Faces of America: An Immigrant Experience

Project-Based Learning * Summer School 2017

OVERVIEW

Dates: May 31 to June 29 (Monday-Thursday; 8:00 am to 2:30 pm)

Teachers: Mrs. Kinat (akinat@houstonisd.org) and Mrs. Barnes
(kbarnes2@houstonisd.org)

We are so excited to have your student attend our enrichment class this summer! This
class will use a project-based learning approach and incorporate lots of technology
to help students explore and research questions related to immigration and refugees.
Students will spend each week of summer school focusing on a different area.

Week 1: Who are immigrants? Students will build their background knowledge of
immigration by studying our countrys history, hear from guest speakers, and
develop questions that they want to further investigate.

Week 2: Why do people take the risk of leaving their home country? Students will
explore the obstacles that lead people to immigrate to America, and analyze the
decision-making process that immigrants must go through.

Week 3: What resources do immigrants need to be successful in America and in

Houston? Students will select a country to focus on and dive into the challenges that
are unique to that group of immigrants. Students will synthesize this information with
knowledge gained in weeks 1 and 2 and develop a deeper understanding of the
immigrant experience as a whole.

Week 4: How can I express my knowledge of this issue and present my project to
others? Students will create a project that empowers them to take action on behalf
of their selected group of immigrants. Examples include creating an online brochure
to help recent immigrants, developing a podcast to share with others, or writing to
local officials to encourage Houston leadership to take action for immigrants.

Students will learn in a variety of ways this summer. We will have a class novel to
read together, and students will also be part of a book club with a smaller group of
students. We will read news articles that deal with related topics, and students will
use Chromebooks to conduct research online. Students will also have opportunities to
interview experts on this topic, such as immigration lawyers, educators, and
immigrants themselves. Students will design a project to demonstrate what they have
learned, and they will present that project to teachers, families, and community
members at the end of the summer.

EXPECTATIONS

Students are expected to be on their best behavior throughout the summer. Behavior
issues will not be tolerated and students whose behavior consistently interrupts the
class will be removed from summer school.

ATTENDANCE

It is very important that your child attend school every day. Students will be working
in groups throughout the summer, so it is important that all group members attend to
help each other be successful.

GOALS

Our goals for students in this class are for them to have an increased understanding
of why people immigrate to America, and what types of challenges they face once
they arrive. Students will be able to analyze what resources immigrants need when
they arrive, and make suggestions to Houston local officials about what our city can
do to be more welcoming.

HOMEWORK POLICY

Each night, students will be expected to respond to a short online discussion prompt
on the HISD HUB. This discussion should take them approximately 15 minutes to
complete. If you do not have internet at home, students can use free WiFi at any
Houston Public Library location. The closest HPL locations to Lantrip are the Flores
Neighborhood Library (110 North Milby Houston, Texas 77003) and the Smith
Neighborhood Library (3624 Scott St. Houston, Texas 77004).