lewis-palmer school district 38€¦ · web viewit can also help to teach us about the unique...

Note: Not everyone’s family journey or family looks the same. If your history does not seem to fit with this project, talk to your teacher about ways to tailor the project to make it more relatable to you and your family’s experience. If we cannot find a way to deal with your unique history, your teacher will provide an alternate assignment that will incorporate the journey of another immigrant to help.

Refugee ProjectEveryone has a family and everyone’s family has a story to tell. Our histories can help teach us

who we are, connecting us to a heritage and identity handed down across generations. It can also

help to teach us about the unique contributions that every culture brings to a community through

their classmates.

Family stories, in particular, can be a relevant resource for historical research that provides a

uniquely personal insight into our past. As students trace their family’s journey, they can see

where they came from, learn how traditions affect their lives, and consider which elements of

that cultural history they would like to pass on.

Activities

Find out the name of the city/country where they were born and the name of a city/country where

a grandparent, great-grandparent, other relative or an important adult in their lives was born

outside of the United States. You can choose someone who is not related but who makes a

special contribution to their lives.

1. Today we are going to take a “Family Journey.” It will take you back in time to learn

about your family history. You’ll also learn how that history connects to your life now.

2. Look at the world map. A pushpin shows the location of our school. If you were born

somewhere else, find the location of your birthplace and place a new pin there. You may need to

do this one person at a time. How many different places are marked on the map? Who was born

the farthest from Monument?

3. Now, one at a time, try to find the location of the city/country where your ancestor or an

important adult in your life was born. Place a pushpin at that location. Then take a piece of string

and use it to connect your pushpins. Start with your ancestor’s location, then your birthplace and

finally to your school. Your birthplace and place you live now may be the same.

4. These strings show part of the family journeys of your classmates! Share with a partner

how you think those journeys have had an influence on the community we live in. For example,

are there certain restaurants, celebrations or stores that reflect the cultural journeys that

community residents have taken?

5. These journeys have helped to shape American culture. All of your ancestors and the

important adults in our lives have brought unique customs and traditions to our community! So

these journeys are important to you and to the community.

6. Sometimes it is hard to keep our cultural traditions alive. You are going to be a cultural

historian for your family. You will interview a family member or an important adult in your life.

You’ll learn more about where your family comes from and the traditions and customs that you

have contributed to American life.

7. Choose a family member or important adult in your life who can relate a significant

journey in your family. Explain to the person that you would like to interview them about their

unique cultural history. Complete the handout together.

8. These interviews will form the basis of the letters you will be writing for class

The Interview

Before conducting the interview, review the following with your interviewee to make sure they feel comfortable with the questions and choose the most appropriate ones. It might be helpful to give them a few minutes to reflect before beginning the interview.

MOTIVATION FOR MIGRATING

● There is a story behind every decision to migrate. What do you know about your family’s story?● What did your family hope for in their new life here?● Why did your family choose to come to this country instead of somewhere else?THE JOURNEY● What members of the family made the journey and who stayed behind?● Did anyone come ahead of the family?● What was most difficult for the family about leaving?● What was the journey to this new country (or community) like?● What was the most difficult for the family about arriving?● What does the family talk about having most surprised them when they first arrived?● What does the family talk about having missed most about the country they left behind?● Who was most helpful with getting your family settled in?● Migration can be hard. From where did your family gain strength in difficult times?● How do you think your family was changed by migration?

HOPE AND REALITIES● How do you think the family’s experience compared to their expectations?● What has been your family’s biggest challenges?● What have been your family’s biggest sources of joy?● Overall, how do you think you family is doing after the migration?● Can you think of times when your family has felt unwelcomed because they are immigrants? What about when they have felt welcomed?

● What do you think were the family’s hopes and dreams for the future?● In what ways do you think your family’s migration has made YOU a stronger person?

ADVICE

● If someone you knew were planning on coming to this country, what would you tell them to expect?● What advice would you give them about whether or not they should come?● If they decided to come, what advice would you give them about how to make the best of their experience?● What are the 2 or 3 most important things that people could do to make the process of coming to a new area better?● Is there anything you would like to add that that has not been asked?

The Doctor will see you nowYou will need to provide 2 significant details each for 5 of the categories below. You will need to do this twice, for the area you moved from and the area you moved to.

Daily Life- Customs, traditions, and laws

Religion- Belief systems

History- Significant events from the past

Arts- The stories (literature and cinema) and other imaginative works of a people ( paintings, dance, sculpture, music, etc.)

Government-People in charge of a region who determine laws and political frameworks

Geography-Details relating to physical, political, and climate maps

Language- Form of communication

Economy- The way a region manages and distributes its resources

S-Social Groups- (Demographics) The different ways humans interrelate in a society

Letter ProjectYou are going to combine the information from your family interview and your DR. HAGGLES research to compose a letter. You will write it in FIRST PERSON as if you are an immigrant who has completed his/her journey. In conversational terms, write to a friend about how life is in your new location and how life was in the home you left behind. Blend FACTS from your DR HAGGLES and DETAILS from your INTERVIEW.

Note: This journey should combine RESEARCH and some CREATIVE WRITING. Work with members of your family to tell the story as best you can. If some details need to be created to complete the story, that will be fine. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the traveler and think about what they likely would have faced on their journey if you do not have their exact thoughts and statements recorded in letters or documents. This letter can be historical fiction, based on truth but with creative license.

The InterviewBefore conducting the interview, review the following with your interviewee to make sure they feel comfortable with the questions and choose the most appropriate ones. It might be helpful to give them a few minutes to reflect before beginning the interview.

MOTIVATION FOR MIGRATING

● There is a story behind every decision to migrate. What do you know about your family’s

story?

● What did your family hope for in their new life here?

● Why did your family choose to come to this country instead of somewhere else?

THE JOURNEY

● What members of the family made the journey and who stayed behind?

● Did anyone come ahead of the family?

● What was most difficult for the family about leaving?

● What was the journey to this new country (or community) like?

● What was the most difficult for the family about arriving?

● What does the family talk about having most surprised them when they first arrived?

● What does the family talk about having missed most about the country they left behind?

● Who was most helpful with getting your family settled in?

● Migration can be hard. From where did your family gain strength in difficult times?

● How do you think your family was changed by migration?

HOPE AND REALITIES

● How do you think the family’s experience compared to their expectations?

●

● What has been your family’s biggest challenges?

● What have been your family’s biggest sources of joy?

● Overall, how do you think you family is doing after the migration?

● Can you think of times when your family has felt unwelcomed because they are

immigrants? What about when they have felt welcomed?

● What do you think were the family’s hopes and dreams for the future?

● In what ways do you think your family’s migration has made YOU a stronger person?

ADVICE

● If someone you knew were planning on coming to this country, what would you tell them

to expect?

● What advice would you give them about whether or not they should come?

● If they decided to come, what advice would you give them about how to make the best of

their experience?

● What are the 2 or 3 most important things that people could do to make the process of

coming to a new area better?

● Is there anything you would like to add that that has not been asked?

Country/Place of Origin (First Place)




Arts- The stories (literature and cinema) and other imaginative works of a people ( paintings, dance, sculpture, etc.)




Country/New Home (Second Place)




Arts- The stories (literature and cinema) and other imaginative works of a people ( paintings, dance, sculpture, etc.)




lewis-palmer school district 38€¦ · web viewit can also help to teach us about the unique...

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