“We are the lost, we are the lonely/ So far from our beloved land./ We are the children of the
Mekong/ Who will not see that mighty river again…” –Linda Crew
Kayla Martinson
EDUC 463
05 Nov. 2014
Unit 5: “We are the lost, we are the lonely” – Immigration, Acclimatization, and Historical
Fiction
Overview: When students come back from winter break, we will begin by reading Children of
the River by Linda Crew as an entire class. It is about a girl, Sundara, who leaves Cambodia
during the Khmer Rouge and immigrates to Oregon in the United States. It is closely linked to
our first semester class novel, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, through one of its central themes of
“surviving as an outcast.” However, the reading level and some of historical ideas are considered
more difficult for seventh graders, so it will be a step up from the first semester. The final
assessment for this unit will be a 2-3 page diary entry from the perspective of a character from
the unit.
Rationale: I selected Children of the River by Linda Crew from a list created by Poudre School
District that recommended texts that have already been approved to be taught to seventh graders.
Children of the River has some similar themes to the text in my first unit, New York Times
Bestseller Wonder by R.J. Palacio, and is about a less visible perspective—that of a Cambodian
girl named Sundara who immigrates to the United States during the Khmer Rouge. It is a more
difficult text but it has the potential to provoke discussion about immigration, acclimatization,
genocide, Cambodian culture and traditions, and the portrayal of young women in literature. The
novel also fits with education writer Peter Smagorinsky’s argument of cultural significance. He
writes, “Some units are worth teaching because… their themes are central to an understanding of
a particular culture, whether national, local, or distant” (141). Children of the River draws on
both national and distant cultural significance because the main character immigrates from
halfway across the world to the United States in the 1970s, but it also could draw on local
concerns if students know people who have also immigrated here.
Standards (Colorado Common Core State Standards):
 Standard 1: Oral Expression and Listening
o Prepared Graduates: Collaborate effectively as group members or leaders who
listen actively and respectfully pose thoughtful questions, acknowledge the ideas
of others, and contribute ideas to further the group’s attainment of an objective.
o Concepts and skills students master: (2) Small and large group discussions rely on
active listening and the effective contributions of all participants.
o Evidence Outcomes: Students can (a) engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly (CCSS: SL.7.1).
 Standard 2: Reading for All Purposes
o Prepared Graduates: Seek feedback, self-assess, and reflect on personal learning
while engaging with increasingly more difficult texts.
o Concepts and skills students master: (1) Literary elements, characteristics, and
ideas are interrelated and guide the comprehension of literary and fictional texts.

o Evidence Outcomes: Students can:
 (a) Use key ideas and details to (i) cite several pieces of textual evidence
to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text (CCSS: RL.7.1); (iii) analyze how particular elements
of a story or drama interact (CCSS: RL.7.3).
 (c) Use integration of knowledge and ideas to (ii) compare and contrast a
fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of
the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use of
alter history (CCSS: RL.7.9).
Standard 3: Writing and Composition
o Prepared Graduates: Effectively use content-specific language, style, tone, and
text structure to compose or adapt writing for different audiences and purposes.
o Concepts and skills students master: (1) Composing literary and narrative texts
that incorporate a range of stylistic devices demonstrates knowledge of genre
features.
o Evidence Outcomes: Students can (a) write narratives to develop real or imagined
experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and
well-structured event sequences (CCSS: W.7.3).
Timeline: 6 weeks (28 days)
 January 6 – February 13, 2015
Goals:
 To learn about a historical period in America’s history.
 To connect Sundara’s experience to current experiences today.
 To understand and empathize with the complex ideas of surviving as an outcast, living as
a minority, growing up too fast, and growing up during a time of conflict.
 To connect some of the themes of Children of the River to Wonder.
 To connect some of the cultural restrictions Sundara lives under to students’ own cultural
or familial traditions and their “Who Are You?” projects.
Texts:
 Children of the River by Linda Crew
 Poetry
o “Let America be America Again” by Langston Hughes
o “Bilingual/Bilingue” by Rhina Espaillat
o “English con Salsa” by Gina Valdes
o “Perfect Dress” by Marisa de los Santos
o “Oranges” by Gary Soto
o “Lost Sister” by Cathy Song
 Nonfiction (to be determined)
o Piece on an immigrant child moving to America (written within the last 10 years)
o Piece on communism and the Khmer Rouge
o Piece on Cambodian traditions/culture
Activities:
 Annotating a text: Students will learn how to annotate a piece of text with several
passages from Children of the River and the poems. We will begin by working through a
passage as a class, then students will work in small groups and finally independently to
annotate other passages and the poems. Students will use sticky notes and the Annotating
a Text bookmark I have designed as resources during this activity.
 Current events: Students will each bring short, contemporary articles to class to share and
respond to them in their journals. The articles must relate to some aspect of the text.
Some suggestions are immigration, acclimatization, transitions, war and conflict, the
upholding of traditions, etc.
 Spy activity: Students will be placed in small groups and assigned one of the six poems to
study. Using the poem and a brief biography about the author, they will construct a
portrait of who the narrator is.
o This is an adaptation of an activity from Teaching English by Design and an
activity by Pamela Coke.
Assessment: The final assessment for the unit will be a 2-3 page diary entry. Students can select
a character from the novel or one of the narrators from our poems to write as. Students will need
to use at least five pieces of textual evidence to support the narrative, which they will need to cite
in the text. Additionally, students will need to discuss a contemporary issue that would have
affected their character. For example, if they choose to write from the perspective of Jonathan, a
character in Children of the River, they might discuss the drafting of young men for the Vietnam
conflict.
I will be grading students on format (i.e. diary/journal entry), textual evidence and how it
supports their characterization, the inclusion of a contemporary issue, citations, and grammar and
mechanics.