• Are you American by virtue of where you live?
  
• What kinds of things do you have to do to be an American?
  
• When someone says the word “America” what comes to mind?

For homework, have students watch an episode of AMERICAN FAMILY and list out all the ways the family conforms or doesn’t conform to their previous definition of "American." Check your local PBS station for air dates.

The next day, review the results of the homework. How is this family “American” or not “American?” Why do you think the producers decided to call the show AMERICAN FAMILY? What other titles could the producers have given the show?

Students will expand on this theme by reading a series of poems written by Latino authors on the topic. The selected poems deal with the experience of being newly arrived in America or as a Latino negotiating within the dominant American culture. As they read they should look for the various views of this particular American experience to see if there are any similarities or differences in themes and view-points.

This lesson can be used with a wide range of literature. The following are suggestions of poems which deal with the lesson's theme.

Alvarez, Julia. THE OTHER SIDE, Plume/Penguin Press USA, New York. 1996. Although the entire collection of poems are worthy of reading, you may want to focus on poems from part I and III, which deal specifically with issues related to this lesson.

Gillan, Maria Mazziotti, and Gillan, Jennifer, ed. UNSETTLING AMERICA: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY MULTICULTURAL POETRY, Penguin Books USA, Inc. 1994. This anthology presents a collection of poems that deal with American identity from a multicultural perspective. Of particular relevance to this lesson are the poems of Pat Mora, Gary Soto, Judith Ortiz Coffer, and Luis Rodriguez.

First Reading - Tell students that a poem is meant to be heard so that you can appreciate the rhythms and sound patterns. During their first reading they should focus on listening for pleasing sounds or phrases. This will help students appreciate the beauty of the language. Have students underline the phrases or words, then read them out loud to each other.

Second Reading - In the second reading, students will start to focus on basic comprehension of the poem. They should re-read the poem to themselves looking for answers to questions listed in the Poetry Reading Organizer. After answering the question ask students to write a summary of the poem’s theme. After they come up with the theme summary, ask them which is more interesting and illuminating to read. Have them explain why.

Have students demonstrate what they’ve learned about the Latino perspective, by creating a mural/collage of images and words that depict what they have learned about the Latino experience of the United States. Along with the collage, students should provide a written statement that explains what they are attempting to show. Since students will be representing the viewpoint of other people, they should support every generalization with lines from the poems, articles, or census data read during the lesson. Students should also read an additional article or series of poems on the topic, and include those as well in their collages.

These collages can be created digitally, or done with traditional supplies such as paper and other art supplies.

Have students present their work to the class, and then publish on line or post to a classroom bulletin board.

Extensions

Study the history of Latino immigration to the United States.

Community Connections:

Have each student ask a different member of your community to define what it means to be American. Write up the definition along with a portrait of the person. Create a collage or mural out of all the various definitions of Americans.