

My Family's Immigration Story
Overview
Students interview family members and conduct research to learn their family’s immigration/migration stories. Students will compile visuals to create a short film on iMovie and present their film and their family’s immigration story to the class.
Learning Objectives
The purpose of this project is to help students:
-
Become familiar with the impacts of immigration and migration on their own lives
-
Develop an understanding of the diversity among classmates’ immigration stories
-
Develop interviewing and research skills
-
Storyboard and edit a film using information found in interviews
Materials & Technology
-
Handout 1: Project Description & Rubric
-
iMovie (available on iPads)
Activities
Week 1:
Students are given Handout 1 which describes the project and its requirements. Over the weekend, students must interview members of their family and gather information on how either or both parents immigrated to the United States or migrated to Chicago. Students must submit a 1-page summary of what they learned in their interviews.
The following are questions they are given to consider during their interviews:
-
Who immigrated to the United States in our family and where did they come from?
-
Who made the decision to move to the United States and why?
-
When did our family immigrate to the United States?
-
What kind of work did they do when they arrived in the United States?
-
Did part of the family stay behind? If so, do you maintain contact with them?
-
What were some of the challenges our family faced when they first arrived in the United States?
Students begin work on creating short film using iTrailer on iMovie. Their trailer can include personal photographs or stock photos.
Week 2:
Students submit and present iTrailer films to class.
Assessment
The following activities are graded:
-
Written summary of interview findings
-
iTrailer film
Examples of Student Work
Click the icons below to view examples of Kelly Dinh's work for this assignment