More Stories about Immigration

We have been focusing a lot on immigration. We have watched an undocumented family welcome a minuteman into their home for a month, we have responded to an undocumented student's letter, and we have studied a flowchart and tried to understand the different ways to become a legal American citizen.

Check out this video version of the flowchart to become a legal American citizen.

There are so many stories of people coming to the United States for a chance at a better life for themselves and their family. Below are a few stories from StoryCorps, an organization that goes around the country recording friends and family telling each other their life stories.

Click here to listen to José talk about missing his mother as she worked in New York City and he stayed behind in the Dominican Republic.

Click here for a list of more stories told by people who immigrated to the United States.

Recently I just finished reading Esperanza Rising, a young adult novel about a 14 year-old girl who lost everything in Mexico and had to immigrate to the United States to start over. I learned about what it was like in the 1950s to be a field worker, and how the workers were treated.

Hot Tamale Activities

• Do you know someone who has immigrated to the United States? Maybe an older relative or a neighbor? Interview them. Where did they come from? Why did they come to the U.S.?What was it like for them that first month? What is something they miss from their home country? Would they ever go back? Email a summary. 
• What stories touch you? What story do you sympathize with the most and why?
• Read Esperanza Rising and have a brief, one-on-one discussion about the book with me.