The Language of the Immigration Debate (High School)

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Objectives

Activities will help students:

• consider the connotations of various terms in the immigration debate 
• analyze the impact of terminology in the immigration debate 

Essential Questions

• What do the terms used to describe immigrants actually mean?
• Why do certain terms carry negative connotations?
• How can language impact attitudes? 

Materials

Article: "What Part of ‘Illegal’ Don’t You Understand?"

Handout: Connotations

Activities

1)    Work with a partner to define the following words. For each term, write a definition, the part of speech and a sentence correctly using the word.

alien

citizen

illegal

immigrant

immigration

unauthorized

undocumented

2)    Denotation is the exact meaning of a word. Connotation, on the other hand, is more than just the dictionary definition of a word. Connotation is the suggested, or implied, meaning of a word. For example, the denotations of the words “cute” and “gorgeous” may be similar, but their connotations are different. (Note: Encourage students to list the connotations of the words “cute” and “gorgeous.”) Use the handout Connotations to explore the meanings of the words in this lesson’s vocabulary list. (Note: Encourage students to use this handout for the first vocabulary word. Then, have them draw the web on separate sheets of paper for each of the other words in the list.)

3)    Share the webs from your Connotations handout in small groups. Discuss the following:

• Were your connotations similar to your classmates’?
• Where do you think your connotations came from? (Note: Point out that students may have been influenced by the media or by the attitudes of family or friends.)
• Which vocabulary terms had positive connotations?
• Which had negative connotations?
• Why do you think some words have positive connotations, while others have negative connotations?

4)    Next, read this New York Times article about immigration: What Part of ‘Illegal’ Don’t You Understand?  

5)    The author of “What Part of ‘Illegal’ Don’t You Understand?” believes that language is an important part of the issue of immigration. Do you agree? Write a response to the article in which you EITHER

a) agree that terminology is important and that undocumented immigrant or unauthorized immigrant are better terms than illegal or alien

OR

b) disagree that terminology is important and argue that any terms are fine to use

6) Share your letter with another student who has the opposite viewpoint. Use this as a way to discuss your point of view about the language of the immigration debate.

Extension Activity

(This lesson could be the precursor to The Immigration Debate: A Lesson from Viva La Causa.) After completing the activities listed above, read Richard Cohen’s essay, "Realism, Compassion Missing From Immigration Debate." Click here for a version in Spanish. As a class, discuss:

• Notice how Cohen uses “undocumented immigrants” as well as “unauthorized immigrants.” How do these terms impact his argument?
• Do you agree or disagree with Cohen? Why?