Telling Our Histories
Students connect themes from the film to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's concept of “single stories," and then consider what it would take to tell more equitable and accurate narratives.
Watching Who Will Write Our History
Students view the film, analyze a primary source from the Oyneg Shabes archive, and consider why it matters who tells the stories of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
What Is Our Obligation To Asylum Seekers?
Help students understand how the United States’ complex asylum process works. Invite them to consider the question, who has an obligation to asylum seekers?
Why Do People Migrate?
In this mini-lesson, students reflect on stories of migration and learn about migration from El Salvador to the United States as a means of exploring the underlying factors that drive migration.
bell hooks Taught Us to Transgress
Like many people of my generation who cut their teeth on the critical insights of bell hooks, news of her passing in December unleashed a wave of reflection for me about the ways she’s impacted me as a person and public scholar. Beyond the many moments of resonance I experienced while reading her writings over the years, her impact on me is most powerfully encapsulated in an experience I had in 2008 when I met her.
Ukraine: Discussing the War and Refugee Crisis with Students
Use this lesson to help students process how they are feeling about the devastating war in Ukraine, develop media literacy in what news they consume and how, and explore the mounting refugee crisis.
Staging the Compelling Question
Students are introduced to the themes of the compelling question by exploring the concept of borders and learning about the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Supporting Question 1: The History of the Angel Island Immigration Station
Students explore the supporting question “How did the Angel Island Immigration Station both reflect and enforce borders within American society?”
Supporting Question 2: The Impacts of Detention on Immigrants and Their Descendants
Students explore the supporting question “How did border enforcement at the Angel Island Immigration Station impact immigrants and their descendants?”
Supporting Question 3: Navigating the Borders of National Belonging
Students explore the supporting question “How does the history of immigration through Angel Island help us understand how we create and challenge borders today?”
Summative Performance Task & Taking Informed Action
Students culminate their arc of inquiry into the Angel Island Immigration Station by completing a C3-aligned Summative Performance Task and Taking Informed Action.