sábado, 8 de junio de 2013

Unidad Didáctica: Perspectivas de la Inmigración



Upadte 10/15/17: I am sharing part of my unit packet for the latest version of this unit, which does not include "Bandera" or "Pa'l norte." It does include two songs: "Un besito más" and "ICE El Hielo" and the movie "Ladrón que roba a ladrón," with resources from Arianne Dowd.

Update (7/22/17): The song "Un besito más" by Jesse y Joy is a definite addition to this unit! Click here to see free resources.


Update (10/4/15): I created this slideshow to start the unit (it is actually part of a Spanish 1 unit). Some of the language is a bit strange, or forced, because I made it comprehensible for my level 1 students. I will probably adapt it when I use for my Cultura y Civilización class. Here is the slideshow with some of the slides:
We just finished the unit called "Perspectivas de la Inmigración" (UbD curriculm document and unit packet) in my Cultura y Civilización unit. This is the fourth time I have done this unit and it has been a little different each time, but the one thing that has stayed the same is the engagement in this unit. Most students have an opinion about immigration and undocumented immigrants in the United States, so they are interested in this unit.

By the end of the unit (hopefully), they understand how complicated immigration laws and reform really are. They will also understand a little more about the undocumented immigrant experience in the United States and (hopefully) develop some empathy for undocumented immigrants.

These are the Essential Questions for the unit:
  1. ¿Por qué emigran ilegalmente muchas personas a los Estados Unidos? ¿De dónde es la mayoría de los inmigrantes indocumentados? ¿Cómo llegan algunos? ¿Por qué vienen ilegalmente y no legalmente? ¿Cuál es el proceso de entrar legalmente en los EEUU?
  2. ¿Qué pasa ahora con la reforma migratoria en los EEUU? ¿Qué es el DREAM Act?
  3. ¿Quiénes son algunos cantantes que cantan sobre la inmigración? ¿Cuáles son sus perspectivas? ¿Cómo son diferentes y/o similares las canciones y los videos? ¿Qué opinas tú de las canciones?
  4. En tu opinión, ¿hay una solución al problema? ¿En qué consiste?
The first Essential Question was the speaking assessment (done about halfway through the unit). In order for them to answer those questions, they had to investigate a bit. Below are some of the links they used to gather information before discussing in class and taking the "speaking test". We did not use all of them, but did use the bolded ones. Some are authentic resources and some are in English. I really liked the infografías because they are excellent differentiated readings.
Another thing we did at the beginning of the unit was watch an episode of the "reality show" 30 Days. It is English, but students answered questions (see unit packet)  about it in Spanish and we discussed the different (at times extreme) perspectives of immigration in the show. Although it is a "reality show" and a little much at times, I continue to show it to students because I think they enjoy it and learn a lot from it.

30 Days: Immigration from MacQuarrie-Byrne Films on Vimeo.

After having focused on the first Essential Question, the next part of the unit was to see three different perspectives of immigration in three different songs:

Perspectiva #1 - Bandera by Aterciopelados - This song questions the idea of having borders and the immigration laws of some countries, obviously the United States being one of them. The lyrics are simple and easy to understand and the music video is excellent for discussion!

*Note*: Some students did not like this video because they felt like it was anti-American (and it might be), but I explained that this is a perspective of some people. A good question to ask then is, why do they have that perspective?



Perspectiva #2 - Pa'l Norte by Calle 13 - This song is about the journey of an undocumented immigrant as he travels North. The journey is described as being very difficult and the undocumented immigrant is glorified for his grit and persistence. The song also has some excellent cultural references and the vocabulary in this poem/song is rich. This video is also excellent for discussion.

*Note*: This song contains some language and phrases that some might not want to use. I skip some parts of the song and focus on the important parts. Also, René might be drunk in the video, I  ignore that part.

Perspectiva #3 - ICE El Hielo by La Santa Cecilia - This song shows the experience of undocumented immigrants in the United States. It is a beautiful song and easy for students to understand. The video is also powerful.

This perspective is particularly important because it is one sung by a band from the United States. It was also interesting for students to hear one of the band members speak here (starting at 10:55) about being an undocumented immigrant.


As with all the units, we sang all of theses songs a lot and students became very familiar with the videos as well. We also illustrated Pa'l Norte as a class and students illustrated ICE El Hielo in groups of 2-3. (I need to get some pictures of those on here!). All of the discussion questions about the songs and the videos are in the unit packet.

This is the  unit test. Students did an excellent job on this assessment. I love correcting them because for many of the questions, there is not one right answer. The questions are so open that students can take many paths to answer them.

There are so many excellent authentic resources for to teach a unit about immigration! Check out Zambombazo's resources here. La Misma Luna is also an excellent movie to show students.

What are some of your favorite resources to teach about immigration? Please share!

13 comentarios:

  1. Gracias por publicar tu trabajo. Estoy escribiendo el nuevo curriculum para mi escuela y tus unidades son de una enorme ayuda. Tomaré parte de ellas y reformularé otras. Muy buen trabajo, bien documentado y hecho con profesionalismo.

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    1. ¡Muchas gracias Gustavo! Y por favor, comparte lo que reformulas y/o mejoras :)

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  2. Oh my gosh! I am teaching an immigration unit and I just found this. Thank you so much for sharing. This will be invaluable. I'll try to return the favor if I find anything great. I want to try and integrate some of the study materials for the naturalization test in Spanish that they offer at the uscis.gov website. See if my students could pass :) http://www.uscis.gov/es/ciudadania/el-examen-de-naturalizacion

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    1. You're welcome! Here is another unit packet (cleaner than mine!): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HZTl1fWPU0U3CkpPh7gXqZEE2T89En7cu8XT6pM8N58/edit It contains some of my stuff and some made by Pilar Munday @mundaysa

      Let me know what you come up with and thanks for commenting!

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  3. Thanks for sharing Kara! This is awesome and I can't wait to try this unit out! I think Carol Gaab's book Esperanza would fit perfectly too!

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  4. Kara, how incredibly generous of you to share your materials. I am teaching a unit on immigration for the first time this year and your resources have been an incredible help. Do you plan on attending the NECFL conference in NYC in February? I'd love to meet you and pick your brain!

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    Respuestas
    1. Thank you! This probably needs some updating, but I do love the songs to show a variety of "perspectives" from Latin America.

      I am not going to NECTFL this year. But feel to pick my brain here or via email :)

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  5. For anyone who landed here looking for material to start a unit on immigration, I suggest the short story Cajas de Cartón.

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  6. For anyone who landed here looking for material to start a unit on immigration, I suggest the short story Cajas de Cartón.

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    Respuestas
    1. And if you use that story, you might want to teach about César Chávez: http://reflecciones-kj.blogspot.com/2016/04/cesar-chavez.html (Although César Chávez was a US citizens (and many other migratory workers at the time), so you wouldn't be touching the theme of immigration so much).

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  7. Muchísimas gracias Kara!!! Hace años había querido enseñarles a mis estudiantes sobre la inmigración. Lo que he encontrado aquí realmente es valioso e importante. Quiero darte las gracias por proveernos este material. Es un tema que se ha estado viendo mucho en las noticias. Se que mis estudiantes lo sabrán aprovechar. Nuevamente, gracias Kara.
    PS. Leímos Cajas de Cartón De Francisco Jiménez.... they loved it!!!! Some even cried!!!

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  8. Finding best Immigration Consultant in Canada? So we will help to apply Student, Work, Immigrant, sponsorship, visitor visa in Canada. Apply Now! Immigration Consultant in Canada

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  9. The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is a permanent immigration scheme for people who have worked in Canada for at least a year. It is a component of the Canadian experience class and expresses entry. Canadian Experience Class

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