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Note to the teacher:
You can incorporate visual aids and multimedia into the classroom to further prompt reflection and discussion. This activity was inspired by the viewing of the movie El Norte and provided a forum to discuss students’ changing views of American culture and the economy and how their previous perception of the United States had changed with their experience of immigrating to and working in the country.

 
Tools for Teachers

Activity: Expectations of American Culture

Kathleen Sumara, El Centro del Cardenal, Boston, MA

As a class, we looked at images of housing and wealth in the United States.

First, students cut out pictures of house interiors from magazines and answered the following question: What did you think houses in the United States were like before you came here? Students captioned the pictures with the generalizations that might be drawn from them. The following are examples of their summaries: “It looks like all the houses are beautiful and have a big garden.” “It looks like all the kitchens are big and neat.” “There are fresh breads and a big refrigerator.”

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