Paula Leung
Dr. Warner
English 112B
2 December 2009
Unit of Study:
Young Adult Identity and Contemporary Immigrant Literature
Immigrants arrive daily to America bringing with them their cultural heritage and in turn contributing their unique identity and stories of their journey. Their stories and experiences contribute to a uniquely American culture. Those who take that great leap to another country to change their landscape and lives offer students a view of the world that is explorative. The objective of this unit of study on immigration is to widen the Young Adult�s worldview through literature. Students here can explore and learn the intricacies of another�s culture through an inclusive study of multicultural experiences. Pupils will learn to investigate their own culture and heritage and how to translate and discover the essence of their past and future.
The unit will deal with many aspects pertaining to the journey of the immigrant. A song will launch the unit that deals with welcoming those with dreams of America or in search of hope for new lives. In this sense, the songwriter through �key lines� reinforces how to reach out to others. The Unit, this time, will be Amy Tan�s The Joy Luck Club although many of the books classified under the heading �Other unit possibilities� are quite exceptional in demonstrating the aesthetics or elements of literature as well as fulfilling the essence of the immigrant experience in America. The Joy luck Club, though, invites students to venture into the past and navigate the future. The main maternal characters in this novel are torn between loyalties to their first home culture and their new lives in America. The novel also reveals a struggle with points of view over generations and cultures as the character perceive their own lives. Yet the story is mostly about how mothers and daughters discover deep connections as they work to understand each other.
Hopefully, the unit will encourage YAs to long for an opportunity to discover parts of their identity and to reach out and understand the Other in society. In this way, through song, reading literature, writing, film, and other media outlets where immigrant participate the students can thrive with the stories of others who have overcome hardships to make great changes for the benefit of their own lives and community. The objective of the unit is to enhance students live and demonstrate that though life can be difficult as expressed immigrant literature there is bravery in the search for freedom and stability. Honoring some aspects of another culture will with the best intentions encourage unity and appreciation for our world.
Launching the Unit
1. Give the students the lyrics to Neil Diamond�s song �Coming to America� from www.lyricsfreak.com.
Ask the students to add the song to their journals and after listening to the song respond to any lines that reinforce the theme of the immigrant�s experience.
�Coming to America�
Far
Weve been travelling far
Without a home
But not without a star
Free
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream
On the boats and on the planes
They're coming to america
Never looking back again
They're coming to america
Home, don't it seem so far away
Oh, were travelling light today
In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm
Home, to a new and a shiny place
Make our bed, and well say grace
Freedoms light burning warm
Freedoms light burning warm
Everywhere around the world
They're coming to america
Every time that flags unfurled
They're coming to america
Got a dream to take them there
They're coming to america
Got a dream they've come to share
They're coming to america
They're coming to america
They're coming to america
They're coming to america
They're coming to america
Today, today, today, today, today
My country tis of thee
(today)
Sweet land of liberty
(today)
Of thee I sing
(today)
Of thee I sing
(today)
2. Discuss the song with the class ask the students to read aloud some of their responses to the song or ask any questions about �key lines.�
a. Ask the class to highlight some images in the song or some images that the song inspires. Divide students in groups of five students as they focus on group questions a-d.
b. How do you feel about the journey of the immigrants?
What is the singer�s tone and why would he present the song in this way?
Does America still welcome immigrants?
What are the expectations of many immigrants as the journey to America?
What is the �dream they�ve come to share?�
c. How many of you are immigrants or are descendants of immigrants who or were forced to come to America for one reason or another?
What are some of the ways that people view immigrants? Both positive and negative.
d. What are some of the ways we might view the world or change our worldview as the world becomes more global?
Would we still be able to keep and our unique cultural traditions as well as be fully American.
Show students a video about the migration and raising population of the entire world
Ask students to share some of their responses to their group questions.
3. Students can write an I AM poem in their journals about their heritage after listening to some stories from Story Corps. www.storycorps.org about younger generations interviewing older generations about their experiences. Students will also consider the song and questions raised in the class discussion. The poems can be about their heritage and culture or about their experiences coming to America.
Discuss the stories of immigration and ask some of the students who share their I Am poetry.
a. Discussion questions:
Where do you or your ancestors identify as your culture or heritage?
After listening to the stories on storycorp.org how has it inspired you to find out the details about your heritage?
How does the writer feel about the immigrant? How do you feel about immigration or the immigrant experiences?
How did you or your family identify as your Home or culture?
What differences do you appreciate or find difficult to accept about other cultures? What are some basic similarities that you share living in America and that make you American?
My intention with these activities is to lead students through a process of discovery as they analyze, interpret, and judge the world with its complexities. Students will gain more understanding of the stories and learn tell their own as well.
b. Read as a class the poems : Angel Island Immigration Station Poetry
www.cetel.org/angel_poetry.html
There are tens of thousands of poems on these walls
They are all cries of suffering and sadness
The day I am rid of this prison and become successful
I must remember that this chapter once existed
I must be frugal in my dailyneeds
Needless extravagance usually leads to ruin
All my compatriots should remember China
Once you have made some small gains,
you should return home early.
Written by one from Heungshan
Because my house had bare walls, I began
rushing all about.
The waves are happy, laughing "Ha-ha!"
When I arrived on Island, I heard I was
forbidden to land.
I could do nothing but frown and feel angry at heaven.
In the quiet of night, I heard, faintly, the whistling of wind.
The forms and shadows saddened me; upon
seeing the landscape, I composed a poem.
The floating clouds, the fog, darken the sky.
The moon shines faintly as the insects chirp.
Grief and bitterness entwined are heaven sent.
The sad person sits alone, leaning by a window.
Students may also listen to other immigrant experiences, songs, and interviews on www.npr.org.
Ask students to read some of the poems aloud and to identify some of the hardships that the immigrants face.
Discuss the poems Chinese immigrants wrote on the walls of their living quarters and compare it to other immigrant stories.
Explicate the poem in terms of diction and imagery as well as the theme of injustice and sense of isolation that the immigrants feel. Discuss the multicultural immigrant story recordings. The purpose of this activity is to inform the students about past injustices.
Read three stories from First Crossing. Ask students to have small group discussions about the immigrant experience and present a brief oral group analysis on the story.
4. The UNIT
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Give the a brief plot summary of the novel and outline a family tree of the character connections in the novel. Explain that the novel deals with how pass experiences and culture influence the characters generationally. The novel is about Chinese women and their immigration and relationships with their American born daughters. It is a story of struggle to keep the sacredness of their Chinese culture and find a balance in a new culture.
Each day have students read ahead and each class period ask students to do a SSW in their journal a response to quotes or questions related to the passages they read in preparation for the class.
After a period of fifteen minutes of in class writing ask the discuss with the students some of their questions or responses to the work that they wrote for fifteen minutes.
During the class session do a reading together all the while checking the students for understanding. The teacher can read the from the novel as well as use book on tape as students follow along.
The teacher will continually follow up questions again to reinforce learning.
Questions:
1.Discuss some of the �key lines� in the text that reveal the reasons for immigration.
2.The story focuses on mother-daughter relationships and often the daughters have misconceptions of their mothers because the mothers reveal their experiences or points-of –view.
3.Have students describe some barriers in understanding other generations or cultures. How would they bridge that gap?
4. The Joy Luck Club utilizes so much symbolism. Why does the story incorporate so much symbolism and metaphor.
5. Discuss the similarities and differences in the settings of the two countries?
6. What are some conflicts that divide the mothers and daughters ?
7. What are some of the essential characteristics that both mothers and daughters share that sustain a relationship of tolerance and love?
8. Is it possible to accept and tolerate others even though their views might differ from yours?
Have students write an autobiographical essay on their culture, heritage, or their immigrant stories.
5. OTHER UNIT POSSIBILITIES and ACTIVITIES
First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants by Donald R. Gallo
Stories of immigrant teens from different parts of the world.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
A graphic novel about a lonely middle school boy who learns to accept who he is.
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
A selection of short stories that identify some of the issues immigrates have adjusting or balancing two cultures. Yet the stories identify �maladies� or ailments that can make people unhappy and the story has universal themes that deal with love, broken families, and hardships.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
The story of a young girl�s journey from Mexico to California after a tragic event occurs. The novel deals with the hardships and many adjustments from an affluent life to one as a farm worker. It highlights the injustices many worker�s face.
Flight to Freedom by Ana Veciana-Suarez
A novel about a young girl�s diary of her family�s freedom flight from Cuba to the United States and their feelings of being torn between two cultures.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The immigrant story of a couple who move from Calcutta to New York as they struggle to adjust to a new life in America. The couple must also reconcile and relate to their American born children. Yet the novel is about the love that binds the family.
6. EXTENDING THE UNIT
The Colors of Freedom: Immigrant Stories by Janet Bode
This book can supplement the unit because it has immigrant stories from many parts of the world. It includes recipes, stories, interviews as well as maps, family trees, and other material about Young Adults experiences.
Students should write have a Book Talk presentation for a chapter or two of the novel.
Write a Journal similar to the one in Fight to Freedom
An interview with an immigrant or a recording of your experiences immigrating to America and present the interview to the class.
Write a poem in response to the film or novel.
Create a section for students to talk about how their own culture enriches lives.
Art works from around the world collage, a song, or a play.
Teacher could invite some immigrants in to speak about their experiences.
7. CONCLUDING THE
UNIT
Film screening of the movies:
The Joy Luck Club Dir. Wayne Wang
(If students read other novels as the unit then students can view these movies as well.)
Far and Away Dir. Ron Howard
The Namesake Dir. Mira Nair
Ask students form presentation groups of about five and create either a talk show script, play, comic strip, or interview highlighting sections of The Joy Luck Club.
Works Cited
Bode, Janet. The Colors of Freedom: Immigrant Stories. United States: Grolier
Publishing, 1999.
Gallo, Donald R. First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants. Massachusetts:
Candlewick, 2007.
Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of Maladies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
Lahiri, Jhumpa. Namesake. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
Ryan, Pam. Esperanza Rising. 4th ed. New York: Scholastic, 2000.
Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Penguin Group, 1989.
Veciana-Suarez, Ana. Flight to Freedom. New York: Orchard Books, 2002.
Warner, Mary L. Adolescents in the Search for Meaning:
Tapping the Powerful
Resource of the Story. Maryland, Toronto, & Oxford: The Scarecrow Press,
Inc., 2006.
Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. New York and London: First Second,
2006.