Communities are made up of many different people, some of whom are immigrants. Through hands-on activities, students will identify what they have in common with children from around the world, and explore feelings associated with being new to a community and how to help new people feel welcome.

Students:

  • Learn about the lives of six new "classmates" through the items they brought from their home country and discuss what they would bring if they were moving to a new place.
  • Compare and contrast by considering the questions: how am I similar to and different from this person? How are these people similar to or different from each other?
  • Use a giant world map to locate the home countries of immigrants and discuss the push and pull reasons that caused people to immigrate to Lowell.

Maximum of 25 students per class. Due to the nature of the activities, we require six adults per class. 

This program meets new Massachusetts 2nd-grade social studies standards on migration and community and supports several of the social-emotional learning frameworks.


Massachusetts State Standards

Grade 2 - Social Studies
Topic 3. History: migrations and cultures

  • 1. Investigate reasons why people migrate (move) to different places around the world, recognizing that some migration is voluntary, some forced (e.g., refugees, people driven from their homelands, enslaved people).
  • 2. Give examples of why the United States is called "a nation of immigrants."
  • 4. Identify what individuals and families bring with them (e.g., memories, cultural traits, goods, ideas, and languages or ways of speaking) when they move to a different place and identify the significant impacts of migration; identify elements that define the culture of a society (e.g., language, literature, arts, religion, traditions, customs); explain how the community is enriched by contributions from all the people who form it today.

Grade 2 - Speaking and Listening Standards
Comprehension and Collaboration

  1. Participate in collaborative discussions with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
    • a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
  2. Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
  3. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
    Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
  4. Tell a story, recount an experience, or explain how to solve a mathematical problem, with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences and using appropriate vocabulary.
    • Social-Emotional Learning Frameworks:
      1. Self-Awareness: The abilities to understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. This includes capacities to recognize one's strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose.
      2. Social Awareness: The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, & contexts. This includes the capacities to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
      3. Relationship Skills: The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups. This includes the capacities to communicate clearly, listen actively, cooperate, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed.
      4. Responsible Decision-Making: The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. This includes the capacities to consider ethical standards and safety concerns, and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being.

Teachers:

Here is a list of books that are in the immigrant-students' backpacks as part of the Community Connections program. You might like to read them with your students to extend the learning back in your classroom.

Brazil

  • Bilingual ABC’s for Brazilian Portuguese-English Speaking Children, by Wai Cheung
  • Jabuti The Tortoise, by Gerald McDermott

Democratic Republic of Congo

  • A Refugee’s Journey from The Democratic Republic of Congo, by Ellen Rodger
  • Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book, by Muriel Feelings, pictures by Tom Feelings

El Salvador

  • El Perro con Sombrero: A Bilingual Doggy Tale, by Derek Taylor Kent, illustrated by Jed Henry
  • A Movie in My Pillow: Una pelicula en mi almohada, Poems/Poemas by Jorge Argueta, illustrations/ilustraciones by Elizabeth Gomez

Haiti

  • *Janjak & Freda go to the Iron Market (ale Mache an Fe), by Elizabeth Turnbull, illustrations by Mark Jones
  • Tap-Tap, by Karen Lynn Williams, illustrated by Catherine Stock

Iraq

  • Welcome to Arabic with Sesame Street, by J.P. Press
  • It’s Ramadan, Curious George, by H.A. Rey and Hena Khan
Ukraine
  • Sirko: A Ukrainian Folktale, retold and illustrated by Olha Tkachenko

Vietnam

  • A Different Pond, by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui
  • My First Book of Vietnamese Words: An ABC Rhyming Book of Vietnamese Language and Culture, by Phyoc Thi Minh Tran, illustrated by Dong Nguyenm, and Hop Thi Nguyen

We have many additional resources to prepare your students for their visit, and extend learning afterwards.

Program Details:

  • Field Trip Fee: $225 per group
  • Group Size: Up to 25 students per group.
  • Chaperones: We require a minimum of six (6) adults per group.
  • Each group should include a teacher, one or two chaperones, plus any additional staff (aides, nurses, etc.) your group requires.
  • Maximum of six (6) adults per group.

Plan your visit now.

Program can be reserved by calling us at 978-970-5080 to make a reservation for your class.