Bausum takes a look at past U.S. immigration policies focusing on five groups chronologically from 1882, when the U.S. first started keeping specific groups from immigrating, to recent issues about illegal Mexican immigrants. Sections examine Chinese immigrants in the 1800s; Jewish refugees during the 1930s and 40s; and the internment of Japanese and Japanese Americans in the U.S. during World War II. While the author does not advocate limitless immigration, she raises questions about biases and fairness in government policies. She weaves quotations from those involved into the text; black-and-white photographs also add information. Back matter includes an extensive timeline; bibliography; resource guide; and index.
Speaking Std. #2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. Timelines are a useful graphic tool in understanding the chronology of a historical topic. The six-page timeline in this book is unusually extensive and attractive, incorporating small photographs and short paragraphs of text. Have students use it as a model in conjunction with a different historical text that follows a chronological structure; then have them explain the historical event, using the timeline, to fellow students. Several free websites such as www.xtimeline.com offer digital timeline templates that can include images and different structures.
Fiction Tie-ins: Considering pairing with Cynthia Kadohata's Weedflower, about a Japanese-American family at an internment camp, or Tropical Secrets by Margarita Engle, a verse novel about Jewish refugees in Cuba in 1939.
