Migrant+Children+in+the+Classroom+Children's+Literature

Migrant Children = = =Children's Literature about Migrant Children=



Amelia's Road
Summary: Amelia’s Road tells the story of Amelia Luis Martinez, the daughter of a migrant farm worker. As migrant farm workers, Amelia’s family has to move around a lot to pick different crops. Amelia is tired of always having to move from one house to another and from one school to another. She feels like she doesn’t really have a home and that she doesn’t fit in anywhere. For that reason, Amelia does not really like roads and what they symbolize. In this story, Amelia finds a way to make herself feel at home in her new community and school. She finds a special road and a special tree where she feels at peace. When it is time for her family to move on to the next crop, she leaves a memory box under her special tree so that she will always have a place to call home.

Analysis: This story provides a sympathetic portrayal of the life of a child of migrant farm workers that would be suitable for children who are 8-11 years old. Amelia is portrayed as a bright young girl who is optimistic and full of hopes for her future. She is also portrayed as a girl who is proactive about solving her own problems and dealing with her feelings in a positive manner. The story focuses on Amelia and so the story does not depict her relationships with her family in a very detailed manner, but the reader gets an impression of a loving relationship between Amelia and her family. Still I think it might have been nice to know more about Amelia’s relationships with the other people in the story.

Amelia is frustrated with her transient life and seems to pine for the American dream of the white single family home with a white picket fence. This is probably not the reality of many immigrant kids or migrant families, but I do think it is probably true that many children have experiences with wanting to belong or having experienced the difficulties that come along with moving. The book could provide a good jumping off point for discussing these kinds of feelings. The illustrations in the book are warm and beautiful. In some ways the illustrations might work to reduce the grim reality of living in close quarters and the backbreaking work of harvesting crops, but I think this is appropriate for the audience that this book would target. The book provides substantive ideas for young children to reflect upon, especially with regards to how they define home and belonging.


 * Questions for discussion:**
 * 1) Why did Amelia dislike roads? Or, Why did Amelia cry when her father got out a map?
 * 2) How did Amelia feel about the accidental road and how do you know?
 * 3) Why did Amelia draw a picture of a house when her teacher asked her to draw something special?
 * 4) Have you ever had to move before? What do you remember about that experience? How did moving make you feel?
 * 5) Why is the book called Amelia’s Road? Can you think of another title for the book?
 * 6) What places or people make you feel like you belong?
 * 7) If you had to move to a new school tomorrow and you were going to make a memory box to remind you of this school and this town, what would you put inside?


 * Activities:**
 * Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA)****Purpose:** To build students’ metacognitive skills and instruct students in monitoring their own reading comprehension through making and confirming or disconfirming predictions. Provides a model of active reading. This lesson will actively include all students, including students acquiring English as a second language.
 * Procedure:** *The amount of teacher guidance or scaffolding will depend upon the level of the students*
 * Begin in whole class or whole group setting by reading the first section or paragraph with the students and asking them to make oral predictions. Also involve students in formulating the prediction questions
 * Students read the next section or sections silently (or teacher can read with them if necessary). Students confirm or disconfirm their predictions and provide evidence.
 * You can repeat the process or ask students to come up with their own questions as they read and record them on stickies.
 * If students are coming up with their own predictions you can ask students to determine whether predictions were accurate and find evidence in the text by noting the page numbers on their stickies. This is a great activity for a guiding reading group or reader’s workshop.


 * Making a memory box.**
 * Purpose:** To help students make text to life connections, build empathy for the character in the story, and improve the comprehension of a key theme in the story. This activity would also be good for oral and written language development.


 * Procedure:** For this activity I would ask students make a memory box like Amelia did in the story. They could bring in actual objects that they would put in their box or they could draw their box. They could explain why they chose each item and what event or person that each item reminds them of. If you have learners with different language proficiency levels you could ask students to make oral presentations of what they included in their box or you could partner students up and have partners interview one another about the contents of the box or dictate this to one another

By Shanan Fitts, 2/15/09

//The Circuit**: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child**//

 * By Francisco Jimenez**
 * Summary:** This collection of 12 stories documents Jimenez's experiences growing up as an undocumented immigrant and the son of a migrant farm worker. Each story relates a different experience with work, family, and school. Major themes in the book include the importance of family, love, and loss. This book would be most appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students. Some of the stories would also be of interest to younger students and one story, La Mariposa/ The Butterfly, which relates Francisco's early experiences in school, has been published as a children's book.


 * Analysis:** The stories are told in very simple language that is moving, but not sentimental or maudlin. These stories document and share a perspective that is very important for our students to hear-- stories of people who work hard to put food on our table but who are often invisible in our society. The author notes the importance of listening to and learning from other people's perspectives, especially those who have experienced hardship and oppression (Carlile, 2004). These stories certainly do have profound insights and lessons that people of all ages can appreciate.

Note: For more information about the author and to read about his other books and life, please check out his website: []


 * Identifying theme in literature:**
 * Purpose:** To engage students inn thinking about what they learned from each story or from the text as a whole. Because the stories are so simple, I think it is important to ask students to slow down and think about what they got out of each story. The teacher could modify this kind of activity to focus on different aspects of the book such as symbolism, or with younger kids, identifying the main idea or sequencing the main events in the story.


 * Procedure:** After reading the book independently or as a group assign each student a chapter to reflect on. Ask students to think about what they think is the theme, big idea or lesson learned from that particular chapter. Ask them to create an illustration based on that theme. You could also ask students to create one or more discussion questions based on the chapter. Share these in small groups or as a class. This provides students with a chance to lead the discussion and will give the teacher an idea as to students' analytical skills.

**Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez**
A teacher's guide for this text is available online at [] This beautifully illustrated children's book tells the story of Cesar Chavez and his growth from farm-worker to labor organizer. Chavez's story is truly an inspiration to everyone. Cesar stood up for the rights of farmworkers and helped them organize to gain better conditions and wages. Cesar grew up in Arizona where his family had a farm and made their living off of the land. However during a harsh period of drought, the farm dried up and his family lost everything. After that happened, his family became migrant farmworkers who traveled from farm to farm to work on the land of others. Through his experiences as a laborer, where farm-workers were often treated as less than human, and as Hispanic child whose first language was Spanish, which resulted in negative labels at school, Chavez became very familiar with discrimination and institutionalized racism. Because schools were hostile to Spanish speakers during this time period, Chavez dropped out of school in the eighth grade to work in the fields. The book describes his growing discomfort with the way that farmworkers are treated and his journey to becoming an activist. The text describes the 1966 march that Chavez led from the vineyards in the central valley of San Joaquin to the state capital of California. That march started with 68 people and ended with about 10,000 supporters marching on the capital. This march convinced the grape companies to sign a contract assuring workers better wages and conditions. This was the first binding contract ever made between the farmworkers and the owners of the vineyards.
 * Written by Kathleen Krull and Illustrated by Yuyi Morales**


 * Analysis**: Cesar Chavez is a real hero and folk hero among the Mexican-American community. He is also a person who deserves more wide recognition in U.S. history because we should be proud of an American such as Chavez who sought to represent and fight for the rights of some of the most vulnerable people in our society-- our migrant farm-workers. This book emphasizes Chavez's peaceful approach to protest and problem-solving. He was a strong proponent of non-violence and that is clear in this text. The book presents Chavez as a normal person and the fight to gain more rights for farm-workers as a difficult one that required the collaboration of many. The text notes that out of every 100 workers he talked to in the beginning, he would be able to get maybe one person to join him. So the text portrays the struggle realistically as a difficult struggle that required work and dedication from many people. Chavez displayed immense commitment to his cause and died in protest due to the stresses and complications of a hunger strike.

I would enjoy reading this book aloud to students because of the beautiful pictures. I would ask students to read and conduct research on the life of Cesar Chavez and the 1966 march. I definitely think it would be interesting and important to compare the events in this text to other texts on Chavez to see how he is portrayed in different source materials. We could create illustrations based on the style of the illustrations in the text. Students could also recreate their favorite aspect of Chavez's life and experiences through art. I also think students could choose a section of the story and use it to create a dialogue and role-play.
 * Questions:**
 * 1) At the beginning of the story, Cesar Chavez did not want to accept help from people who came by to help the farmworkers. He also had difficulty recruiting others to his cause. What are some reasons for that? Can you think of other situations in which people might be in a bad situation but might be afraid of assistance or change?
 * 2) When Cesar broke the rule of not speaking Spanish in school, his teacher hung a sig on him that read I am a clown. I speak Spanish. What was your reaction to that part of the story?
 * 3) Have you ever had the experience of having to work very hard for something? What was that and how did you feel once you had achieved your goal?
 * Activities:**