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.

Frameworks Connections


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 Nguyen, 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.