For the next month my students will be working on an interdisciplinary unit. The theme is "Coming to America" and it falls under my immigration standards. The students will spend the next three weeks doing research in all of their core classes. They will be required to take over 100 pages of notes from a variety of mediums. They will view 3 videos, read 2 chapters which contain 4 sections from their textbook and browse through over 100 websites.
This intensive research will give each student an incredible base of knowledge on the topic of immigration. They will understand why people were both pushed out of their countries and pulled to the United States. They will learn about the transformation of the United States from a mostly agrarian nation to an industrial superpower.
What makes this unit different from traditional classroom learning happens in the final week of the project. The students are assigned a fictional identity. They are provided with a background profile of an immigrant who is coming to America. Through creative writing instruction in their L.A. class, the students write a journal that describes their journey across the oceans. This journal will be written using a blending of facts taken from their research mixed in with their own thoughts.
The culmination of the project is a simulation where the students are processed at Ellis Island. Parent volunteers work as the processors. Our media center is transformed into a holding area where each student must pass through a series of medical and psychological exams. Students that are successful will take an oath of allegiance. Those who are not successful are deported.
More to come...
3 comments:
Any way to get some audio going for this post? I think you know what I wanna hear! =)
Simoni,
That sounds like an interesting project. I'm curious to read how it all turns out.
It makes me think of a post I just read here (http://www.teach42.com/2007/05/02/teaching-facts-or-teaching-to-think/) that might prove relevant. Read and let me know.
Thanks for making me think.
What a cool project. when I used to teach middle school, we did an Ellis Island project. Some of the kids got deported because they had a disease. It was cool since the science department got in the act and they learned about small pox, ring worm, and TB.
Hope you are enjoying the home stretch. I'm jealous about the cruise.
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