Text-Sets for Immigration

Immigrant Kids by Russel Freedman

Freedman, Russell. Immigrant Kids. New York: Dutton, 1980. Print.

Summary: This book has a great deal of amazing pictures that show what life was like for kids and their families coming to the United States in the late 1800's and early 1900's. It is organized into five sections or chapters. The first is "Coming Over" and it discusses where they came from, the conditions they traveled in, and what it was like entering the country. The second is "At Home" and it shows and explains what the crowded immigrant neighborhoods were like and living conditions for families. The third is "At School" and is about enrollment, curriculum, and trials that immigrant kids had to face in school. The forth is "At School" and shows kids working at very low paying jobs and discusses why they did so. The final chapter is called "At Play" and shows the meager possibilities that were available for immigrant kids at that time. The book really captivates children because they can see and learn about what it was like for these kids, and imagine themselves or their grandparents in the same positions, and with the same hardships. It also discusses how the children became "Americanized" much faster than their parents. This will directly relate to many kids in school, as many of them have to translate for their parents. It has an underlying theme of how despite their trials, the promise of the American dream made it worth it.

Text Complexity: Quantitatively: See the results from StoryToolz here. They say that the average grade level is 10th grade! I think that is high. I would say that it is at the 7th grade level.There are some big words, but nothing to outrageous or complex. The number of words per page isn't very big, and there a lot of pictures that go along with the text. Qualitatively: The text structure is only slightly complex. The organization of the text is explicit and clear, and the order is easy to predict. The graphics used are photographs that are directly related to the text. While they are not necessary to understand the text, they do help to add meaning to the text. The language features are moderately complex. The language is mostly straightforward, but there are some parts that are more complex. Most of the words are familiar, but some words, especially those describing medical conditions, are more complicated. The sentence structure is mostly simple with some compound sentences. The purpose are slightly complex. It was explicitly stated and had a very narrow focus. The knowledge demands are moderately complex. The reader will have to have to know some subject matter and vocabulary to be comfortable with this text. The text has a mixture of simple and more complex concepts and ideas. The text does reference statements from immigrants and explain parts of their individual stories. As far as the reader and the task, I would say that if all children were given this book in a 7th grade classroom, they would be able to read and comprehend a section everyday for five days. Each day would give us a great deal to talk about and get them interested in the next section. 

Roof top playground at Ellis Island. Children were sent there while their parents were going through the extensive examination process.

This book would be an excellent choice to get kids interested in learning about immigration to the United States. They can place many real photographs with personal stories. The book and it's pictures are also highly organized. This would be a great place text to start with that would inspire the children to want to learn more about each of the sections and aspects of the immigrants lives. 

Sample text from School Chapter

Vocabulary: steerage, indomitable, bloodshot, haggled, tenement, makeshift, congregated, monotonous, ultimatums, turf, romping, orators, itinerant

Question: Do you think it’s fair to send sick people back to their home country? Why or why not?

Immigration in the US: 
Chapter 2 The Passing of Immigration Laws by Tammy Gagne

Cover of Book

Gagne, Tammy. "The Passing of Immigration Laws." Immigration in the US. N.p.: Mitchell Lane, 2014. 15-22. Print.

Chapter 2 The Passing of Immigration Laws

Summary: This text is all about laws that were passed concerning immigration. These laws include the Alien and Sedition Acts, deportation, and applying for citizenship. It focuses on Chinese citizens and immigrants. It even includes a newspaper ad praising the president for the Chinese Exclusion Bill, and has a photograph of the bill. It goes on to explain Harding's Emergency Quota Act of 1921, and talks about how that act favored immigrants from northern and western Europe. It talks about the changing of negative attitudes, and Immigration quotas and Acts that arise after the the bans were reversed in 1943. The Immigration Act of 1965, signed into law by President Johnson is discussed and how the restrictions were loosened at that time, but given new stipulations. Those were three factors: skills, the need for poltical asylum, and family ties in the United States. It ends by bringing up the Immigration Act of 1990, signed into law by President Bush, which loosened restrictions even more. 

Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. It was signed into law by President Arthur.

Text Complexity: StoryToolz rates this text at an average of grade 8.8. See the results here. I completely agree with this rating for both quantitative and qualitative qualities. There are a few big words, and the sentence length is a little longer. The text structure is moderately Complex. The organization is connected and is presented in chronological order. The text features enhance the reader's understanding because there are clear pic captions and the text on the ad praising the president for the Chinese exclusion really proves the severity of the problem. (Insert pic of ad) The use of graphics do add to the understanding of the text. They exhibit real examples and documents that show what it was like for the Chinese people and different views from the public too. The language features were moderately complex. It was clear and easy to understand. After going through some vocabulary words, most 7th graders should be able to get through it within their PZD. The sentence structure was simple with some more advanced formations. The purpose was slightly complex and mostly easy to identify based upon the title, main ideas, and the pictures. The knowledge demands were moderately complex. The students will be able to work with this text due to their work on the previous text. The lesson from this text will build on the last text. There is clear intertextuality. The text does refer to other texts and brings in laws and documents that support the it. 

This text may be a good hook if you are just starting a section on immigration laws that will lead up to the present day, or if you are discussing Chinese Americans specifically. American history or Chinese history from that time would also be a great and relevant way to incorporate this text into the beginning of the lesson. 

Vocabulary: deport, exclusion, quotas, stipulations, enlightened, political asylum, visas

Question: How have the views of immigration evolved in the United States?

Total Immigrants by Decade - 1820-2010

"Explore Immigration Data." Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today. US Dept. of Homeland 

             Security, 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

Summary: This text is a chart that shows the total number of immigrants that came to the United States from 1820 through 2009. This will be discussed fully and related to the past two texts that we studied. 

Text Complexity: StoryToolz gives this text a grade average of 7th grade. Quantitatively, I find that score to be accurate because neither the sentences or the words that go with this chart are long or complex. Qualitatively, I also agree with the score. I used this question that the students will have to answer to come up with the grade level:

What is the total number of immigrants who came to the United States from 1820 to 2010? Choose a decade, and then use your research skills to find out what the U.S. population was at that time. How does the overall population compare to the number of people who arrived in that decade?

Think about how economics impact immigration. Use your research skills to find out which countries were the richest from 2000 to 2010. (This is usually determined by GDP, or gross domestic product.) How many immigrants came from those countries to the United States? How does that compare to poor countries? 

Choose one fifty-year period between 1820 and 2010. With your group, research the major world events that happened in your time period. Events might include wars, economic declines or booms, religious persecution or environmental disaster. Do you see a connection between your events and immigration to the United States? Why or why not? 

I think it's okay to use an easier text for this because the activity that is included with it is more complex and will require some independent thought and research. The text structure is slightly complex. It is very well organized and chronological and clearly marked. The use of graphics will help the student to verify the dates of immigration laws that they just learned in the previous lessons. The language features are slightly complex. The usage is very straightforward and easy to understand. The vocabulary may not take much to learn for this, but there are a few words that will need to be visited. The sentence structures are mainly simple. The purpose of this text is slightly complex. It is clearly stated and very focused. The knowledge demands of this text are moderately complex. The reader will have to have some in-depth background knowledge of the subject matter to comprehend the text. The lesson that goes with this text will have to reference other texts and even go back to the previous texts to tie everything together. 

This could be a hook because there are HUGE fluctuations in the amount of immigration at different times in this period of history. This could be a way to segue into the two books previously mentioned, but I think it's best at this point because the student can make sense of it right away and be interested in further exploring the chart and the reasons that it looks like it does. 

Vocabulary: decade, economics, GDP, economic declines/booms, religious persecution, environmental disaster

Question: Think about how economics impact immigration. Has it been consistent throughout this period of time. 

Sea of Memories: A Vietnam Boat Refugee Documentary (25 min.)

Sea of Memories: A Vietnamese Boat Refugee Documentary. Perf. Ryan and His Father. Youtube, 1 Apr. 2011. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNe897ereaY>.

Summary: This is a video with an interview about immigration to the United States. A son interviews his father about about his circumstances when leaving Vietnam as a boy to come to America. It tells the father's individual story of how he came to America and gives a very personal description of the events of getting ready to escape, coming over on a boat, and what it was like when he got here. It is culturally relevant for my 7th grade classroom because the interviewer is a young boy (like the students in the classroom) asking his father questions. This is a very culturally relevant text for this lesson and for this class. Even if the students don't have experience asking their father questions, they may be able to relate it to a teacher, uncle, or grandfather. This video appeals to the emotions of the students and encourages them to put themselves in the place of the father when he was a boy, facing danger and going to the United States for the chance of a better life. Several of the classmates are from another country or know people from another country. It will help them to develop a better understanding of their diverse classmates and the world around them. The story could take place this year, and could have been from the angle of a girl or a boy. The characters in this video talk like some of the classmates and their families. I don't think that they seek out many stories like this, but it is a nice insider view of immigration that will help them to understand it.

Text Complexity: StoryToolz gave this text an average grade level of 9.1. When I entered the text, it said, over and over again, that it detected no sentences. The transcripts had many spelling errors and didn't contain punctuation. I revised some of the sentences and entered it and finally came up with that score. I agree with the score. The sentences are short and the words are not super complex, but there are many qualitative aspects of this text that make me consider it to be at a 6th grade level. It has a moderately complex text structure. The organization is like an essay, with an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The use of graphics were very effective in helping to convey the experiences and the feelings of the events. They use paintings, photographs, and videos of the real people to help understand the text. Difficult concepts were easier to understand with these supports. The language features were very complex. The text got pretty complex in a few sections. There was some abstrace and figurative language used. The vocabulary was fairly complex, and the dialect of the father was kind of hard to follow. The contrast of the father's accent compared to the son's is a good example for the kids to see that just because the father doesn't speak perfect English, he is still a good storyteller and has a lot to teach to his son. The sentence structure are moderately complex. They were fairly simple with many compound sentences. The purpose is moderately complex. It is implied and can be identified with all of the supports. The knowledge demands are moderately complex. Because the children have been introduced to the basics of immigration and the legislation that brought Ryan's father to escape, I know that the kids will be able to benefit from this text. 

If you want to captivate the imagination of your students and help them to be empathetic toward those that have immigrated to this country, or are different from them, then this is a great text choice for you. The way the father and the son talk about how it was worth it to take the many risks will also help them to see possibilities in themselves. 

(I would just like to note here that I have tried several times to align the text to the left, and it won't work. I didn't intend for all of the text to be centered. Sorry.)

Vocabulary: Communist, pirate, emigrate,obstacles, Saigon, Cambodia, Vietnam

Question: This was a life changing event for Ryan's father. Do you think you could ever consider leaving your family and friends like that?

Is That Constitutional? Chapter 3 from Immigration in the US by Tammy Gagne

Gagne, Tammy. "Is That Constitutional?" Immigration in the US. N.p.: Mitchell Lane, 2014. 35-40. Print.

Summary:This text talks about the United States Federal law, the US Constitution, and state's decisions in immigration. This text is unique to the others that I have found because it explains that slaves were also immigrants, and that they had even harder times getting citizenship than most other immigrants. This chapter explains how southern states made laws to keep African Americans from voting, and how difficult and what a long process it was for these laws to be outlawed by the federal government. Then it gets to laws that states put into effect closer to today, like Proposition 187 that was passed in California and SB 1070 that was passed in Arizona in 2010. These laws were unconstitutional, and verified to be so by the Supreme Court. Both sides of the story are represented, and I think this will be an effective way to promote critical thinking for students. It ends by touching on the future and how immigration will be handled and the likely number of laws that will be passed. This text is also culturally relevant to the students in my classroom. 

Text Complexity: StoryToolz says that the average grade level for this text is 8.9 based on the first paragraph of the text that I typed in. I think this is a good quantitative and qualitative level for this text. It has some bigger words and a few lengthy sentences. The overall text is only a couple of pages long. The text structure is moderately complex. It is very organized and builds on each previous paragraph. The features of the text are clearly written in larger font, and the captions for the pictures are explicit and easy to understand. The graphics are photographs of really helpful to show what an average person can do to voice their opinions, and they are very effective in promoting this. The language features are slightly complex. The wording is straightforward and easy to understand with mostly conversational vocabulary. Some of the sentences are compound, but they are mostly very direct. The purpose is moderately complex, and is easy to identify. The knowledge demands are moderately complex. The subject matter builds on previously presented material and includes some ideas that are a bit more complicated. This text references several actions and legislation promoted by the federal govvernment, California, and Arizona. 

Vocabulary: demonstrations, injunction, boycotts, outlawed, civil rights, suspicion

Question: Should states keep the right to make their own laws?

This text would be used to bring up matters of today and things that they have been learning about on CNN news for kids.