Top Resources for Creating Lessons on the Inquiry, “What Defines an American?”

Trump advisor Stephen Miller delivered a speech last night asserting that “America is for Americans and Americans only.”

This xenophobic statement presents an opportunity for us to engage our students in exploring the question, “Who is an American?” While language barriers may pose a challenge for my ELL Newcomer class, I have previously conducted a simple lesson on Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, Too,” and have a guest post with downloadable handouts for it.

For more advanced ELLs or English-proficient students, there are several resources that could be utilized:

– The Writing Project offers resources on an activity titled “What Does It Mean To Be An American?”
– The Cato Institute provides a piece titled “What Is An American?”
– A student-written column titled “What Is an American?” offers a perspective on the topic.
– Brookings discusses “What does it mean to be an American?”
– Stump and Associates explore the history of being ‘American.’
– Stanford developed an interactive site for students titled “What Does It Mean To Be An American?”
– PBS offers a lesson plan on “How are We Defined as Americans?” in conjunction with the film “And Then They Came for Us.”

To facilitate the discussion, I would pair it with a video and have students create a list on the board of “What is an American?” This list could then be compared to other explorations of national identity, such as “What does it mean to be French in France?”

This tweet was shared by Nick Covington on October 28, 2024 at 8:41 AM.

Translated text: Trump advisor Stephen Miller delivered a speech last night asserting that “America is for Americans and Americans only.” This xenophobic statement presents an opportunity for us to engage our students in exploring the question, “Who is an American?” While language barriers may pose a challenge for my ELL Newcomer class, I have previously conducted a simple lesson on Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, Too,” and have a guest post with downloadable handouts for it. For more advanced ELLs or English-proficient students, there are several resources that could be utilized: – The Writing Project offers resources on an activity titled “What Does It Mean To Be An American?” – The Cato Institute provides a piece titled “What Is An American?” – A student-written column titled “What Is an American?” offers a perspective on the topic. – Brookings discusses “What does it mean to be an American?” – Stump and Associates explore the history of being ‘American.’ – Stanford developed an interactive site for students titled “What Does It Mean To Be An American?” – PBS offers a lesson plan on “How are We Defined as Americans?” in conjunction with the film “And Then They Came for Us.” To facilitate the discussion, I would pair it with a video and have students create a list on the board of “What is an American?” This list could then be compared to other explorations of national identity, such as “What does it mean to be French in France?” This tweet was shared by Nick Covington on October 28, 2024 at 8:41 AM.

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