas on the group? How has this group of immigrants been treated since their arrival in the United States? Give examples, tell stories.

3. Where did these people find work? Did their work pit them against workers of other racial or ethnic backgrounds? Were they able to find work that matched their occupations in their home country?

Lesson plan: Each lesson plan must include the following:

1. Story, movie, or speaker: Bring the "voice"of the group to our class either as part of the historical background information or as a way of showing us the group's culture and/or living situation.

2. Background information: Present the history of the people and their struggles (see Content 1-3 above) as a lecture, a reading, a movie, a timeline, a role play, or a series of stories.

3. Class discussion: After your presentation, plan some discussion questions that will explore the subject of immigration, more thoroughly relate it to previous presenters or past units of study, or link it to broader social issues.

4. Written activity for class: As a culminating activity about your group, give your classmates a writing assignment that grows out of your presentation. (For example, after reading and discussing the women's movement, you wrote a profile of a contemporary or historical woman's work for equality; after reading a critical scene in Kindred, you wrote an interior monologue from a character's point of view.)

Individual Tasks:

1. Short story: Write a short story or play based on the lives of the people you researched. This is required of every student.

You must include the following in your story:
a. History -- some background to let us know about this group.
b. Dialogue.
c. Blocking -- locating the characters in the setting as they speak. Where are they?What are they doing as they speak?
d. Description of character and place.
e. Flashback -- revealing past action to shed light on present situation.
f. Interior monologue -- the thoughts and feelings of a character from his/her point of view.

2. Final essay for the year: Write about immigration, use specific examples from your research and/or the presentations of your fellow classmates.

3. Profile (extra credit): Was there a person(s) who we should know about from this group who displayed extraordinary courage or leadership? Profile this person somehow.