Attention Getters / Sponge Activites / The Anticipitory Set

Here are some ideas about how to get engage students in the topic of immigration and begin the lesson for the Immigration Teach-In.

Tally Up - Choose one student to time for a minute as students shout out answers to the trigger question read by the teacher.  For each correct and original contribution the teacher hears, a tally mark is made on the board.  This activity can be a competition between classes occurring at other hours.  This activity can be done in groups with members writing as many as possible on one list while being timed for one minute, or with individuals making their own lists. 

Some possible Trigger Questions are:

• Name as many ethnic foods as you can think of that are common in the U.S. diet because immigration made them popular.
• Name as many contributions that immigrants make to the community as you can.
• Name challenges that might face a new immigrant to Minnesota.

Journal Questions - Writing is an excellent way to spur reflection and discussion about a topic.  Allow students several minutes to complete the chosen question and then encourage them to share with the class. 

• Refugees may have to leave their home country without warning.  They may have to walk extremely long distances to escape danger.  Imagine that you have to flee the country on foot.  You have two hours to pack.  Make a list of 10 things that you would bring and explain your reasons.
• Leaving home to settle in a new country would be difficult.  Imagine that you and your immediate family has decided to immigrate to a country with a different language, climate and customs from the U.S.  What would you miss from home? What would your new home feel like?
• The Statue of Liberty holds a book with a poem written by Emma Lazarus.  The most famous lines express the idea that the United States welcomes immigrants.  "Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses.  Your tempest-tossed yearning to breathe free ...  I lift my lamp beside the golden door."  Explain how this poem relates to immigration in the past and the present in the United States?

Immigration Trivia:  Choose from the following questions to tap into what the class knows about immigration.

• What is a hijab? (a head covering worn by some Muslim girls and women)
• How did New Prague or New Ulm, Minnesota get their names? (they were named after cities in the countries of origin of the settling immigrants ; Prague in Czechosovakia, Ulm in Germany)
• Name a politician who immigrated to the United States. (Mee Moua, Minnesota state Senator; Arnold Schwarzenagger, governor of California)
• Name a famous immigrant. (Madeleine Albright -  Former U.S. secretary of State from Czechoslovakia; Isabel Allende - author from Chile; Dan Aykroyd, actor from Canada;  Alexander Graham Bell, inventor from Scotland; Liz Claiborne, fashion designer from Belgium; Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer from the Dominican Republic; Albert Einstein, physicist from Germany; Wayne Gretzky, hockey player from Canada;  Peter Jennings, news anchor from Canada; Arnold Schwarzenegger, politician and actor from Germany; Sammy Sosa, baseball player from the Dominican Republic; Elizabeth Taylor, actress from Great Britain; Alex Trebek, Jeopardy game show host from Canada; and Elie Wiesel, author and Nobel Peace Prize Winner from Romania)
• What group of immigrants made up a secret force that assisted the United States in the Vietnam War?  (The Hmong)
• What is celebrated on Cinco de Mayo? (The 5th of May commemorates a famous battle between Mexican civilians in the city of Puebla and the French army.  It is not the Mexican Independence Day as many people believe - that is the 16th of September.  Many Mexican immigrants to the U.S. celebrate their culture and identity on Cinco de Mayo, and the day has become a popular holiday for Americans of all backgrounds.)
• In how many different languages can the class say hello?  (Spanish - "hola" pronounce oh-la; Hmong - "nyob zoo" pronounced nyah zhong; Somali - "iska waran" pronounced Iska wa-ran.)