As particpants (students) enter the room, or as a homework assignment the day before, give them each a post-it note or square of construction paper with the following instructions: Think about your family. Choose one person who came to the United States from somewhere else (if your family is indigenous to these lands, and no one came from any other country, or if you don't know your family's origins, find out the country of origin of a neighbor or friend.) On your paper, include the following:
- The name of the person
- The country from which s/he came
- His/her year of arrival in the U.S. (or approximate year)
- A symbol that depicts his/her story in some way
Students will place completed squares on a large poster in the front of the room. Ask students to compare and contrast the experiences of their ancestor with those of the people in the video.