Abstract
Immigration is a public issue that needs student exploration. This cross-disciplinary study brings awareness of diverse cultures by studying immigration through personal history in a multiethnic urban elementary school. Research suggests the importance of integrating assets students bring into the classroom in instruction. Changing pedagogies also emphasize the need for students to participate in community-based inquiries. This asset-based perspective centers students as knowledge producers, instead of knowledge consumers, making them active participants in learning.
The second grade students were gathered on the rug in the middle of their classroom as their teacher prepared them for a unit on immigration. They were asked “how many of you or your parents were born somewhere other than the United States?” Almost every hand was raised.
The students in this class attend a school that draws from communities across Queens County, the most diverse of New York City’s five boroughs. This study’s curriculum unit investigates how these students, who are primarily the children of immigrants, understand and relate to the story of immigration to the United States in the latter part of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. The unit is based on the stories of their own families’ experiences with immigration and results in students as producers of knowledge on recent immigration, rather than only consumers of knowledge.
In a city of immigrants, Queens County has the largest immigrant population of any of the boroughs with nearly one half of its residents foreign-born in 2011. Since colonial times, New York City has been a gateway for immigrants, who either stay in the area or disperse across the country. More than one third of New York City’s foreign-born, a total of 3.1 million in 2011, arrived in 2000 or later (The City of New York, Department of City Planning & Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, 2013). The total student population in the school that these second graders attend reflects the population of Queens because 8% of the students are White, 48% are Asian, 30% are Black, and 13% are Hispanic (Data NYSED.gov, The New York State Education Department, 2015). Queens is the only one of New York City’s boroughs with an Asian plurality among the foreign-born, primarily Chinese. The other top immigrant groups include Guyanese, Ecuadorians, and Mexicans (The City of New York, Department of City Planning & Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, 2013). Within the two second-grade classes in this study, the students represented many of the countries of the world, including China, Guyana, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Colombia, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
Queens County is in the forefront of what has been described as a “tsunami-proportion migratory flow” (Finkelstein, 2013, p. 126) in a world that is increasingly interconnected. In 2013, immigrants comprised 13.1% of the total U.S. population. In contrast, in 1990, immigrants were 7.9% of the total U.S. population. The largest group of foreign-born residents in the United States is from Mexico and the second largest group is from China, which is reflected in the demographics of Queens County (Camarota & Zeigler, 2014).
In U.S. schools, the fastest growing population is the children of immigrants (Coll & Marks, 2009). The two classrooms in this study represent this population. Few of the 7-year-olds were immigrants or foreign-born themselves, but all but one or two were the children of immigrants. A limited amount of research exists of this population’s academic lives (Coll & Marks, 2009). The subject of immigration into the United States since 1970 is a controversial and contentious topic. Anti-immigrant sentiments and laws are demonstrated by rhetoric in the 2016 presidential campaign, recent presidential executive orders on immigrants entering the United States (Gonchar & Schulten, 2017), as well as outbreaks of violence against immigrants around the country. These sentiments are not exclusive to the United States, but have been shown in European countries, such as Germany and France (Graff, 2010). In U.S. classrooms, discussions of recent immigration can reach a flashpoint between nativists’ isolationist attitudes and the needs and attitudes of immigrants and children of immigrants. This atmosphere of contentiousness highlights the need to discuss the topic of recent immigration as U.S. society is increasingly composed of the foreign-born. Often, the topic of recent immigration is not part of the curriculum (Graff, 2010). It needs to be, if we wish to build a civic society based on social justice and the inclusion of all people in the fabric of the nation through our public education system.
In many instances, units on immigration in classrooms at all levels remain a historical topic rather than a topic about recent occurrences. Consequently, it is the two waves of historic immigration, from the early to the late 19th century and from the early to the mid-20th century, that are studied, not immigration since 1970. Immigration is, therefore, a “historical subject studied rather than a contemporary issue experienced” (Graff, 2010, p. 107). For many teachers, teaching historical immigration is a safer subject as opposed to issues and conflicts associated with the teaching of recent immigration (Bersh, 2013). In this study, the conflict between nativist and immigrant opinions in the classroom did not exist, because so few of the students were children from families who had lived in the United States for generations. In addition, the teachers were not reluctant to teach the unit as it applied so explicitly to their students.
Research Focus
The assessment of student learning in this inquiry unit focused on the following questions: How does a study of their own family’s history enable students to produce knowledge about the nature of immigration? How well can the students demonstrate their knowledge and artistic expression through the use of digital storytelling? How well are young students able to contextualize their own histories into the broader history of United States immigration?
Planning the Immigration Unit
The two authors first met with the school principal to outline the parameters of the unit on immigration. The principal was interested in the integration of technology with content and was also interested in placing social studies in the instructional forefront as suggested by the school district for the academic year.
We decided to incorporate the unit into the second-grade curriculum, which includes the study of different types of communities in the New York City scope and sequence for social studies. The unit would also fit at other grade levels, for example, in the country studies included in the third-grade curriculum, the study of New York State included in fourth grade, and U.S. history included in fifth grade (New York City Department of Education, 2014-2015). The second grade was chosen because the unit was taught in the spring, and the New York State testing program did not interfere with classroom instruction. The scheduling of New York state tests during the spring and the need to prepare for them does not begin in earnest until third grade.
We also decided to use Pixie for the presentation of the second graders’ interviews of a recent immigrant. Pixie is a child-friendly digital presentation program that the second graders knew, because they were introduced to the program in first grade. The Pixie activity was undertaken in pursuit of digital storytelling through which students could retell their immigrant story based on prepared interview scripts used in a digital platform. Digital storytelling “derives power through weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, and insights” (Digital Storytelling Association, 2002, p. 1). The digital storytelling approach was also used to promote multiple literacies and artistic expression of student reaction to the immigrant story that they heard. Students, first of all, had to summarize their story before creating four-page animations. They added images that represented the story on each page and decorated each page with background colors and patterns. Before making the Pixie presentation into a digital movie, they read the story with their own voice. The movies were presented to the whole class as a culminating activity. The movies were also shared with the parents in an online storage platform.
Incorporating digital tools and resources is a critical instructional practice because it not only promotes student learning and creativity in common core curriculum, but it also provides alternative assessments for students with diverse learning styles. In addition, it promotes teachers’ professional growth by facilitating effective use of current digital tools that enables all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants. Most of all, it provides students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments (International Society for Technology in Education, 2015).
Of equal importance was the need to incorporate in the unit both the topics and practices outlined in the New York City Scope and Sequence for Social Studies in Grades K-8 (2014-2015). This scope and sequence is closely aligned with the New York State Standards for Social Studies and the National Council for the Social Studies (2010; see Table 1). Also with the emphasis by the New York State Education Department (2011) on the Common Core Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, it was important to include learning strategies from the four areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening (see Table 2).
Social Studies Practices Included in the Unit (New York City Department of Education, K-8 Social Studies Scope and Sequence, 2014-2015).
New York State Education Department (2011) P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy Included in the Unit.
Data Resources and Analysis
The author-researchers gathered evidence of the two second-grade classroom students’ knowledge acquisition and production of information through field notes based on classroom observation, written work contained in the students’ social studies folders, student written interviews with family members, and their digital storytelling. Data were analyzed using a coding system based on grounded theory. The categories were derived from the collected data and evidence (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The researchers’ primary interest was in the students’ level of knowledge acquisition in understanding both personal immigration history and the broader history of U.S. immigration, as applied to the nation and to their own community. The researchers were also interested in the students’ ability to produce and demonstrate their understanding through a digital moviemaking platform. The videos produced by the students were evaluated using a criterion referenced assessment (Christie et al., 2015; see Table 8). The researchers’ primary focus was on student levels of knowledge acquisition and their ability to produce and demonstrate new knowledge.
Findings From the Implementation of the Immigration Unit
Introduction to U.S. Immigration
The introductory activity for the unit began with a study of historic immigration through Ellis Island in New York City. As a full group discussion to begin the activity, the teachers asked how most immigrants arrived in New York City today, and, in unison, the students said through JFK (John F. Kennedy International Airport). The teachers used this response to launch a discussion of the differences between immigrants to New York City today and immigrants more than 100 years ago. Using an online resource for the study of Ellis Island (Scholastic, 2015), the students were able to view photographs and videos of immigrants’ arrival at Ellis Island at the turn of the 20th century. The site offers an interactive floor plan for the main terminal and interviews of individuals who came to the United States through Ellis Island.
The aim of the activity was to develop the students’ skills at gathering, using, and interpreting evidence; to increase their chronological reasoning and understanding of causation; and to enhance their ability to compare and contextualize information. In pursuit of these goals, the teachers used circle thinking maps, which are a type of graphic organizer. The inner part of the circle is used to write information that the student learned from the material, and the outside of the circle is used to write any questions that the student might have after the activity (see Figure 1).
Example of circle thinking map.
After listening to interviews with immigrants who had come to America through Ellis Island, the students filled in their circle thinking maps. One student completed the inner part of the map by saying that immigrants came from Italy, Poland, and Russia; it took weeks to get to New York, 3,000 people were on the boat, and they could only bring stuff that they need. In the outer part of the map, the student asked why did it take weeks to get there and where did the diseases come from, in response to the information that all immigrants were checked for diseases. The students were then asked to write down their impressions of the trip to Ellis Island and facts that they learned about the Ellis Island experience. The researchers evaluated a sample of 10 students with a range of academic abilities from high to low; many students noticed and recorded the same impressions and facts. The descriptive adjectives used by at least two students were that the trip to Ellis Island was bad, horrible, dirty, scary, and the ship was rusty. Other descriptors used by the students were smelly and people were sick, tired, and starving.
For important facts (see Table 3), the largest number of students said that 3,000 people were on the ship to Ellis Island and that no food was on the ship. A smaller number reported that the ship was dirty, that passengers were only allowed one bag, that the journey took 3 weeks, and that passengers could not wash or brush their teeth. This information was in one of the oral histories that the teachers used from the Scholastic website in which a man recalled his ocean voyage and coming to Ellis Island in the early 20th century. Other students said that many different languages were spoken and that immigrants were from different countries, but did not connect the fact that being from different countries resulted in different spoken languages.
Important Facts Recorded for the Ellis Island Introduction Using a Cross Section of 10 Students.
Several of the students pointed out that the immigrants were checked for sickness at Ellis Island, particularly for trachoma, where button hooks were used to examine eyes. One student interpreted this evidence and said that even with the checks for disease, most immigrants were allowed into the country. Two students were able to contextualize the Ellis Island experience chronologically. One student said that Ellis Island operated a long time ago and another attempted to supply dates for the experience.
Learning Centers for Today’s Immigrant Experience
After the introductory activity, students were introduced to five learning centers. They rotated through the learning centers in small groups of five or six students. In the first center, they examined pictures of New York yesterday and today with a graphic organizer; in the second center, they looked at a variety of pictures of businesses and people in Queens and wrote their impressions; in the third center, they watched video commentaries of children who have immigrated to the United States recently and wrote out their impressions; in the fourth center, they used population numbers for immigrant groups in Queens, New York, and placed them in rank order; and in the fifth center, they found the definition of a variety of words with an immigration focus and used the words in a sentence.
Center for New York Then and Now
The purpose of this center was to give students an experience with a variety of photographs of New York City today and a century ago. One set of pictures showed Manhattan’s Chinatown in 1900 and in the 21st century. Another picture was of schools then and now, another was of New York harbor, and another was of bridges and tunnels. They were asked to use and interpret visual evidence of change in a graphic organizer where they wrote how each set of photographs differed from each other and how they were the same. The graphic organizer not only encouraged their ability to compare and contrast but also encouraged their chronological reasoning (see Figure 2).
Example of graphic organizer for then and now and sample pictures.
Using a sample of 10 students with a range of abilities, the two researchers counted their observations from the photographs and grouped them under general categories (see Table 4). The students were concrete in their observations with few inferences about why differences exist between New York City 100 years ago and New York City now. This lack of inference may partly be due to the nature of the written work required of the students. They filled in their observations using a double bubble chart, which is a graphic organizer that asked students to fill in circles with factual observations.
Evidence Gathered From Photographs of New York City Then and Now Using a Cross Section of 10 Students.
Note. NYC = New York City. Headings in bold indicate general categories followed by specific examples of that category.
The greatest number of students observed the differences in transportation from open trolleys and horse-drawn carts to modern, metal, closed buses and cars. In the built environment, they noticed the use of wood 100 years ago for houses but also the presence of stores and schools then as well as now. Many noticed infrastructure that was present in the past and is present now, such as bridges and tunnels. They also observed that life and activities did not seem as busy and frenetic in the past as now. In addition, as is often true with young children, they listed that photographs in the past were black and white, whereas photographs today are in color.
Center on Photographs of Ethnic Groups in Queens
In this center, photographs were used again, and students were asked to study them and give their interpretation. The photographs were of ethnic businesses and apparel in different neighborhoods throughout Queens, New York. Students were given a structured inquiry sheet to use as they looked at the different pictures. The sheet, adapted from inquiry activities on the National Archives and Records Administration (2016) website, asked that they list their observations according to people, objects, and activities. After the gathering of evidence, they were asked to interpret through comparing and contrasting what was the same and what was different in each picture. Finally, they were asked to infer from the pictures what they have learned about the different neighborhoods in Queens. Pictures were used of downtown Flushing where signs are in Chinese and Korean with very few in English, a Colombian restaurant with signs in Spanish, a Guyanese open market, and an Egyptian café with a sign in Arabic, among others (see Figure 3).
Inquiry sheet for Queens neighborhoods and sample pictures.
Using a sample of 10 students with a range of abilities, the two researchers counted their observations from the photographs and grouped them under general categories. The greatest number of students identified people in the pictures by their ethnicity, either because of their ethnic dress, in the instance of Indians and Pakistanis, or the establishments in which they shopped or worked. One picture was of a coffee shop with the sign in Arabic, and another was of a Greek food shop with the Greek flag hanging in the background. Some students identified people simply by gender, whereas others identified occupations in the photographs. For objects, the greatest number of students focused on transportation, such as buses, or on businesses such as stores, shops, and restaurants. For activities, the students focused on interaction between people, such as buying and selling, or movement, such as walking or driving a taxi. When comparing the set of photographs with each other for similarities and differences, they identified some of the same elements in both categories. Writing and language were identified as different by four students, but the same by one student. Clothes were identified as different, as some pictures showed individuals in ethnic dress.
When the students were asked to tell what the photographs told them about Queens, four students inferred from the photographs some of the major characteristics of the borough. They said that a lot of different cultures and languages exist in Queens. Others did not demonstrate as much understanding in their observations and simply said that Queens is full of different people, places, markets, and stores (see Table 5).
Evidence and Inferences Gathered From Photographs of Different Queens Neighborhoods Using a Cross Section of 10 Student.
Note. Headings in bold indicate general categories followed by specific examples of that category.
Center With Videos of Young Immigrants to the United States
This center utilized videos of young immigrants to the United States (Scholastic, 2015). Of the five videos, the students watched three. The first was of Ashya, a third grader from the Ukraine; the second was of Taylor, a fourth grader from South Korea; and the third was of Vandi, a sixth grader from Sierra Leone. Using a sample of 10 students with a range of abilities, the two researchers counted their observations from the videos. The inquiry sheet that the students used asked them to list what surprised them about the young immigrants’ stories, how they were similar to themselves, how they were different, and what they learned from listening to the young immigrants’ voices (see Figure 4).
Example of inquiry sheet for videos of today’s young immigrants.
The greatest number of students focused on holidays for new information, in particular, that Ashya celebrated Christmas on January 7 because of the Orthodox Christian calendar. For similarities, the focus was again on holidays with the celebration of Christmas receiving the most comments. Five students listed as differences, from themselves, elements of the immigrant experience, such as living in old houses in their homeland, being homeless in the United States, and moving from place to place, both internationally and domestically. The students in the two second-grade classes are the children of immigrants, but, with only a few exceptions, they are not immigrants themselves. Therefore, they have not experienced immigration as the young people in the videos have. At least one of the students understood from the videos that one of the reasons for immigration was war in the young immigrant’s home country of Sierra Leone. Another observed the feelings of loneliness that many immigrants experience after arriving in a new country. Other inferences were less insightful, saying, for example, that the young immigrants came from other countries and that their life was different (see Table 6).
Responses and Inferences From Videos of Young Immigrants to the United States Using a Cross Section of 10 Students.
Note. Headings in bold indicate general categories followed by specific examples of that category.
Centers for Population and Vocabulary
In the population center, the students were asked to demonstrate their knowledge of complex numbers by ranking the order of 10 immigrant groups in Queens from largest to smallest. They were not asked to indicate any inferences that might be drawn from the rankings (see Table 7; Figure 5).
Foreign-Born Population Rank Ordered by Country of Birth: Queens, NY (2013).
Example of inquiry sheet for ethnic populations in Queens.
In the vocabulary center, they were asked to use vocabulary based on immigration in a sentence. The words were immigrant, diversity, multicultural, ethnicity, and population. In a cross section of 10 students, the students showed the most facility when creating sentences using immigrant and population. Often, the sentence was “My father (or mother) is an immigrant.” For population, they said, “New York has a large population,” or “the population of my family is four.” Fewer used ethnicity correctly. Those that did referred to themselves, saying, “My ethnicity is Guyanese” or “My ethnicity is Chinese and Japanese.” Both multicultural and diversity were not used correctly by most of the students (Figure 6).
Example of vocabulary inquiry sheet.
Interview of a Recent Immigrant
In this final activity, students prepared their own interview with a family member, relative, or friend, which was eventually produced as a movie. The interview questions were developed during whole class discussion. They were asked to identify the differences between “talk long” questions, which encourage more complex answers, and “talk short” questions, which encourage short, often one-word, answers. After collecting a pool of questions, they developed a Talk Long Immigration Interview Question protocol. The four interview questions were (a) Can you describe why you moved to America? (b) Can you describe what life as an immigrant is like? (c) Describe what you felt like when you came to America? (d) Describe how your country is different from America?
As a whole class, students conducted a practice interview with a recent immigrant from Taiwan, who was an assistant teacher at their school. They asked questions such as her first impression of America, what she ate in Taiwan, and how she liked American food. From this exercise, students found additional questions to ask. They brought this extended pool of questions to their own interview.
Students prepared a storyboard with four scenes to answer their interview questions. This activity gave them the opportunity to edit and reorganize the stories they heard. Finally, they created their own digital story in the computer lab using the storyboard as a rough draft. In the lab session on moviemaking, students had another opportunity to edit, highlight, add, and subtract stories they wanted to use for their movie using Pixie, a children’s multimedia authoring tool. Students were guided to focus on typing their story first to prevent them from being overwhelmed by the technology rather than the power of their story (Ohler, 2006). Images were inserted to emphasize certain elements of their story; however, many students indulged in using the decorating tool solely for aesthetic purposes or for their own entertainment. In the first slide, they were told to add their picture and information about themselves and their interviewee, including their relationship with the individual, when they came to America, and where they were from.
The videos were assessed based on a rubric developed by the researchers. The rubric was created based on the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (see Table 7).
Assessment Criterion
Content and theme
This category assesses the individual student’s learning of their interviewee’s individual immigrant history. Content was based on interview questions that the class developed. As a result, many of the movies were similar, and most followed a pattern that gave content clarity. Some students demonstrated more understanding of why the immigrant came to America (a better life, better hours, better job, and better education). A few discussed the “push” of immigration or conditions in the home country. Therefore, the researchers looked at what new knowledge was developed and what kind of support was needed in the domain areas. Students’ focus varied depending on their level of understanding and insights influenced by the original story they heard.
Images
Images are always colorful in terms of background, in particular, children were given free range and enjoyed this part the most. They did not, however, focus particularly on how the images related to the narrative. Many used flags of the immigrant’s home country, and some used buildings indicating a move to a city. Some used airplanes to show how they came, but others used entirely extraneous images. When images that support the content are used, story comprehension improved. However, many students used colors and images for mere decorative purpose, and this often happened when the slide contained stories that were somewhat abstract and, therefore, difficult to visualize, such as a better life and loneliness.
Organization
Most of the movies followed a pattern that provided content clarity. They began with an introduction that included information about the author, the interviewee, year of immigration, and where they came from. In most cases, the following slides contained reasons for immigration and their first reaction to being in America. Many of the stories were written logically and highlighted interesting facts they found from the interview.
Narration
Most of the children had strong voices, although some had problems with pronunciation. When the story was poorly written, it affected the narration.
Creator
All students identified themselves on the first slide, but this identification was a result of instruction from the teachers and researchers, rather than an initiation of their own (Table 8).
Rubric for Assessment of Interviews of Immigrants.
Discussion
Jerome Bruner (1960/1977) in The Process of Education said that “any subject can be taught to any child at any age in some form that is honest” (p. ix). Consequently, he advocates a spiral curriculum in which students learn subject matter in an increasingly complex and in-depth manner as they progress through school. The findings from this unit on immigration demonstrate the beginnings of young students’ historical understanding through an empathetic study of individuals who have immigrated to the United States, both at the turn of the 20th century and recently.
After the unit was completed, the teachers used a full class discussion of the big ideas that resulted from the study. When asked how immigration affects their neighborhoods and lives, students responded that they now encounter new foods, clothing, and languages that they did not before. In response to the question of how being an immigrant can be both difficult and exciting, student responses indicated that they empathized with the difficulty of not understanding English and the loneliness of being far from home. Riley (1998) and Stern (1998) have argued that it is through the voices of ordinary men, women, and children that students can develop an understanding of history and consequently develop an empathetic stance toward historical events. In this inquiry, the second graders’ reaction to first-person accounts of arriving at Ellis Island, accounts of young immigrants today, as well as accounts of their own family members’ immigrant history, demonstrate the beginnings of empathy and understanding.
The observations of the second graders in this inquiry are literal and factual with statements such as “immigrants spoke different languages” and not that they spoke different languages because they came to the United States from many different countries. Their statements lack the depth and insight that would be expected of older students. However, they did demonstrate in a basic manner at the end of the unit differing adult attitudes toward new immigrants. Some commented that new immigrants take jobs away, whereas others said that they help our population to grow.
Brophy (1999) observed in his unit on Native Americans that students show a capacity for more sophisticated understanding as they progress through the grades. Their ability for historical understanding develops along a continuum of thought and insight that is informed by their gains in the knowledge and practice of history (Dulberg, 2002; Lee & Ashby, 2001).
Vygotsky (1978) wrote that the acquisition of knowledge and understanding in young children is primarily based on social interaction. Cognitive development is heightened with adult guidance and peer collaboration and exceeds development that may be obtained by a child acting alone. This unit of study incorporated Vygotsky’s theories of learning by utilizing scaffolding by teachers in full class discussions and inquiry sheets, and the use of learning centers, in which students collaborated with other students. Even when the students conducted interviews of recent immigrants, they were interacting with another individual.
Conclusion and Significance
Using Diverse Assets to Learn About Diversity
This immigration unit was based on the diverse assets that the students brought to the class. Students discovered the story of historical immigration from the documentary film they watched at the beginning of the unit. It continued in the learning centers where they explored recent immigration and how it has affected their own communities and neighborhoods. They shared their knowledge with their peers. For example, it was very common to see Hispanic students help other group members read signs in Spanish. When they saw Asian characters, they asked one of the researchers, who is from Korea, to read the signs for them. Suddenly, the classroom became a boat full of immigrants docked at Ellis Island or arrival lounges at JFK airport, where 30 different languages were spoken. They learned about the history of diversity with the diverse assets they or their classmates possessed and brought to class. Their personal family history and different ethnic backgrounds were acknowledged and respected throughout the unit.
Empathetic Understanding
Because of the large number of immigrant families in Queens, the stories that the students learned from multiformat texts (film, video, audio, photograph, number data, etc.) could be a story of their classmates or of themselves. The stories were not far removed from their own family history, so they did not act as passive receivers of information. They were sympathetic to the fact that the first immigrant children could not bring their toys on their voyage to America. When they watched the young immigrant videos, the students who were immigrants could easily compare and contrast their own story. What was it like in the city where they used to live or what their school was like back in their homeland? The highlight of this empathetic experience was the interview with a recent immigrant, typically a parent. In most cases, it was the first time they heard about their mother’s or father’s difficult journey to America. For most students, it was the first time they heard how their parents felt about leaving their homeland behind and starting a new life in America. One of the students wrote that he was about to cry when he learned his mom cried for most of her first night in America out of loneliness. Watching, reading, and listening to stories of immigrants who are their parents or grandparents engaged students with compassion and deepened their empathy when they retold the story. This exercise was highly process-oriented learning rather than task-oriented learning. This inquiry-based learning, beginning with a “real” and simple question of “Why/how did my parents come to America?” led them to stories they had never heard before they began this inquiry journey. At the end of the unit, one of the student’s mothers sent a letter to one of the teachers, writing that the unit changed their conversation topic at the dinner table. A “real” historical question was asked and stories were shared, heard, and retold in an empathetic manner to increase the student’s historical understanding.
Using Voice to Map Their Story
Through the creation of immigration narratives, students developed the power of their voice (Ohler, 2005). They also used different tones, colors, and images to personalize their stories. The students were the authors who integrated the elements of the story. Their authorship was assured when they narrated the story with their own voice. Not only did they fulfill the Speaking and Listening Standards, but the students also delivered their story more persuasively to the reader using voice narration.
My Place in the Larger Context of History
The most valuable outcome of this unit was to guide the students to identify themselves in the larger context of history. This is an extension of the previous theme of authorship but in a larger context. Through this inquiry, students learned that the current multicultural assets of America are the product of immigrants and that they are part of it. For example, students were very interested in learning about the foods of their parents’ homelands. Not surprisingly, those are the foods they see every day on the streets of Queens. They realized that the ever-changing dynamics of America’s cultural diversity is the product of their recent ancestors. Their ethnic heritage is what defined the past and what defines America’s present and future cultural diversity. Similar to their parents, who have shaped recent American immigration history, they are the authors of history as well. Making a movie for this immigration unit was a process of acknowledging themselves as active writers of history rather than passive readers of written history (Shin & Bisland, 2017). Therefore, the digital stories they created are a reflection of the nation’s diversity.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.