Activities:
Post-Viewing
Research/Writing
Many people who have risen to prominence in various fields have been immigrants to the U.S.
Give students the
List of prominent immigrants
and ask if they know of others they would add to
the list. The assignment is to choose one of the individuals on the list and write a brief
biographical sketch of the person, including reasons for coming to the United States and a
description of his or her early experiences in America.
Book Talk Reading/Discussion
Divide the students into groups. Let each group choose one of the books listed in the
Resources under "Fiction" (below). After they have read the books, have each group do a
presentation to the class, describing the way the immigrant experience has been portrayed.
When all the books have been presented, have a class discussion about the similarities and
differences in the themes of the books. Ask students to note whether the fictional accounts
resemble the real experiences of the newly arrived students in their school or of those in the
film.
Essay: "Living in the U.S.A."
Students will write an essay expressing their feelings, impressions, hopes and dreams about
the United States. To get them started, provide students with the list of words they created
defining America in the
Pre-Viewing exercise
. If practical, this can be a multimedia assignment,
giving students the choice of using one or more media (audio, video, photographs, etc.) to
express themselves.
Arrange for your class to meet with an ESOL class to share and compare their essays with
those written by the ESOL students.*
* An ESOL Curriculum is available online at
MHzNETWORKS.org/TeensInBetween
©2003 MHz NETWORKS
English
