GOD GREW TIRED OF US: MIGRATION AND CULTURAL INTERACTION
Overview:
This lesson draws from the documentary film God Grew Tired of Us to teach students about
concepts of migration, cultural mosaics, sense of place, and forces of cooperation and conflict
among communities. A National Geographic Films/LBS Production presented by Newmarket
Films, God Grew Tired of Us tells a moving story of young people overcoming incredible
challenges and struggling to improve their own lives and those of family and friends left behind.
Viewers are inspired by the protagonists’ perseverance in the face of adversity, and they are left
to ponder the relative merits of U.S. and Dinka culture. In this lesson, students will learn about
the Lost Boys of Sudan, a group of youth who fled civil war in their native country, spent a
decade growing up in a Kenyan refugee camp, and were eventually resettled in the United States.
Students will map the Lost Boys’ migration journey. They will then discuss the challenges the
Lost Boys faced while adapting to life in the United States and trying to maintain their cultural
identities as Dinka, as well as their efforts to improve their own lives and those of their families
and friends who remain in Africa. Students can engage with community members to explore
historical or contemporary interactions between immigrant groups and the local, regional, or
national community, as well as impacts the immigrant groups have had on the cultural landscape.
Materials Required:
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Computer(s) with Internet access
Video clips from film God Grew Tired of Us
o "From Southern Sudan to Northeastern United States"
o "Sense of Place & Community"
o "Cultural Differences"
o "Responsibility & Leadership"
Migration Key Vocabulary
Copies of Human Migration Guide (Grades 6-8)
Map of Sudan: "A Nation Divided"
Student Handout: Migration Journey of the Lost Boys and Girls
Map of Africa
Map of Sudan
Map of the World
Map of the United States
Color pencils or markers (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown)
Tell a Migration Story About Your Community
Interview Guide
Photography Guide
Mapmaking Guide
Objectives:
Students will
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Learn about and map the migration journey of the Lost Boys (and Girls) from their
homeland in southern Sudan to their eventual resettlement in the United States
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Learn about the concepts of cultural identity and cultural difference, and discuss the
challenges the Lost Boys faced while adapting to life in the United States and trying
to maintain their cultural identities as Dinka
Apply their knowledge and understanding of migration and cultural
identity/difference to a local context by engaging with community members to map
the migration patterns of people who immigrated into their community or region, and
identifying how the immigrant groups have interacted with and/or left their mark on
the community or region, and sharing this information with the school and/or
community
Activities
Opening:
Ask students if they’re familiar with Peter Pan’s Lost Boys, characters in the J.M. Barrie novel
Peter Pan who formed a family and took care of each other in Never-Never Land. Explain that
there is a group of young men who ran away from a terrible civil war and eventually found
homes in the United States. Relief workers called them the "Lost Boys" after the characters in the
J.M. Barrie novel, and the media picked up on this moniker; the group is now known collectively
as "The Lost Boys of Sudan."
A film called God Grew Tired of Us tells the story of three of these young men, and the class
will learn about the Lost Boys of Sudan as an example of human migration and cultural
identity/cultural difference. Students will then research the immigrant groups who have settled in
the local community or region, map the migration patterns, explain how the immigrants have left
their mark on and/or interacted with the community or region, and share this information with
the school and/or community.
Activity 1: Mapping the Migration Journey of the Lost Boys and Girls
1. Introduce or review relevant Migration Key Vocabulary, including migration, immigrant,
emigrant, refugee, and resettlement. You may wish to distribute copies of the Human
Migration Guide (Grades 6-8).
2. Show students (either as a handout or projected in the classroom) the National
Geographic Map of Sudan "A Nation Divided," pointing out the boundary between
northern and southern Sudan, as well as where the Dinka homelands are.
3. Show students the film clip From Southern Sudan to Northeastern United States. Ask
students to answer the following questions:
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Why did the Lost Boys have to run away from their homes?
Why couldn’t they stay in Ethiopia?
What was life like in the refugee camp?
What new things did they experience on the journey from Kenya to the United
States?
4. Distribute the student handout Migration Journey of the Lost Boys and Girls, along with
outline maps of Sudan, Africa, the world, and the United States. Part 1: On the maps of
Sudan, Africa, and the world, have students mark the routes the Lost Boys took on their
migration journey from Sudan to the United States. Students may work individually or in
small groups, depending on classroom context. Part 2: On a map of the United States,
have students write the number of Lost Boys who migrated to each state, based on the
table in the handout. Then have students make a choropleth map with seven classes of
data (see instructions on the student handout Migration Journey of the Lost Boys and
Girls). (A choropleth map is one that uses colors or shading to represent different
quantities or values. For more information on choropleth maps see the National
Geographic Xpeditions: Mapmaking Guide (Grades 6–8).) Ask students to answer the
following questions.
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Which states received the most Lost Boys for resettlement?
Did any Lost Boys settle in your state or nearby states?
Activity 2: Cultural Identity and Difference
1. Introduce or review relevant Migration Key Vocabulary, including culture, cultural
identity, cultural landscape, and cultural marker. Again, you may wish to refer to the
Human Migration Guide (Grades 6-8). Ask students to characterize "American culture"
(Possible answers: Markers: music, food, fashion, language/slang; Values:
individualism, personal rights, innovation, democracy, etc.)
2. Show students the film clips Sense of Place & Community, Cultural Differences, and
Responsibility & Leadership. Ask students to reflect on and discuss the following
questions:
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What have you learned about Dinka culture? What markers are representative of
Dinka culture? Of American culture? What values do the Lost Boys hold? How do
those values compare with your own? (Possible answers: Markers: music, dance,
food, clothing, language; Values: education, community, family, faith, hard work,
etc.)
What questions and fears do the Lost Boys have about life in the U.S.? What
questions and fears would you have if you were moving to a new place? What
differences do you see between Dinka culture and American culture? What are some
of the challenges the Lost Boys encounter? How do they adapt to life in the United
States (think in terms of both assimilation and acculturation? How do you think you
would adapt to life in a new country? (Possible answers: Questions related to
technology, cultural practices, food; Challenges: learning new culture, how to get
around in U.S., finding jobs, pursuing education, making friends; Assimilation:
clothing, improving English/adopting American slang, not holding hands in public or
traveling in groups; Acculturation: eating traditional food, song, dance, attending
reunions, etc.)
What sense of responsibility do the Lost Boys feel toward each other and toward their
families and friends still in Africa? In what ways are they trying to improve their own
lives and those of their families and friends? What can you do to make a difference in
your own community? (Possible answers: Sending money back to Africa, working to
bring family members to U.S.; See education and hard work as keys to future,
demonstrating/advocating for awareness/change in situation in Sudan, desire to
return to Africa to be business and community leaders, etc.; Create fliers for nonnative English speaking parents to announce that volunteers can help them enroll
their children in school, research and fund-raise for books and supplies for ESL
students, etc.)
Activity 3: Community Migration Connections
1. Explain to students that they will apply their knowledge and understanding of migration and
cultural identity/difference to a local context by engaging with community members to map the
migration patterns of people who immigrated into their community or region and identifying
how the immigrant groups have interacted with and/or left their mark on the community or
region, and sharing this information with the school and/or community.
2. Have small groups of students investigate their community’s migration story. Depending on
the depth of the available information, have students research the role one or all of the major
immigrant groups of the past or present has played in the community’s history. Students should
conduct initial research using historical documents, newspaper articles, photographs, and other
artifacts. Some possible places to look include the public library, a town or city historian, local
museums, newspaper archives, the phone book (to identify ethnic restaurants, religious
institutions, clubs, etc.) and the Internet. You may wish to use the checklist on the student
handout Tell a Migration Story About Your Community.
3. Divide students into three groups, and have each group complete one of the following
activities to create primary source community records of their own:
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Conduct interviews (use the Interview Guide) with community members and
organizations that could share information about patterns of movement to and from
the community, personal histories, and ways in which immigrants have contributed to
or changed the community. For more ideas, see the National Geographic Xpeditions
Activity: Tell a Migration Story With Interviews.
Photograph (Use the Photography Guide or sketch if cameras are not available)
people and places that represent migration patterns or cultural markers in the
community. Examples could include an ethnic community, such as a “Chinatown,”
ethnic grocery stores, a religious community center, street signs, architectural styles,
signs in other languages, people at a traditional festival, etc. Have students brainstorm
locations and people first. Be sure to get permission to take photographs in
businesses, libraries, etc. Then have students label photographs with the dates, places,
and short descriptions of the migrations represented by each photo. For more ideas,
see the National Geographic Xpeditions Activity: Tell a Migration Story With
Photos.
Create a map (use the Mapmaking Guide) depicting the migration patterns into and
within the community. Students should include: the path people have taken to and
from the community (to/from other cities, states, countries); explanatory text; and the
dates of the migration being represented. For more ideas, see the National Geographic
Xpeditions Activity: Tell a Migration Story With Maps.
4. When students have completed their research, have them create and share posters or
PowerPoint presentations that depict the migration story of their community and reflect how
immigrant groups have interacted with and/or left their mark on the community.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Student projects and presentations should be evaluated based on students’ understanding of the
key concepts of migration, the quality of their research, and the synthesis of the components into
a clear portrait of the community, both visually and orally. In their presentations, students should
be able to convey their understanding of the concepts related to migration, patterns of migration,
and the effect that migration has had on the cultural makeup of their community. The stages of
preparation, action, and reflection should all be considered as part of the evaluation.
Extending the Lesson:
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Find out if there are any Lost Boys in your community or region. (States are listed in
the Student Handout: Migration of the Lost Boys and Girls. Also, search the Internet
or a newspaper index to find articles about Lost Boys in your area). If there are Lost
Boys or Girls in your area, ask if any would be willing to visit your school and talk
with students. If not, contact one of the Lost Boys groups with active Web sites and
try to establish a pen-pal correspondence between them and your students. For links
to local, national, and international Lost Boys organization visit God Grew Tired of
Us.
Find out more about the Kakuma refugee camp and its residents by investigating
some of these Web sites:
o International Rescue Committee: The IRC in Kenya
o Church World Service: Life in Kakuma Refugee Camp
o Wikipedia: Kakuma
Invite representatives of other refugee or immigrant groups or agencies who work
with refugees/immigrants to visit your school and talk with the students.
Register the project as part of National & Global Youth Service Day. You can get
free planning materials, including a Planning Toolkit and Service-Learning
Curriculum Guide, from Youth Service America.
-Taken from Xpeditions - nationalgeographic.com