Writing - Immigration Paper
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- Category: English Language Arts
- Published: Sunday, 04 January 2015 22:42
- Written by Brian Jaeger
- Hits: 1706
I had about three years as an English 11 teacher, trying to perfect some of the papers I inherited from other teachers. The Immigration Paper was not bad, but I probably would have kept tweaking it. Works best if most of your students can ask someone about family history, even though I did add some options for those with no info.
Full Assignment below
English 11 Immigration Story and American Dream Assignment
Immigration may mean any one of the following definitions to you (from Dictionary.com):
To enter and settle in a country or region to which one is not native.
The passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence.
Migration out of a place.
Your own definition of “immigration” might be slightly different, and it can certainly be personalized to your situation. In this assignment, you will be describing immigration as it best relates to you, written as one of the following options.
OPTION 1 Interview and Documentation
You will interview family members in order to find out about:
your ancestral homeland
factors that led to your family’s emigration
the journey to America
the reception in America
the struggle to become “American”
Sources must be cited in MLA format, including interviews. Minimum of 3 sources. Include a family tree. 3-5 pages
OPTION 2 Research-based
You will use textual resources to research:
the countries from which American immigrants came from during a certain era, or all of the immigration from a certain country over the years
factors that led to the people’s emigration at that time/ from that country
the journey to America (travel technology changes)
the reception in America (attitudes might change over time)
the struggle to become an “American”
the best sources for finding information on immigration
Sources must be cited in MLA format, including interviews. Minimum of 5 sources. Family tree is optional. 3-5 pages
OPTION 3 Famous Immigrants
You will write the story of a person who came to this country with a dream for something better. They don’t necessarily have to succeed, but the journey is what you will document. (This can include pro athletes.) Again, be sure to address the following elements:
the ancestral homeland
factors of emigration
the journey to America
the struggle to become “American”
Sources must be cited in MLA format, including interviews. Minimum of 5 sources. Family tree is optional. 3-5 pages
OPTION 4 Fiction
You will write the fictional story of an immigrant who emigrated to America. Consider the exact same elements, as the other two options, but tell it as a narrative (or story).
your ancestral homeland
factors that led to your family’s emigration
the journey to America
the reception in America
the struggle to become “American”
also important will be elements of the short story used to elicit a response from the reader. Consider theme, tone, irony, style, character, voice, plot, etc.
Sources must be cited in MLA format, including interviews. Minimum of 2 sources. Family tree encouraged (fictional). 3-8 pages
OPTION 5 Dream of Education (research-based; policy)
You will describe how our school system, as well as others, should run their schools in order to allow all children to be successful. You must do research on schools, and find out the options that exist for helping schools.
Goals of free public education in our country (what, how, why, where—we learn); who should learn?
Options that exist for parents
School choice and open enrollment
Magnet schools or specialty schools
How schools can be competitive; test scores and otherwise
The future of education
You should write 3-5 pages. One of those pages can be a pamphlet advertising your school for students who do not live here. 5 sources.
You will be required to present the story to the rest of the class. This will be worth 10 points with up to 10 bonus points for exceptional presentations with multiple elements (photos, drawings, coat of arms, etc.)
SUGGESTIONS:
Find an internet site that works for finding information on your particular family. Familysearch.org works for me, but it may not work for you.
Try military web sites if you know someone was in a war
Ask questions. You might know someone in the family who can help, or you might be able to interview a neighbor who has recently come to this country
Don’t get discouraged if you find only a small amount of information. You have to start somewhere, and you can modify your paper to fit what you find.
Use anecdotes to demonstrate your points rather than listing events
Always consider why it all matters, and how you have been affected by the immigration in this country
Keep in mind that immigration has been a constant issue in this country since the 16th Century, so you can choose from a lot of information to complete this project. Current trends in immigration are fine to address.