Modern Day Immigration
Arts Integrated Lesson Plans and Materials for Teaching Immigration & Grade 7 Social Studies
Modern Day Immigration Scenarios
Pairs with Grade 7, Unit B
Students will explore the definitions of asylum seeking through skits. Students will receive a scenario in which they will act out in front of the class. The class will then decide if the individual would qualify for asylum or not. The scenes are overly simplified and are used as a way to connect the reasons people seek asylum which then lead to class discussion about what should happen.
Standards
Getting Ready
Downloads
TEACH!
Creators
MSDE/BCPSS CONTENT STANDARDS AND INDICATORS
- 7.4.2.c. – Analyze the impact of various issues (immigration, ethnic strife, religious conflicts, economic concerns, etc.) on European society.
C3 STANDARDS – SKILL DEVELOPMENT
- D2.His.1.6-8. – Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts.
- D2.His.14.6-8. – Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.3.A – Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.2 – Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.1 – Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1 – Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
NATIONAL ARTS STANDARDS
- A1 I:6-8:3 – Develop an improvised character using given circumstances, inner thoughts, objectives and interactions with another character.
- A2 I:6-8:1 – Explore, and justify original artistic choices in a theatrical work based on critical analyses, and background knowledge, based in an historical and cultural context.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
- How has the unification of Europe through the EU changed individual nations and Europe as a continent?
SUPPORTING QUESTIONS
- What are the causes and effects of current conflicts in Europe?
OBJECTIVES
- Content/Arts Integrated Objective: I can explain and define the words “asylum seekersˮ and “refugees.ˮ
- AI Objective: I can effectively communicate a pre-written scenario through improvised dialogue and movement with a partner.
- Language Objective: I can write my understanding of asylum seekers and refugees with key vocabulary using peer support.
ASSESSMENT
- Exit ticket: Using what we have learned in class, create a scenario describing someoneʼs journey seeking asylum. Remember to think about how it started and what the end goal of the journey is.
MATERIALS & CLASSROOM SETUP
- Students will need to move around the room
- We suggest a center stage for students to perform their skits
- Slides
- Scenarios
KEY SOCIAL STUDIES VOCAB
- Refugees, Asylum Seekers
KEY ARTS INTEGRATION VOCAB
- Skit, portray, analyze, visual literacy, improvise, dialogue
TEACHER BACKGROUND
- This unit is tied to modern European issues, which tackle European immigration. This is the first lesson that explores the different types of immigrants that arrive in Europe, asylum seekers.
STUDENT PREREQUISITES
- Students must have an understanding of WWI, WWII, and the history of Europe. This tackles a more modern issue that stems from these bigger issues. Students need to know that they happen and lead into the instability of some of the European countries and powers of others. They must also understand the dynamics of who is powerful in Europe and who is not based on political and economical power.
EXTENSION
- Students can research push and pull factors on different countries with large refugee populations (both the countries in which they are leaving and the countries they are seeking to arrive).
ACCESSIBILITY / MLs INSTRUCTION
- Sentence starter on Exit Ticket Word bank on Exit Ticket Dialogue sheets for the skit (sentence starters/key words they should use)
- GAL: Students can further different types of immigrants and create some kind of visual that shows the push and pull factors.
WELCOME FROM SAM & LETY!
I DO
-
- Teacher shares the definitions of the words “asylumˮ and “refugee.ˮ Remind students that they are connected, one comes before the other.
- Share that “asylumˮ is a legal status. They must meet the requirements (listed in the slides).
WE DO
1. Each group will receive a scenario.
2. The group will receive 5 minutes to plan their scene.
3. During planning, the teacher should circulate to support ideas, answer questions, and help all students participate.
4. Then each group should take about 2-3 minutes to act out their scene.
5. The class must then decide whether the individual would receive asylum or not.
6. Facilitate class discussion by asking students to connect to the legal definition and why they chose their response.
*Teacher note: Use discretion on which group you would like to act out which scenarios. Some scenarios can have topics that are more serious than others. Be aware of which students would be able to handle that.
YOU DO
Students will complete the Exit Ticket individually. A rubric for assessment is included.
Exit ticket: What are the key parts to seeking asylum? How are “asylumˮ and “refugeeˮ connected? What do you think is easy or challenging about asylum seeking?
ROOT BRANCH MEDIA GROUP – BRING ROOT BRANCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
All video content made in partnership with Baltimore’s Root Branch Media Group.
SAM TROILO – LEARN ABOUT VISUAL ARTS FOR EVERY EDUCATOR WITH SAM!
Sam Troilo is a New Jersey transplant with a bachelor’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design in photography with a minor in music composition. She ventured up to Baltimore to pursue her Master of Arts in Teaching at MICA. After graduating, Sam began teaching visual art at North Bend Elementary Middle School, a Baltimore City public school. While her official job is to teach visual arts, Sam enjoys managing school wide performances and supporting wherever she can. In the classroom, Ms. Troilo values student choice, learning through exploration, and embraces opportunities for collaboration.
LETY FLORES – LEARN ABOUT SUPPORTING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS THROUGH ARTS INTEGRATION WITH LETY!
Hi! My name is Lety Flores. I have worked in Baltimore City my entire career as a classroom teacher. Every year I have worked within the dual language program at my school, where I have worked in building and adapting the dual language program within the Social Studies Curriculum. This includes building Spanish grammar lessons, adding Spanish literacy lessons, adding fiction lessons within a social studies topic, and translating/adapting sources in Spanish. I am honored to pioneer this work within the district and in supporting my students with their multicultural learning and Spanish literacy. Outside of the two dual language classes I teach, I teach social studies in grade 6 and/or 7. I focus on making the content relatable and reachable for the various MLs levels I have in my classes. Lastly, I am finishing my Master’s at Loyola in Curriculum and Instruction with a Social Justice focus in TESOL
Modern Day Immigration Art Analysis
Pairs with Grade 7, Unit B
This lesson is about understanding the perspective of a refugee person within Europe. Students are able to explore different visual art pieces that help them understand the experience of refugees. They look at whatʼs physically in the painting, symbolism, and expression within the artwork. At the end, students synthesize the different experiences to create a summary of the artwork through an exit ticket.
Standards
Getting Ready
Downloads
TEACH!
Creators
MSDE/BCPSS CONTENT STANDARDS AND INDICATORS
- 7.4.2.c. – Analyze the impact of various issues (immigration, ethnic strife, religious conflicts, economic concerns, etc.) on European society.
C3 STANDARDS – SKILL DEVELOPMENT
- D2.His.1.6-8. – Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts.
- D2.His.14.6-8. – Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.3.A – Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.2 – Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.1 – Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1 – Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
NATIONAL ARTS STANDARDS
- A4 I:6-8:2 – Study the common themes, culture, and content of artworks.
- A7
- I:6-8:2 – Reason effectively to Interpret and communicate the meaning of the impact of visual art.
- E:6-8:1 -Explain how a personʼs artistic choices are influenced by culture, values, and the environment.
- E:6-8:2 – Describe ways an image can influence an audience.
- A8
- E:6-8:1 – Collaboratively interpret and construct meaning by describing the feelings experienced, subject matter, formal characteristics, and art-making approaches, key concepts, and contextual information.
- E:6-8:2 – Demonstrate knowledge of content-specific literacy through art criticism.
- A9 I:6-8:2 – Use the elements of art and principles of design to identify and compare ways in which selected artworks represent what viewers see, know, feel and imagine.
- Extension: A2 E:6-8:3 – Apply visual organizational strategies to create works of art and design that clearly communicate the main/central idea.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
- How has the unification of Europe through the EU changed individual nations and Europe as a continent?
SUPPORTING QUESTIONS
- What are the causes and effects of current conflicts in Europe?
OBJECTIVES
- Content/Arts Integrated Objective: I can analyze refugee art to understand the perspective of a refugee in modern day Europe.
- AI Objective: I can analyze refugee art to understand the perspective of a refugee in modern day Europe.
- Language Objective: I can write about art with descriptive words using guiding questions as support.
ASSESSMENT
- Exit ticket: Students will answer two reflection questions:
- What are some common themes or ideas you have noticed?
- Which art piece was the most impactful to you and why?
- Exit Ticket
- Rubric
MATERIALS & CLASSROOM SETUP
- Students should be able to move around and work with a partner. They should have access to a computer, but worksheets can be printed. The art will be a little harder to see.
- Slides
- Art
- Worksheet
KEY SOCIAL STUDIES VOCAB
- European Union, Refugee
KEY ARTS INTEGRATION VOCAB
- symbol/symbolize, metaphor, analyze, visual analysis
TEACHER BACKGROUND
- Teacher should teach migration patterns into Europe before this lesson so students understand why migrants want to go to Europe.
STUDENT PREREQUISITES
- Students should have also completed our previous lesson on Asylum Seeking versus Refugee.
EXTENSION
- Students can look at art by regions and highlight similarities and differences by regions.
ACCESSIBILITY / MLs INSTRUCTION
- For class activity:
- Students can write key words/phrases
- Give a word bank and have kids find it in art
- For Exit Ticket:
- An Exit Ticket with sentence starter is included
- You can add a word bank and sentences that are more fill-in-the-blank for extra scaffolded support.
- GAL: Have students do further research on the artists or artistsʼ home country.
WELCOME FROM SAM & LETY!
OPENER/WARM-UP
Students will respond to the following questions after watching the video of Migration in the EU included in the slides. The video is 7-8 minutes but can be shortened to the first 3-4 minutes if needed.
-
- Why are they calling it a “crisisˮ?
- Whose perspective is this from?
WATCH: Migration in Europe
I DO
Teacher begins by highlighting migration routes into Europe.
-
- Remind students that Migrants move for a variety of reasons but to recall the refugee status is unique.
- Highlight that Germany and Italy receive a large number of migrants.
Then move into how the class is looking at refugee art today.
-
- Explain why refugee art is important.
- Key part to highlight: Refugees are migrants with a very special legal status. This is the connection to our previous lesson.
WE DO
1. As a class, begin looking at one piece of art and use the annotation method of analyzing the art.
-
- Included is an overly annotated example.
- Use this guide to model the thinking aloud of the strategy.
2. Then students move to do this with a partner. They can choose one to two artworks to analyze. This is dependent on teacher and time.
-
- Students get to choose whether they would like to freely annotate the concepts highlighted on worksheet or whether they would like to do the question and answer.
- Partners should do the same worksheet to support each other.
3. Teacher should walk around the room and support students who are off task or struggling to get started.
4. Teacher brings the class back together and has different students share on their out.
-
- Teacher discretion here to choose either a piece of art that many of the groups did or try to touch upon different artworks. This is also dependent on time.
YOU DO
After the class shares, students independently work on reflection questions (rubric)
As an added scaffold teacher can pull a small group of students to support.
ROOT BRANCH MEDIA GROUP – BRING ROOT BRANCH TO YOUR SCHOOL!
All video content made in partnership with Baltimore’s Root Branch Media Group.
SAM TROILO – LEARN ABOUT VISUAL ARTS FOR EVERY EDUCATOR WITH SAM!
Sam Troilo is a New Jersey transplant with a bachelor’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design in photography with a minor in music composition. She ventured up to Baltimore to pursue her Master of Arts in Teaching at MICA. After graduating, Sam began teaching visual art at North Bend Elementary Middle School, a Baltimore City public school. While her official job is to teach visual arts, Sam enjoys managing school wide performances and supporting wherever she can. In the classroom, Ms. Troilo values student choice, learning through exploration, and embraces opportunities for collaboration.
LETY FLORES – LEARN ABOUT SUPPORTING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS THROUGH ARTS INTEGRATION WITH LETY!
Hi! My name is Lety Flores. I have worked in Baltimore City my entire career as a classroom teacher. Every year I have worked within the dual language program at my school, where I have worked in building and adapting the dual language program within the Social Studies Curriculum. This includes building Spanish grammar lessons, adding Spanish literacy lessons, adding fiction lessons within a social studies topic, and translating/adapting sources in Spanish. I am honored to pioneer this work within the district and in supporting my students with their multicultural learning and Spanish literacy. Outside of the two dual language classes I teach, I teach social studies in grade 6 and/or 7. I focus on making the content relatable and reachable for the various MLs levels I have in my classes. Lastly, I am finishing my Master’s at Loyola in Curriculum and Instruction with a Social Justice focus in TESOL
