Immigrant and Immigration Stories < The Immigrant Learning Center

Stories have the power to promote both understanding by being a window into others’ lives and empowerment by mirroring our own experiences. Watch videos and read written accounts by immigrants past and present, learn strategies for eliciting stories from your students, and share your story with others. Search below or use the “Browse” tab to explore a list of all available options.

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Community Across Cultures Book Guides

Guides for reading "Thank You, Omu!" and "Gibberish" to children

book list early childhood elementary school English language arts social justice and civics social studies

Title	Description	Tags	Author
Community Across Cultures Book Guides	Guides for reading Thank You, Omu! and Gibberish to children	early childhood, elementary school, book list	The Immigrant Learning Center
Use Immigration Narratives to Build a Sense of Belonging in Classrooms	Blog post on thoughtfully engaging with your students’ immigration stories in the classroom	article/report, elementary school, high school, middle school	The Immigrant Learning Center
Best 15 Books about Immigration for Students	Recommended books to diversify your classroom library or summer reading list with stories of the immigrant experience	blog, book list, early childhood, elementary school, high school, middle school	The Immigrant Learning Center
Nine Famous Latinx/Latino/Latina Immigrants	Nine concise, diverse Latinx immigrant stories to share with your class	blog, high school, middle school, adult and higher education	The Immigrant Learning Center
Seven Famous Undocumented/DACA Immigrants	Seven engaging stories of exceptional undocumented/DACA Americans	blog, high school, middle school, adult and higher education	The Immigrant Learning Center
Immigrant Storytelling in the American Narrative: Jo Napolitano’s Story	Profiles of immigrant students and autobiography from an immigration reporter	video, early childhood, elementary school, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	The Immigrant Learning Center
Immigrant Storytelling in the American Narrative: Discussion	Educators and immigration experts discuss how to shape and share immigrant stories.	video, early childhood, elementary school, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	The Immigrant Learning Center
Immigrant Storytelling in the American Narrative Toolkit	Experts in storytelling, the media and bilingual education give strategies for uplifting immigrant stories and empowering newly-arrived immigrant students.	handout, early childhood, elementary school, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	The Immigrant Learning Center
Professional Development Module: Refugees and Immigrants in Schools	Learn about refugees, engage families, identify and assist students needing support from traumatic experiences, storytelling and more	website, on-demand learning, elementary school, middle school, high school	CUNY Initiative on Immigration and Education
Neighbors, Not Strangers	Large, searchable archive of interviews with immigrants and refugees	website, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	CLINIC
Archive of Immigrant Stories	An interactive digital storytelling project to show how immigrants are our neighbors to be encountered and embraced	website, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	Center for Global Migration Studies
American Stories: Teens and Immigration	Video clips of four immigrant teens and related lesson supporting literacy skills	video, website, lesson plan, elementary school, middle school	PBS LearningMedia
My Immigration Story	Story of 16 year old Miriam Martinez from TEDxCarverMilitaryAcademy	video, middle school, high school, adult and higher education, community organization	TEDx Talks
I Learn America trailer	Video clip of documentary that follows five recent immigrants in their senior year at NYC’s International High School at Lafayette	video, middle school, high school, adult and higher education, community organization	Jean-Michel Dissard
My Voice – Their Stories	A digital story of the struggles of Chinese immigrant students at a Charlestown, MA, high school	video, middle school, high school, adult and higher education, community organization	Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center
Immersion: A Short Fiction Film	Short film and lesson plans about a 10-year-old boy who has just immigrated from Mexico	video, lesson plan, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	Richard Levien, Director
Your Story, Our Story	Stories of migration and cultural identity, past and present, featuring objects and traditions	website, elementary school, middle school, high school	Tenement Museum
Green Card Voices	Project to capture immigrant stories through videos, books and programs	website, middle school, high school, adult and higher school, community organization	Green Card Voices
Leaving Family Behind: Understanding the Irregular Migration of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Minors	Article focusing on why unaccompanied minors chose to leave their families and their experiences	article/report, elementary school, high school, middle school	excerpt from A Long Way to Go: Irregular Migration Patterns, Processes, Drivers and Decision-making, by Marie McAuliffe and Khalid Koser
Muslim Youth Voices	Series of stories showing the many identities and experiences of Muslim Americans	video, website, middle school, high school, adult and higher education, community organization	Center for Asian American Media
Moving Stories	An app to record, share and explore migration stories, and resources for educators	website, elementary school, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	Re-Imagining Migration
Building Bridges Through Storytelling: What Are Your Students’ Stories?	Article, booklist and tips for helping ELLs tell their stories	article/report, elementary school, middle school, high school	Laura Grisso, Colorín Colorado
English Language Learners and the Power of Personal Stories	Five steps for adopting an asset-based approach with EL students and related activities using New York Times resources	article/report, elementary school, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	Larry Ferlazzo and Katherine Schulten
A Guide to Producing Student Digital Storytellers	Five tips for educating digital storytellers and subject-specific ideas for digital storytelling	article/report, elementary school, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	Michael Hernandez, EdSurge
Immigrant Nation (iNation)	Platform for creating, sharing and browsing immigration stories and short films, accessible in English, Spanish and French	website, video, elementary school, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	iNation Media
Teaching Immigration with the Immigrant Stories Project	Three-unit curriculum for grades eight to adult using a library of original video stories made by immigrants and refugees	website, lesson plan, video, middle school, high school, adult and higher education	University of Minnesota and The Advocates for Human Rights
Book List: Immigrant/Refugee	Selection of books about immigrants and refugees that includes varied racial/cultural representation and a focus on #OwnVoices	website, early childhood, elementary school	Diverse Book Finder
Making a Digital Story	Curriculum for creating short videos of personal or family migration stories in a classroom or public workshop setting	website, lesson plans, high school, adult and higher education	University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center
Immigration Stories of Yesterday and Today	Interactive tours, virtual field trips, immigrant stories, immigration data and more from Scholastic	website, elementary school, middle school	Scholastic
Crossing Borders with Digital Storytelling	Common Core-aligned lesson plan about writing digital stories to create empathy and understanding about immigration	elementary school, middle school, high school, lesson plan	Teach Immigration
Waking Dream Curricula	Collection of short videos and accompanying curriculum following the lives and challenges of DACA recipients	website, lesson plan, video, middle school, high school, adult and higher education, community organization	iNation Media
Waking Dream Episodes	Six-episode series showing the reality of young people in the DACA program	video, middle school, high school, adult and higher education, community organization	Indie Lens Storycast
Books That Explore the Refugee Experience	List of books for all grade levels on the experiences of refugees around the world	book list, elementary school, high school, middle school	Edutopia
Reading Guides for First Generation Family Books	Printable reading guides and activities for books that amplify the experiences of first generation families	book guide, elementary school, high school, middle school, website	Modern Marigold Books
Reading Guides for South Asia Books	Printable reading guides for children’s books about South Asia	book guide, elementary school, high school, middle school, website	Yali Books
Books Matter: Children’s Literature	Book lists for various ages to bring challenging topics and diverse perspectives into the classroom	book list, elementary school, high school, middle school, website	Anti-Defamation League
Voices of Witness Education Program	Oral history-based curricula based on Voice of Witness book series, trainings and educational supports for skill development	website, elementary school, middle school, high school, adult and higher education, community organization	Voices of Witness

Immigrant and Immigration Stories

Immigrant and Immigration Stories

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