By:
Caryn Collins, 8th Grade English Language Arts (ELA),
Vionette Matos, 8th Grade Artes del Lenguaje en Español (ADLE)
Through Artes del Lenguaje en Español, English Language Arts, and Social Studies classes, Amigos eighth graders are currently studying the state of the refugee this semester.
In September, under the guidance of Librarian Melisa Paulino, students selected a series of independent reading texts related to the refugee experience. Many students are completing these books now, and better understanding a wide variety of historical and current refugee experiences from all over the globe. This, in conjunction with the whole class texts:
Antes de ser libre by Julia Alvarez, and
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, are providing students with a wealth of firsthand glimpses into the reality of being forced to leave a home, take an arduous journey, and learn to resettle in a new place. Additionally, the auspicious opportunity in October to attend the powerful Doctors Without Borders exhibit:
Forced From Home, provided students with a concrete understanding of the current crises that face many areas of our world today.
We anticipate the next few weeks to be a transformative time where students bring their varied background readings to class discussions that look to both analyze and synthesize the refugee experience. This will then launch students into a self-selected micro-study of a particular refugee circumstance, leading in December to an inspirational final project to share with the Amigos Community in a special exhibit evening.