Migration is a response to human circumstances and challenges. The Central idea of the fourth grade's Where We Are in Place and Time unit came alive when we asked a simple question: "What is your migration story?"
Huh? "I think we used to live in Salem...." So we read a few picture books shared about a few wacky relatives and the students went home with on a quest to discover their family migration story. Now this unit is always a favorite. Who doesn't like the Oregon trail? The Unit has a more global migration focus than our local history, we just had no idea what one Newberry nominated book and some passionate kids could do to an inquiry! Before we knew it, we had parents sharing their own stories about war time migration and life in a refugee camp. A panel of local refugees who have moved to the Cedar Mill area recently came to visit shared their real life tale. Students inquired and discovered their own family roots, places of origin and the people who moved to make a better life for their family. Fourth grade is in the midst of discovering what some risk-takers have done to ensure a better life both in the past and currently today.
Huh? "I think we used to live in Salem...." So we read a few picture books shared about a few wacky relatives and the students went home with on a quest to discover their family migration story. Now this unit is always a favorite. Who doesn't like the Oregon trail? The Unit has a more global migration focus than our local history, we just had no idea what one Newberry nominated book and some passionate kids could do to an inquiry! Before we knew it, we had parents sharing their own stories about war time migration and life in a refugee camp. A panel of local refugees who have moved to the Cedar Mill area recently came to visit shared their real life tale. Students inquired and discovered their own family roots, places of origin and the people who moved to make a better life for their family. Fourth grade is in the midst of discovering what some risk-takers have done to ensure a better life both in the past and currently today.
Refugee, by Alan Gratz has captivated us!