Immigration Reflection - End of Project

Ethan Chan

03/28/09

Immigration Project Reflection

In this project, the New Americans/Immigration project, we had to do three things: read an immigration-related book, create an art piece about the book, and interview an immigrant. Throughout this process, we learned all about immigrants and what they go through, such as Angel/Ellis Island. It was an interesting learning experience, because we got to personally know an actual immigrant. I feel like I got a lot out from this project.

The first thing we did was the Literature Circles. We had to read a book and post responses on our blogs. My book, A Long Way Gone, was about a boy who was forced to be a soldier. I didn't learn much about immigration from this book, mostly because it didn't say anything about it until the very end, but I was happy I chose this book; it was very emotionally moving. However, I did learn how tough it was to have your home destroyed, forcing yourself to move to another place. It was fun learning about this with my group, through commenting on blogs.

I think that the LC process is very good, because I have a lot of time to think about the quote itself. The only thing I would like to add is some comments about the book's plot, like predictions. I think that using blogging to respond to quotes is an excellent way to do so, because it's easy and you don't have to do it at a certain time. I didn't have many problems with blogging, besides the fact that some people did their blog posts late. I learned a lot from my group's blogs, like how they perceive the book and some important things that I may have missed.

The second thing we did was paint a piece of art relating to our book. I chose the option of redoing the book cover. I made this decision because I felt that the current book cover wasn't descriptive enough, and I already had the perfect idea in mind. My idea, representing the amount of change the main character goes through, makes a big connection between the art and the book. Through the process, I had to do several drafts to ensure the final product was perfect. I actually PhotoShopped the final sketch so it would be clearer which color goes where, and where the lines are.

I think the final product turned out great. It represents the book, and the concept is easily understood. I think it is descriptive enough, yet it is simple. However, it could have been more detailed. I think that I could have maybe added more details to the background, like grass and more buildings. Through this process of making art from the book, I have clarified my understanding of the book. This portion of the project has been my favorite, because I got to express my creativity and just have fun with it.

The final portion of our project was to interview an immigrant. Using the information collected from the interviews, we created a final product based on the immigrant's life. The interview process was very smooth, because my questions were straightforward and to the point. I also asked very detailed questions, and I was able to use most of the answers in my final product. My three interviews were easy, and I didn't feel very nervous about doing them. I only felt a little nervous about the in-person interview, and I quickly got over it when the interview started.

Through my three interviews, I learned various information. In the first two, I learned basic cultural information, like food and important people. In the third interview, however, I learned more details about how my interviewee came to America, and more of his personal life. This helped me understand more about immigration because I got to listen to a personal experience, rather than read one from a textbook. I think this method is much more effective because I get to learn about specific hardships or experiences.

The gift I made, which was a children's story, was difficult and time-consuming to make. A lot of effort went into making it, and it took a while to think of the story. I also did several thoughts for each of the illustrations, to make sure each one goes along with the story. I think my interviewee will be very happy to receive this gift, and I will be happy to give it to him.