This is a social studies

1. Making Global
Connections
8th Grade Social Studies
Period 1
Ms. Babiarz, Mr. Coyle and Ms. Janney

2. Learning Objectives
The students will be able to: The students will:
 explain how the different  determine the main ideas
economies of the United from the reading selection
States and Mexico frequently and create a double entry
result in immigration. journal.
 explain how immigrants  integrate the information
affect the United States. provided in the video and
map with the reading
 define new words presented selection.
in the reading selection.

3. U.S.-Mexican Border
Can you locate the Mexican border where it meets the United States?
Can you locate Vermont? This is where the video was created.

4. Name_____________ Date___________________
Vocabulary Warm-Up
Field of Tears
Directions: Write a definition for each vocabulary word under the
column “What I Think it Means.” Your teacher will lead the class in
discussion and you will be able to complete the “What it Actually
Means” column.
Words What I Think it What it Actually
Means Means
Border-Patrol
Agents
Hispanic
What do you see or think We will discover as a
about these words? Immigrants class the actual
definitions of these
words.
Maize
Migrants
Rubbish
Vast
Undocumented

5. Under the Cloak of Darkness:
Vermont’s Mexican Farm
Workers
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Jpuh7wwjfho
You will be watching this video and then participating in a whole class review about Mexico and
border economics. We will connect this knowledge with the reading.

6. FIELD OF TEARS READING ASSIGNMENT
 TERESA VEGA'S first son was two when a flood
carried rubbish, dead animals and disease
through the canals of Oaxaca, her desperately  Felix Vega and three of his group, including his wife,
poor home state in southern Mexico . The boy were dropped off in Oxnard (they are back in America
started vomiting, got diarrhea and ran a fever. after a successful border crossing), famous for its
There was a doctor a few hours' walk away, but strawberries. But they arrived out of season , so they
Ms Vega and her husband, Marco Lopez, had no slept on the streets, then in a doghouse, then in
money to pay him. They could do nothing, she somebody's car. For two months they did not bathe and
says. They watched their son die. barely ate. Finally, they found jobs picking
strawberries and made their first money in America
 Ms Vega now says this event is the reason for
everything she and her husband have done  And thus they joined the vast undocumented workforce
since. When they had another son, Erminio, they that supports the production of America's food supply.
decided that they had to make money in case he The government estimates that more than 80% of
also fell ill. But Oaxaca offered them no jobs , America's crop workers are Hispanic (mostly Mexican),
save for a bit of maize -harvesting every July. and more than half are illegal aliens. But Rob Williams,
Teresa's younger brother Felix had already left the director of the Migrant Farm worker Justice Project
for America to find work in California's fruit and (which represents farm workers in court), considers
vegetable fields. In 2005, seeing no alternative, those numbers grossly misleading because they rely on
Ms Vega and her husband set out to follow. self-reporting. He estimates that more than 90% of farm
workers are sin papeles (without papers ), just as the
 Once they walked all night through the desert of Vegas are.
Arizona , slashing themselves on fences of
barbed wire and running out of water, before Retrieved from:
border-patrol agents ambushed them. The
agents tied them up, shouted at them, threw http://www.economist.com/node/17722932
them into a van and then into a freezing jail ,
where they slept on a bare floor for several
nights until enough migrants had been rounded
up to fill a bus that took them back to the
Mexican side. Review the thought activating questions on
 your reading sheet and discuss with your

small group. Don’t forget to activate your
prior knowledge about this topic.

7. You will read the entry
and connect it to your
life. What does this
reading make you feel
and think?
Do you know anyone
who has immigrated?
what do you know about
this topic?
Make a personal
connection !!

8. Answer the four questions
related to our class work
today. Show me what
you know !
Name______________________________
EXIT CARD
Make connections
and infer meaning.
Define new
vocabulary.

9. Latino Heroes Homework
There have been several Latinos throughout history who have made a huge impact on America and the world. The
impact of these “Latino Heroes” ranges from cultural and political impact to sports and entertainment. Please choose a
Latino hero from the list below or pick one of your own and use a book, newspaper article or reliable website (not
Wikipedia) to learn more about your hero. Please bring your selected reading with you to class.
Your assignment is to write one paragraph about the impact your hero has made in the world and draw a picture that
encompasses his or her accomplishments. Try to find an impact beyond simple sport and entertainment value—the
athletes and actors have likely made an impact far beyond the world of entertainment! Remember, a hero is different to
everyone. If you choose one of the controversial heroes, be prepared to explain why.
You are free to choose a different hero not on the list.
Suggested Latino Heroes:
Cesar Chavez
Ruben Blades
Alex Rodriguez
Enrique Iglesias
Gloria Estefan
Ernesto "Che" Guevara
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Rigoberta Menchu
Eva Peron
Vicente Fox
Judge Sonia Sotomayor
Hugo Chavez
Fidel Castro