Immigrant/Refugee Awareness Instructional Materials

A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City (Website). Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres page s . 2007. English . http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/education/refugeecamp/home/

This exhibit travels around the U.S. and Canada to encourage visitors to imagine that they are among the millions of people fleeing violence and persecution in, for example, Somalia, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Sudan. The exhibit is made up of materials used by MSF in its emergency medical work around the world, including emergency refugee housing, a food distribution tent, water pump, health clinic, vaccination tent, therapeutic feeding center, and a cholera treatment center. For those who cannot attend the exhibit, the Web site includes photos, videos, and interactive guides that can be used as educational materials for students of all ages.

Against All Odds. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) page s . 2004. English German Greek Norwegian Swedish . http://www.playagainstallodds.com/

"Against All Odds is an interactive online game created to increase students' awareness and knowledge about refugee situations by putting players in the position of a refugee. Divided into three categories "War and Conflict", "Borderland", and "A New Life" - Against All Odds takes players on a journey ultimately towards asylum, but also touches on issues of understanding and intuition in different environments. Players will be challenged by a variety of obstacles and scenarios simulating struggles refugees are forced to deal with every day, from sneaking out of town to dealing with prejudices in a new place." UNHCR Description

Appreciating America's Heritage: Immigration Resource Guide for K-12 Educators. American Immigration Law Foundation 12 page s . 2007. English . http://www.ailf.org/teach/teacherguide2007.pdf

This instructional guide for teachers provides lesson plans to introduce students, especially those who may not be exposed directly to ethnically diverse populations, to the topic of immigration.

Children of War - A Video for Educators. National Child Traumatic Stress Network Refugee Trauma Task Force Children of War Production Committee . 2005. English . http://www.nctsnet.org/nccts/asset.do?video=true&id=1054

This videotape is designed for use as a hands-on instructional tool for educators, school administrators and other professionals dealing with refugee/immigrant children. It opens with highlights from the play, Children of War, in which five seemingly ordinary adolescent refugees from Afghanistan, El Salvador, Iraq, Sierra Leone, and Somalia tell their extraordinary stories of war, traumatic loss, and displacement. Behavioral health practitioners with in-depth expertise in treating traumatized refugee children go on to describe the scope of refugee trauma and its manifestations in school-aged refugee youth. The accompanying practical Resource Guide contains discussion questions, and suggestions as to how teachers and administrators can identify and help support traumatized refugee/immigrant children in their schools.

Creating a Refuge From Bullying. Swain, Lauren page s . 2006. English This resource may be free from your local library or purchased from the publisher.

Provides examples of bullying experiences from teen refugees and explains steps they take to protect themselves while also sensitizing American teens to the struggles of their refugee peers. This 22-minute video was created by the Refugee Education for Awareness, Change, and Hope program (REACH), based in Colorado, as part of a curriculum designed to educate America's youth about refugee experiences and issues. Many young refugees experience trauma and fear in their native lands and then are taunted by their American classmates as they enter the schools because of their limited language skills, unique dress or food customs, and lack of knowledge about popular culture. Parallels are drawn between global leaders who oppress their people and school bullies who frighten classmates. Amjaad and Il Gude, an Iraqi boy and a Somali Bantu girl, describe being called a "terrorist" or "ugly" by classmates. American students provide dramatizations about bullying situations. Teachers and counselors describe steps for young newcomers to avoid situations where bullying can occur and encourage them to talk with trusted adult leaders if they feel threatened. (IP)

Discovery Education (Website). Discovery Education . 2010. English . http://school.discoveryeducation.com/

This Web site has a Lesson Plan Library, which includes a lesson on Immigration to the United States. 

Encouraging Refugee Awareness in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers. Issue Paper. DeCarlo, Jacqueline , Hamilton, Virginia 43 page s . February 1994. English . http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED380392.pdf

"This lesson packet focuses on the growing situation of refugees and cultural awareness. In the document are definitions of terms, suggestions for infusing lessons on the refugees into the curriculum, and resource information. One of the purposes of working to create refugee awareness is to help ordinary students become extraordinary citizens of American society and the world community. The document is divided into the following sections: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Overviews of Current Refugee Emergencies"; (3) "Proven Lesson Planning Ideas" (e.g., Analyzing Refugee Experience, Applying the Durable Solutions, Exhibiting a Willingness to Respond); (4) "Teacher Resources"; and (5) "Conclusion." (EH)" (ERIC Document EDED380392)

Faces and Voices of Refugee Youth A Curriculum Guide for Secondary School Teachers and Counselors. Kelen, Joyce 57 page s . n.d.. English This resource may be free from your local library or purchased from the publisher.

Guides middle school and high school teachers through curricula highlighting the experiences and issues surrounding refugees and immigrants using an award-winning documentary photography and oral history exhibition called Faces and Voices of Refugee Youth. This exhibit, originally displayed as part of the 2002 Cultural Olympiad in conjunction with the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, recounts the struggles of over 1,800 youth refugee who resettled in Utah. The exhibit will reopen in 2009 at the Leonardo Museum's Center for Documentary Arts (CDA) in Salt Lake City. The curriculum guide's four sections offer: (1) an integrated guide for middle school teachers; (2) a culture, citizenship, and conflict resolution guide; (3) an analysis for ninth grade geography/social studies classes; and (4) activities for high school English classes. Exercises enhance awareness and empathy for refugees and require students to develop a definition of a refugee, to determine the organizations and personal responsibility for assisting refugees, to compare and contrast the experiences and emotions of a young newcomer, to locate native countries on a map using the grid system, to analyze conflicts, and to articulate the concepts of human rights, citizenship, asylum, racism, and culture. The curriculum guide can be used in support of a visit to the exhibition or on its own, without ever personally viewing the exhibit. (IP)

Faces and Voices of Refugee Youth: A Curriculum Guide for Teachers and Counselors Grades K-6. Kelen, Joyce 24 page s . n.d.. English This resource may be free from your local library or purchased from the publisher.

Guides elementary school teachers through curricula highlighting the issues surrounding refugees and immigrants using an award-winning documentary photography and oral history exhibition called Faces and Voices of Refugee Youth. This exhibit, originally displayed as part of the 2002 Cultural Olympiad in conjunction with the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, recounts the struggles of over 1,800 youth refugee who resettled in Utah. The exhibit will reopen in 2009 at the Leonardo Museum's Center for Documentary Arts (CDA) in Salt Lake City. The curriculum contains three units of learning- People, Place, and Time- designed to explore the concept of human rights and to raise awareness and empathy toward the resettlement of refugees in the local community. The People unit offers exercises examining the definition of culture, refugee, acculturation, citizenship, human rights, conflict, and peacemaking. The Place unit uses maps to identify the native countries of the young refugees, to discuss the topic of migration, and to identify the reasons people are forced to flee their homes. The Time Unit discusses the idea of history, the impact of time and events on individuals and families, and predicts future changes in the lives of the young refugees. Appropriate activities for each learning unit encompass each grade level from kindergarten to sixth grade. The curriculum guide can be used in support of a visit to the exhibition or on its own, without ever personally viewing the exhibit. (IP)

Human Rights, Refugees, and UNHCR. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) page s . 1998. English Spanish French German . http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/edu_month/index_2.html

"This teachers' kit is designed to help teachers prepare lessons which demonstrate the relationship between refugee protection and human rights. The kit includes posters and articles to prompt class discussion as well as teaching plans for children. Target Group: ages 9-18." - Publisher's description

Immigration: The Changing Face of America. Library of Congress, American Memory, The Learning Page . 2003. English . http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/immig/immigration_set2.html

This Web site introduces teachers and students to the topic of Immigration. This site features lesson plans, recipes and vocabulary activities which serve to show how immigrant groups have contributed to the culture of this nation, a timeline and interactive map of the United States showing pertinent dates, and the port(s) of entry and migration patterns of immigrant groups, and student interviews with immigrants who arrived in the U.S. from the mid-20th century to the early 21st century.

Learning Resource to Accompany the Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City Exhibit. Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders 21 page s . 2008 Summer. English . http://www.brycs.org/documents/upload/refugeecampcurriculum.pdf

This learning resource material is designed to provide teachers and students with an opportunity to further expand upon their experience of participating in the Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City exhibit. They also offer an introduction to refugee and displacement issues for those students unable to attend the exhibit.

Lost Boys of Sudan. Mylan, Megan , Shenk, Jon 87 page s . 2003. English This resource may be free from your local library or purchased from the publisher.

Records the lives of two young men, Santino and Peter, members of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," as they spend their first life-altering year as refugees in America. Santino and Peter, members of the Dinka tribe, joined with 20,000 other young boys orphaned during the Sudanese civil war and walked across the desert, ultimately settling in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. They were granted asylum in America and were sent to Kansas and Texas. Using the boys' own words and voices, they narrate their struggle to acclimate to modern conveniences, high school, employment, and paying the bills. Peter learns about financial accountability when his rent payment is lost, and Santino is pressured by his sister back in Africa to send money. They seek social acceptance on sports teams and in religious youth groups, yet they still feel isolated and ache for the friends and comfort they had in the relationships with the "Lost Boys." They graduate from high school and seek higher education while always trying tohelp those left behind. (IP)

My Backpack: An Educational Study Guide and Activity. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) 5 page s . 1996. English . http://www.nccbuscc.org/mrs/nmw/backpack.pdf

This study guide's objective is to foster the understanding of the differences between migrants, immigrants, and refugees, and to empathize with the experience of people on the move. - Publisher's description

One Family + Picture a Story: An Educational Guide to Videos made by Refugee Children. Youth Communication 27 page s . 2003. English . http://www.global-action.org/refugee/GAP_EducationalGuide.pdf

This educational guide is a companion piece to the videos "One Family" (2002) and "Picture a Story" (2003), which were produced, directed and edited by refugee youth participants of Global Action Project's Documentary Project for Refugee Youth. The Documentary Project was started by Raeshma Razvi in October 2001 with a core group of twelve refugees resettling in New York City. The group?s participants (ages 14-17) originally come from Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Burundi and Serbia. The Project uses documentary-style art and research (video, writing, photography, and multi-media) to bring together displaced youth, artists, and activists to creatively build community.

Outreach World: A Resource for Teaching Kids about the World. Outreach World page s . 2003. English . http://www.outreachworld.org/

This resource has two unique curriculums:“Understanding Migration,” which explores human migration in historical and contemporary contexts and  “(Re)embracing Diversity,” which combines information about Islam and Muslims with interactive classroom activities that foster tolerance and respect for ethnic and religious diversity. 
 

Passages: An Awareness Game Confronting the Plight of Refugees. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 75 page s . 1995. English . http://www.unrefugees.org/atf/cf/%7Bd2f991c5-a4fb-4767-921f-a9452b12d742%7D/Passages.pdf

"This UNHCR's educational tool is a simulation game designed to create a better understanding of the problems of refugees. By playing the game "Passages", participants will discover the concrete problems which confront refugees; feel the psychological anguish caused by separation and flight; see what forces people into refugee situations and the train of events that brings them to refugee camps and beyond; think about possible solutions to refugee problems, particularly with regards to integration within the country of asylum and repatriation to the country of origin; adopt a more welcoming attitude towards refugees in their own countries; become motivated to undertake actions on behalf of refugees. Passages can be played in various situations: with young people of different ages and ethnic backgrounds; with groups of different sizes; with schools groups, youth organizations, community groups, etc.; both indoors and outdoors." - Publisher's description

REACH: Refugee Education for Awareness, Change, and Hope. ECDC/African Community Center . 2001. English This resource may be free from your local library or purchased from the publisher.

Presents a social sciences curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school classes to inform students about refugee experiences, the international agencies providing refugee support, and how they can make a personal impact on the issue. Programs in history, civics, and geography are provided at each instruction level. The elementary program includes: international refugee topics, child soldiers, world cultures, and child rights. The middle school program includes: refugee and United States foreign policy, famous refugees, the Rwandan conflict, and refugee camp experiences. The high school program examines: the role of the United Nations, the refugee process, perceptions of Middle Eastern cultures, designs for an effective refugee camp, and requirements of an emergency response team. Each curriculum level attempts to connect the physical location with the human responses and culture of the people living there. Power point presentations, maps and tables, and group projects enhance the overall goals of the curriculum. (IP)

Refugee Stories: Untold Stories from Around the World. . 2004. English . http://www.refugeestories.org/

This project was established in 2004 to record previously untold stories of refugees who have settled in London and to highlight the enormous contributions the refugees make to the city.  The site was designed to develop an understanding and raise awareness of refugee issues.

SHARED Futures, DVD and resource pack. Salusbury WORLD page s . 2008. English . http://www.sharedfutures.org.uk/

This resource promotes the integration of refugee children and young people in school and the wider community. It can support practitioners working with children and young people in schools, youth groups, community groups, etc. The DVD contains nine short films with training workshop activities. (Description from source.)

Thinking about the refugee experience: Classroom activities for Refugee Week. Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC) 6 page s . August 2002. English . http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/student/lem/Thinking_about.pdf

AUSTCARE Refugee Week aims to develop awareness of refugee issues and of the contribution refugees make to our society, and to offer all Australians the chance to make a difference. The activities described in this resource have been collated to assist teachers in providing activities for all students during or in the lead up to Refugee Week. - Publisher's description