Coming to America

1Coming to America“[In America] individuals of all nations are melted into a new race…whose labors…will one day cause great changes in the world.” –Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur

Unit Goal:

Students will be able to analyze various texts to develop an argument about how immigration changed America and the lives of those who settled here.

Essential Question:

How has America been shaped by immigrants throughout history?

Literary Terms:

Purpose, Diction, Tone, Central Claim, Theme, allusion, imagery, characterization, plot, flashback, flashforward, anecdote, irony, evidence

Academic Terms:

TOOLS: Vocabulary Bank, Tone Words

william-bradford-and-massasoitObjective I:  Identify and analyze CENTRAL IDEAS in a historical account.  

I. Pre-reading:

a.  Immigration Graffiti Wall

b. “Exploration and Settlement” p. 3 Background QuickRead & Write

C. Vocabulary Preview

II. Close Read “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford p. 5

III: Post Reading: Summary Template & Bradford Coffee House Discussion

vasco-de-balboa

Objective 2Evaluate author’s CLAIMS, PURPOSE, and use of IRONY in argumentative essays.  

I.  Pre-reading:“Indian Boy Love Song”  by Sherman Alexie Quick Analysis

II. Reading: “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans” by Richard Rodriguez, “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan

III.  Post-Reading: Compare and Contrast Summary, “Blaxicans” Post Reading Philosophical Chairs

Objective 3Discuss views of immigration.

I.  Pre-speaking: “The Immigrant’s Fate is Everyone’s” by Viet Thanh Nguyen

II. Speaking: Collection 1 Socratic Seminar

III.  Post-Reading:Socratic Seminar Evaluation Guide

Objective 5Write an essay that develops an argument about the impact of immigration.

I.  Pre-writing: Literary Cafe 

II. Writing: Learning Scale & Rubric

III.  Post-Writing: Essay Revision Guide