Overall, this project was one of the highlights of our year because of the pressure and how Â"high stakesÂ" it felt. It was the first exhibition students completed in Upper Division, and I think it set a serious tone for the year. What made it especially memorable for us was how emotional it was. The immigrant stories were varied and heartfelt. More than with any other project in Humanities, students took responsibility for one another. They helped each other with writing, performing, and memorizing their lines. The next day at community meeting they were giving props to one another for Â"nailing it.Â" They got to feel the sense of pride that teachers feel when a student Â"nails it.Â"

Some things that I would change for next time include:
-Making sure kids stick to a 1.5-2 minute time limit. Some of the monologues werenÂ't revised or cut in time for exhibition, and it made for a really long night. This is essential, even though itÂ's difficult. I canÂ't stress this enough!!!
-Since this became more of a dramatic piece than a formal presentation, it would have been helpful to have professional actors supporting students throughout the process.
-We could have used Joy Luck Club as a consistent resource for models of descriptive writing. We should have spent energy analyzing and emulating Amy TanÂ's craft and style. Time limitations kept us from this, and the novel took a backseat to the monologues.
-We really should have held a dress rehearsal for the entire community so the kids would feel the pressure to memorize their lines on time.
-We could have utilized Â"Twilight Los AngelesÂ" more than we did. It is an amazing model.
-The flash (digital) project could have been incorporated into the show better. It felt like it was only a backdrop, rather than a living piece.

Many thanks to Regina Clarkinia and Anne Raeff for their participation with this project! We couldn't have done it without you two!

Also, thanks to Justin Wells for his work on the "Famous Family Story" project, which was the inspiration for "Immigrant's Song."
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******The feedback below came from an Envision School Professional Development workshop in 8/07. The question we asked for feedback on was, "If we were to revisit this project, how could we address more of the criteria from the history/social science investigation and the literary analysis tasks?"

-Where could we implement research components?
-The work provides students with a historical source (the interviewee), and this could be a launch point for the historical exploration and refer to scholarly texts related to their interviewee's life.
-You could have a huge list of immigration books from several countries and compare the experience of reading to that of a oral history project and compare the experience of the person to the text.
-You could have them refer to history (of country) within the monologue.
-Take"Twilight Los Angeles" and "Kitchen God's Wife" and have students synthesize those experiences as the experience of the immigrant. Maybe get students to write the monologue as historical fiction.
-It may be trying to stretch across too many content areas. Focus the project for more depth.
-Have students develop a question and research it prior to generating interview questions.
-Provide textual evidence during the monologue process using the various sources we touched upon.
-For the reflection, have students reflect on how the project impacted them.
-Compile a reader collection of memoirs related to immigration as a way to scaffold their understanding.
-For the reflection, have them explain the flash animation. (connection with literary elements form monologue)
-For the reflection, have students look at the difference between primary and secondary sources.
-Documentary makers would go out and interview immigrants.
-For the interview skills - bring in an expert to talk to students about conducting good interviews so that the content can become richer.
Resources:
"Crossing the Boulevard"
"Unconditional Theater" John Warren