Year-long Question:
What is my dream for my life and how do I make it come
true?
Big Ideas of the Unit:
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Immigration has been occuring in America
since its inception.
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Immigration can be classified as "waves" of immigration.
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Major waves of immigration occured in 1847, 1881, and
1965.
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Ellis Island was the major point of entry for most
immigrants to the United States.
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The Statue of Liberty became a symbol of freedom for
immigrants.
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The American Dream refers to the opportunity for
immigrants to have greater prosperity than they would have in ther country of
origin.
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All Americans, with the exception of Native Americans,
arrived here as an immigrant or are the decendent of an immigrant
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Being an active reader will increase my comprehension.
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Using the writing process will empower me to write the
things I need to write about immigration, while being courtious to my reader.
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Using correct English grammar will help me to comminicate
more powerfully in my speaking and writing.
Guiding Questions:
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Why do people immigrate?
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Who is an immigrant?
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How does immigration status affect families?
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Why is immigration classified as waves?
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What is the American Dream?
Learning Targets
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I can discuss at least five reasons why people immigrate.
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I participate in academic discussions with my classmates.
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I know why immigration is described as waves.
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I understand that the American Dream has changed over
time.
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I can interview others to discover what the American
Dream means to increase my understanding.
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I can schedule interviews using email.
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I am an active reader, using different reading strategies
as I need them.
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I can use the writing process to improve my writing.
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I can use the verb to be in the present, past, and
future tenses.
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I can write complete sentences.
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I can write the plural forms of nouns that end in y.
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I can use the conjunctions and, or, and but.
Demonstration of Understanding:
Students will construct an ABC book about immigration.
Students will randomly pull 4-5 letter tiles from a bag to determine their
letters. A two-page spread will be created that will include the letter, the
theme-related vocabulary word, a graphic, and a paragraph describing how the
word connects to the big idea of immigration.
Student thinking will be scaffolded and held my using an
"ABCs of Everthing" graphic organizer anchor chart. Students will be
encouraged to add vocabulary to the chart as we are reading texts and
discussing.
Formative Assessments:
Access Lesson Assessments 1-4
Reading Strategy Application Notebook entries
Writer's Notebook entries
Exit Slips
Next Steps:
LAS Links Benchmark 2 Assessment/ Interventions
Theme Two: People Like Us
Links
What is the American Dream?
http://kids.yahoo.com/ask_earl/885