Anchor text: Sofi Mendoza’s Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico by Malin Alegria
When OC resident Sofi Mendoza's friends throw a party in San Diego, Sofi is warned to stay at her friends' home and not leave the area. But when her friends then move the party to Tijuana, Sofi decides to disobey and go anyway. She thinks she's gotten away with it when she's stopped at the border and to her shock is told her green card is a fake! Sofi and her parents are illegal immigrants, and while her parents try to find a way to get her back to the US (and the only home she's ever known) legally, Sofi is trapped in Mexico.
Sofi hardly speaks any Spanish, and doesn't know anyone in Mexico. Her parents arrange for her to stay with some distant relatives in Baja. Sofi is a spoiled kid who gawks at having to learn a new language, live without indoor plumbing, work hard, and miss out on her prom. But living with her family in Mexico teaches Sofi important lessons about her culture, comes to understand the hardships her parents went through to give her better opportunities, and what it means to have family from a different country.
Sofi hardly speaks any Spanish, and doesn't know anyone in Mexico. Her parents arrange for her to stay with some distant relatives in Baja. Sofi is a spoiled kid who gawks at having to learn a new language, live without indoor plumbing, work hard, and miss out on her prom. But living with her family in Mexico teaches Sofi important lessons about her culture, comes to understand the hardships her parents went through to give her better opportunities, and what it means to have family from a different country.
Supporting Texts
Articles
The Connection Between Legal and Illegal Immigration. Illegal Vs. Legal Immigration Is A Global Issue. The Real Story Behind Mexican Immigration: And What It Means for the U.S. Economy. Here’s the Reality About Illegal Immigrants in the United States. These four articles all discuss the topic of what it means to be an immigrant, what are the differences between the “illegal” and legal options for immigration and naturalization, and why people may not be able to or not want to try and immigrate through the legal means. |
Interactive Sites
Meet The New Americans. Our Walled World. Both of these website are interactive, featuring different stories of immigrants. The first revolves around five families and showcases the art, food, music and languages from the five different cultures represented, and ties into a PBS film about immigrant stories called The New Americans. “Our Walled World” is also an interactive website features satellite imagery, users' photos, video and first-hand interviews to show walls being built to divide people from their neighbors all across the world. These sites could easily be used to create a WebQuest, or other project-based assessment. |
TEDTalks
Immigrant voices make democracy stronger. Hiding in plain sight -- my life as an undocumented American | TEDxSanAntonio. What we're missing in the debate about immigration. These are some fantastic TEDTalks on varying topics surrounding immigration. In “Hiding in plain sight…” Leezia Dhalla gives her account of being an undocumented person living in the United States. Her story mimics Sofi Mendoza’s quite a bit, in the respect that both girls assumed they were citizens, both came from a more upper-middle-class family and were shocked to find out after a trip they were going to be deported/kept out of the country. Geraldino’s talk “What we’re missing in the debate about immigration” shows what happens to the families and communities of those deported, and why that creates a real issue for legal American citizens. And finally, Bhojwani’s talk in particular feels very relevant to today’s classroom multicultural classroom. She gives a sense of hope and drive, and encourages multicultural people to get involved in politics, where representation matters and voices should be heard. |
Poetry
Immigration Imagery Poetry. This collection of poems about immigration includes two vastly different perspectives, including “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus and “Unguarded Gates” by Thomas Bailey Aldrich. These two differing viewpoints can be a jumping off point to read the additional poems. Students could split into groups or teams to read and decipher the other poems. I’ve found that students tend to be receptive to poetry, especially knowing that some of the poems from the list were written by modern-day teens like themselves. |
TV Clip
The Two Faces of Illegal Immigration - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This TV clip is from a comedy program, but students will see the irony pretty quickly. Mandvi provides a satirical discussion of immigration that highlights what are deeper issues of racism in some places in the United States. It is a good way to lighten the mood as well as look at some of the views of Americans not against undocumented persons. |
TV Episode
30 Days - Immigration Episode : Season 2 Episode 1. In this episode of Martin Spurlock's "30 Days," Spurlock sends Frank George, a Cuban-American to live with family of undocumented Mexicans. Frank is a Minuteman, and has spent time patrolling the US borders to send illegals back to their native home. The 30 days he spends with the Gonzales family do indeed change Frank, and this episode will likely hit home for many Latinx students watching. A better quality version of the episode is available to purchase/rent on Amazon and other media, but here is a free YouTube version. |
Podcast
Deported Immigrants Struggle To Re-Enter U.S. This NPR broadcast takes a look at the many illegal immigrants who are deported back to Mexico (usually just dumped out across the border in Tijuana like the heroine of the anchor text, or the town of Nogales). Some of those deported have lived in the US their entire lives, and this explains the shock of being displaced to their “homeland.” As with many NPR broadcasts, there is a printed transcript to go with the audio. I love this; as a teacher it helps to have words to go along with audio! |
Photography
Castillo walks slowly along the border where white crosses are inscribed names of those who died. School of the Americas Watch Border Encuentro. NPR on the U.S.-Mexico Border. The Trump Lens: U.S.- Mexico Border Wall. The above images are of white crosses put up in Mexico-America border towns. These crosses represent those who have died attempting to cross into America, whether that death be from the elements, other human beings, or even waiting to be deported in a detention center. The protagonist of the anchor text, Sofi Mendoza, was allowed back into the US legally, and her story had a happy ending. But not all of those who try to go back have happy endings like Sofi. I feel that this imagery is haunting, and sticks with people longer than simply talking about the casualties of trying to escape to a better life. The imagery can be used with discussions, projects, and other works in a classroom setting. There are plenty more images if you search “la llegra” or “crosses in Nogales,” or even border fence crosses. |