An Award Winning Documentary Video Film

Students at Peabody School in Chicago interviewed immigrants, created and decorated a place setting for a table, then invited the immigrants to celebrate with them. The project enabled students to identify the reasons immigrants come to the US, hear about their journeys, research and write a narrative essays and most importantly, to appreciate and understand the immigrant experience. Here are some of those stories:

Sandra Cuevas: Guadalajara, Mexico

By Vanessa

My mom always says, “you should appreciate what you have. My immigrant’s name is Sandra Cuevas. She is 30 years old and was born in Mexico. Her life in Mexico was not that nice. Her journey was scary. Her life here is a lot better.

My mom’s life in Mexico was not that rich. She lived I a small town called Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico. The weather was hot and humid. The town was small and poor.
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Students and immigrants did all the talking in Kristin Rogers’s classroom. At Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy in Washington D.C., students interviewed day laborers at Case de Maryland, an organization which assists immigrants with a variety of services. Check out their final project, “Immigration & Activism: Taking Action for What We Believe” to see what they found.  

We were able better understood the meaning of community when we were open to listening to the stories of immigrants, and then related the experiences of immigrants to our own lives. Writing our personal narratives and conducting interviews made us realize that we are not that different from people from other countries.

Through these interviews, students were able to sample what the immigration experience is actually like instead of reading it out of a text book. To follow up, students made their own website, http://immigration.capstone.googlepages.com/main, which features immigrant surveys, interviews, personal narratives, basic immigration vocabulary and most importantly, information on how to make a difference in your own community.
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62 nationalities are represented by the students of Paint Branch High School, a Montgomery County public school in Burtonsville, Maryland. Instructor Leila Cabib put together this animated video, funded by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, The Washington Post and ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Program.

This project was funded by a grant from the American Immigration Law Foundation. A full cookbook can be viewed on AILF’s Curriculum Center’s Lesson Plans webpage. The recipes on this page are from Mrs. Bastien’s class at the Goddard School of Science and Technology in Worcester, MA.

Tzatziki (tzatzíki) Salad
Tzatziki is a Greek appetizer, also used as a sauce for souvlaki and gyros. Tzatziki is made of strained yoghurt — in Greece and Turkey usually sheep’s-milk or goat’s-milk yoghurt — to which are added cucumbers (either pureed and strained or seeded and finely diced), garlic, salt, cracked black pepper and usually olive oil, dill, sometimes lime juice and parsley, or mint. Olive oil, olives, and herbs are often used as garnishes as well.

1 ½ cups of yogurt (strained)
2 medium sized cucumbers
4-6 cloves of garlic, crushed
A little vinegar
Salt
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Many baby boomers will remember joyfully singing Oscar Brand’s folksong, “When I First Came to this Land,” in primary school. Harriet Ziefert’s story version, paired with Caldecott Award Winner Simms Taback’s lively illustrations, introduces this simple immigration story to another generation of children. The repetitive language and humorous illustrations should appeal to students as they follow the adventures of a typical nineteenth century immigrant pursuing the American dream. Aimed at primary students, this imaginative book could serve as an introduction to American immigration history for students at any grade level.

NO ENGLISH
By Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Amy Huntingto. Ann Arbor Media Group, 2007.
Grades 1-2, 29 pgs.

No English is a colorfully illustrated picture book that tells the story of Blanca, a new girl from Argentina, who struggles to adjust and acclimate to her second grade American classroom. Blanca’s story is told from the perspective of her classmate, Diane, who initially has trouble dealing with the fact that they don’t speak the same language. Early on, “No English,” is all that Spanish speaker, Blanca, can say—thus making her misunderstood by her classmates. However, with the help of her teacher, Mrs. Bertram, the students are able to better understand Blanca by learning about her homeland. This is a lovely story that could be read aloud to students of all ages and will make a lovely addition to any classroom library.

ONE GREEN APPLE
By Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ted Lewin. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
Grades 1-4, 32 pgs.

Farah, a young Muslim girl, begins her story on her second day in a new school in a new country. She listens and nods but doesn’t speak. So many things are strange to her, including the clothes and language. Her class is going on a field trip to an apple orchard where they will each pick an apple to be made into cider. When she puts a green apple into the cider press instead of a ripe red one, as her classmates have done, they symbolically protest. But the cider from all the apples they have mixed together is a beautiful metaphor for the benefits of intermingling different people. Farah begins to make friends. She even learns a new word “App-ell.” Her simple story helps us understand the feelings of the many immigrant children striving to make their way in our American world. Tee Lewin’s gorgeous full-page watercolors depict the apple picking adventure. This is a great picture book for early primary and ESL classrooms.
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At Crestview Preparatory School in La Canada, California, students interviewed an immigrant and revealed their findings with the class by sharing their interviewees’ stories and photographs. Based upon the students’ findings from their interview, they created narrative essays written from the perspective of the interviewees. These are their stories:

Unique United States

By Trishta
When I came to America, I brought a very important cultural tradition with me from India. My intention has been to maintain and keep the Parsi tradition, called a Navjote, alive. In my family, this special ceremony comes once in a lifetime for each family member. For the Navjote ceremony, each child memorizes a series of prayers. The ceremony is a huge event, with all of your family and friends in attendance. During the ceremony everything you wear has to be new. After the ceremony, the child has to recite the prayers three times a day until they become 18. Then they have a choice if they would like to recite the prayers or not. When I was a child, my parents taught me the importance of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. Throughout the years, I have taught the same thing to my children and grandchildren. People that I left behind and my first impression from when I arrived to the United States are two important parts of my life. Even though I’m not in India my heart is still there.

When I came to the United States, I had many thoughts. My first thoughts were that I knew I would have amazing opportunities for great things in the United States. There were many thoughts on my mind too; thrilled, excited, and ready for a new life were the words. If I had continued to live in India, I wouldn’t have been as financially sound as I am today in America. Sometimes your first impression of a new place can be correct. Now I know what America’s greatest thing to say is: the United States offers good opportunities to everybody who is willing to work hard and play by the rules.

I came to America with a heavy heart, because I left most of my family and friends behind in India. Today my loved ones are still in India over 9,000 miles away. My heart has, and always will have, room for my family and friends. Aside from my family and friends, I also miss something else: the country of my birth and my motherland, India. There are so many things I miss in India such as my friends and family. Yet even though I miss all of these things, I know that they are still in my heart.

When I came to America, I knew that this country would give me better opportunities, and today I know that my instinct was right. I’ve learned that even though I’m not living in India, I can still celebrate Indian traditions in the United States. Also, I’ve learned that America moves forward in opportunity and that is why I am content with my life. Missing my family and friends and the thrill of immigrating are aspects of my life that I’ll never forget. America is one of the only countries that provides so much opportunity to anyone who is willing to work hard in the unique United States.
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