Students will discuss the many reasons why a person, family, or community might find it necessary to leave their homeland for another place. They will concentrate on the migratory phenomenon that occurs between Mexico and the United States and examine the reasons for this occurrence, exploring the positive and negative effects it has on both Mexico and the United States.

Created by Estela Soberón, September 2006

NOTE: Material has been translated into English but not edited

Main Idea
A great number of people throughout history have found it necessary, either individually or collectively, to leave their place of origin and seek a better way of life.

Assignments: History, Geography.

Time: Four weeks.

Materials: Notebooks, drawing tools, Mexico maps and their north and south borders, computers with Internet Access, books related with the topic, DVD, TV, videos: Molly’s Pilgrim, Immigration: Coming to America.

NOTE: Meets Mexico Education Standards

Study about the principle causes of migration. Research about the way immigrants are affected by moving to another country and having to adapt to a different culture. Analyze the effects that the migratory phenomenon has on the population of a country. Research on the causes that lead thousands of Mexicans to immigrate to the United States; the dangers that they go through to cross the north border, and the discrimination which they are subjected to once they are established in that country. Think about the responsibility that the Mexican government has to protect the Mexican immigrants, and the necessity to secure better conditions of life to all Mexican citizens in order to stop the migratory phenomenon. Research on the treatment that is given in Mexico to the immigrants who cross into the country from the south border.

• Learn to respect the people who come to live in our country.
• Ask relevant questions on the subject.
• Collect, organize and interpret data.
• Analyze the situations that face the immigrants.
• Analyze the ways countries like the United States are affected by constantly receiving a high number of immigrants.
• Respect different points of view.
• Utilize maps to find the location of different places.
• Develop the four basic abilities of communication: read, write, listen, speak.

Human beings have moved from one territory to another. They have moved from city to city, and from the geographic site of their origin to settle, temporarily or permanently, in different places since prehistoric times.

When a community, or the people who belong to a particular group, decides to move from the country, region or area, they do it in the pursuit of different conditions and opportunities that allow them to live better and in peace.

Poverty has always been one of the main reasons to immigrate. The search for land to cultivate, the necessity to find new ways of subsistence, the opportunity to offer cheap manual labor in exchange for a fixed wage that gives security and a certain stability, these reasons have been constant in the history of human migration.

In some countries, the freedom of expression does not constitute a right of the citizens and is a reason why the people are obligated themselves to look for another place to live, fleeing from political or religious persecution.

Intolerance can be one of the most powerful reasons for people to migrate to other places. Sometimes, the different coexistence between men and women can be a problem. Sharing the same vital place with people of another ethnic group, with people who practice another religion, with people who live another way or who have different preferences and ways to see the world can create problematic situations. It can generate brutal confrontations which have even led to the extermination of the “different” group.

Natural catastrophes can also generate massive population movements of those who are forced to find new places to become established.

Constant flow of population from one place to another always gives birth to multiple types of interchange, mixtures, and forms of interaction between very different human beings.

Each society has different reactions towards the arrival of new members. Sometimes, the towns receive the immigrants in a peaceful, friendly or warm fashion. Many other times, the people who immigrate are not welcome and are objects of rejection, discrimination, exclusion or persecution by the inhabitants of the country or the region in which they arrive.

Migration always generates, in greater or lesser amounts, new manifestations produced by the interchange, the fusion and the mixing of cultures.

The national States must look for new answers to guarantee, in the legal framework, the respect and treatment deserved by all the human beings without concern for their ethnic origin, ideology or religion.

Beginning:

The teacher will ask the students if, at any time, their families have thought about the possibility of going away to live in another country. What would be the causes that would lead them to make this decision? How would they feel if they had to leave part of their family, their friends, their house, their school? What country would they choose to move to and why? Once finished with the discussion, the students will write their reflections on the subject. Development: Invite some person who has found it necessary to emigrate to our country, so that they can share their experiences with the students. The students will take notes and formulate questions on those aspects that interest them most about the life of an emigrant; which will be answered by the guest. Throughout the unit, the students will learn about other cultures using diverse texts, videos, social, economic, religious, and environmental sites on the Internet. This will allow them to investigate the political causes that produce the migratory phenomenon, and the resulting effects on the countries in which it occurs.

The students will:

share ideas and their experiences on what they know, what they would like to know later, and what they learned on migration, and they will present the information in a large poster

investigate sites on the Internet, newspapers and books related to the subject to elaborate and answer relevant questions about themselves

investigate different ethnic groups, and will classify their differences and similarities

watch the video Molly’s Pilgrim to analyze the problems that the immigrants face when entering a new culture. They will write their conclusions on the subject

watch the Immigration video: Coming to America to discuss and understand its conclusions about the situations that occur in an immigration center

play the role of a young immigrant and write a diary recounting their experiences

bring a newspaper or magazine article in which the subject of immigration is mentioned. They will analyze its contents and they will write their conclusions in their notebook

write an essay on migration in which they use these words: discrimination, prejudice, intolerance and persecution

reflect on the responsibility to respect different customs and traditions of immigrants. They will make a list of situations in which we can act in a positive way to obtain respect

use a map to locate the border line between Mexico and the United States and will identify the points in which the migration numbers are higher.

analyze the main reasons for the migration to the United States

use a map of the world to locate different migratory movements around the globe

In order to close the subject, the students will study the migratory phenomenon that occurs between Mexico and the United States.

They will reflect on why so many Mexican citizens yearn to cross the border. In what kind of conditions do they make their trip? Is respect given to the Mexican immigrants’ human rights? What measures must the Mexican government take to protect our fellow citizens who emigrate to the United States? What measures must the Mexican government take to stop the migration to the United States? Must the United States change their migration policies? What positive and negative effects have the high number of Mexican immigrants had on the economic, political, social and cultural life of the United States and Mexico?

The students will debate on the positive or negative aspects of constructing walls along the border between Mexico and the United States.

In small groups, the students will investigate different examples from migrations that occurred in the past, or that continue in the present day around the world. They will find the causes and their effects. They will then make a presentation for the rest of the group.

In addition to the above-mentioned activity, the teacher and the students will choose between the activities made for the unit, using those that they consider most significant to evaluate the subject.

WorldMapper

Studying about Immigration

Vea esta lección en Español aquí

Bibliography:    Spier, Peter, People    Bode, Janet, New Kids in Town    Freedman,Russell, Inmigrant Kids    Jr.,ED. Hirsh, History and Geography 6