Middle

This activity on El Salvador illustrates aspects of forced migration, which differs significantly from those flows of people tied to international economic forces. Students will be able to distinguish between displaced persons and refugees. Students will examine drawings of the war in El Salvador done by children in refugee camps. To evaluate students on what they have learned they will be asked to create a 3 dimensional sculpture.

In this lesson, students will learn the term "endemic" and understand how the presence of an introduced species affects an area. The Galapagos Islands are used as a case study for understanding these concepts.

This unit focuses heavily on the environment and the impact humans have on their surrounding environment. The purpose of this unit is to have students consider how Ecuadorians have altered their environment and for what reasons. Students will study the impact of these changes, as ell as how people think about their environment. Students will look at Ecuador as a case study and then reflect on their own community. From their own observations, they will identify issues affecting their society and reflect on what should be done to minimize the clash between people and the environment. There are 4 lessons within this unit.

In this unit students will "visit" Ecuador and be introduced to a multitude of flora, fauna, people and traditions. Students will enjoy the differences and richness among the landscapes and people while building Spanish vocabulary. This contains 14 days of lessons but can be expanded or shortened as much as preferred.

This comprehensive unit consists of one lesson with 6 activities to complete in order to complete the unit. The emphasis is on the country of Ecuador and how the five theme of geography including location, movement, human/environment interaction, place and region all come together in the Latin American country. Email our Outreach Coordinator Clea Conlin at cconlin@email.arizona.edu for the full lesson and materials.

Students will listen to a song called "Visa for a Dream"" which describes the sentiments of Dominicans waiting in line at the United States Consulate to obtain a visa. The song also touches on how Dominicans will falsify records to obtain this ticket into the United States. Three short articles give students more information about the methods used to enter the United States illegally through Puerto Rico and about some of the accidents that have occurred in the attempts to cross. The students perform a sit to illustrate to the entire class the reasons people have for leaving the Dominican Republic.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to a new social image of Latin American women as pictured in this tale.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to alternative forms of celebrating a major holiday. Climate, economy, customs and foreign influence all have a role in shaping the way we celebrate holidays. Students will read a description of how Christmas is celebrated in the Dominican Republic in order to gain a good understanding of this.

In this lesson, students will read quotes from an interview with balseros who made the trip from Cuba to Florida. In addition, students will examine Coast Guard statistics showing the increasing numbers of people leaving Cuba. Overall students will understand the migration patterns between Cuba and the United States and why people migrate from Cuba.

In this lesson, students will investigate life on the Colombian Orinoco Plains through the exploration of Joropo music. Activities include Spanish attentive listening, cultural enrichment and musical interaction through singing,playing and moving. Note: Music used in lesson will need to be purchased from Smithsonian Folkways website.