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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 diaspora of 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 learn about and discuss examples of culture clash and community-building across multiple scales and contexts. Using the pedagogy of service-learning (see Service Learning Guide), 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. Students will apply their knowledge and understanding of migration, culture clash, and community-building to a local context by identifying a refugee or immigrant group within the local community or region and engaging with community members to raise awareness of the conditions, concerns, and contributions of that refugee or immigrant group.
Connections to the Curriculum:
AP human geography, social studies, civics, ELL, behavioral studies
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 9: The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human population on Earth's surface
Standard 10: The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics
Standard 13: How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface
Standard 18: How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future
Time:
Introduction and Activity 1 (Setting the Context: Conflict and Diaspora): 45 minutes
Activity 2 (Cultural Identity, Cultural Differences, and Community-Building): 45 minutes
Activity 3 (Community Migration Connections and Civic Engagement): 45 minutes for preparation, with additional time for independent/group action and class reflection
Materials Required:
Objectives:
Students will
- learn about the impelled migration of the Lost Boys (and Girls) from their homeland in southern Sudan to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya and the eventual resettlement of thousands in the United States
- learn about culture clash and community-building across multiple scales and contexts:
- culture clash between Muslims and Christians/Animists within Sudan (a conflict as much about socio-cultural power and control of resources as about religion)
- culture clash between the Dinka immigrants and their American receiving communities
- the challenges of assimilation and acculturation ("melting pot" vs. "salad bowl")
- community-building strategies practiced among the Lost Boys both within the refugee camps and in the United States, once resettled
- community-building strategies practiced among the Lost Boys and the communities into which they settled
- apply their knowledge and understanding of migration, culture clash, and community-building to a local context by identifying a refugee or immigrant group within the local community or region and engaging with community members to raise awareness of the conditions/concerns/contributions of the refugee/immigrant group
Geographic Skills:
Asking Geographic Questions
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
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 a group of young men fled a bloody civil war in their native Sudan, trekked nearly a thousand miles to a refugee camp in Kenya, and eventually were resettled in the United States. Relief workers called them the "Lost Boys" after the boys 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 new 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, cultural differences, and community-building. Students will apply their knowledge to a local context by identifying a refugee or immigrant group within the local community or region and engaging with community members to raise awareness of the conditions, concerns, and contributions of that refugee or immigrant group. If possible, have students watch the entire film before beginning the following activities, which use clips from the film as discussion-starters.
Development:
Activity 1: Setting the Context—Conflict and Diaspora
Introduce or review relevant vocabulary, including migration, emigrant, immigrant, refugee, diaspora, and resettlement. You may wish to distribute copies of the National Geographic: Xpeditions: Human Migration Guide (Grades 9-12).
If possible, have students watch the six-minute video National Geographic: Sights & Sounds: Shattered Sudan; if this is not possible, distribute copies and have students read the text of the National Geographic: Shattered Sudan online feature. 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. Discuss the historical, cultural, and geographic factors contributing to Sudan’s long-running civil war and the consequences of war on the country and its peoples.
Show students the film clip
From Southern Sudan to Northeastern United States. Ask students to answer the following questions:
- Why did the Lost Boys have to flee 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?
Activity 2: Cultural Identity, Cultural Differences, and Community-Building
Introduce or review relevant vocabulary, including cultural identity, assimilation, acculturation, cultural landscape, and cultural marker. Show students the film clips
Sense of Place & Community,
Cultural Differences, and
Responsibility & Leadership. Ask students to reflect on and discuss the following questions:
- 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 country? 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 place? (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 community-building strategies have the Lost Boys practiced both within the refugee camps and once resettled in the United States? (Possible answers: Refugee camps: Forming makeshift family groups, Parliament; U.S.: Gathering with friends, attending reunions, etc.)
- What community-building strategies have been practiced among the Lost Boys and the communities into which they settled? (Possible answers: Meeting with church and community groups, talking with community members in informal settings such as swimming pool, advocating for public awareness about situation in Sudan, 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 students do to make a difference in their 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 non-native English speaking parents to announce that volunteers can help them enroll their children in school, research and fundraise for books and supplies for ESL students.)
Closing:
Activity 3: Community Migration Connections and Civic Engagement
Discuss the concepts of service-learning and civic engagement (see Service Learning Guide in this Educator’s Guide). Explain to students that they will apply their knowledge and understanding of migration, culture clash, and community-building in a real-world context by identifying a refugee or immigrant group within the local community or region (or at the national or international level) and engaging with community members to raise awareness of the conditions, concerns, and contributions of the refugee or immigrant group. Have students conduct research about immigrant or refugee groups in the local area (or beyond), and identify one group on which to focus for their project.
Have students use Project Plan-It!, Youth Service America’s online project planning tool, to help develop a plan for raising awareness about or helping an immigrant or refugee group. Project Plan-It! uses an interactive series of questions and templates that guide the user through the project planning process, and allows them to print out their plan, timeline, budget, funding proposal, press release, service-learning reflection plan, and other helpful resources. Registration is required to use the tool, and children under age 13 need a parent’s permission to register; the teacher may wish to register for the class. Project Plan-It! steps include:
- Contact Information
- What's Your Issue: Defining Your Community Needs & The Challenge
- What Can We Use: Identifying Our Resources, Skills, and Assets
- The Path to Change: What Do You Want to Achieve - Defining your Mission, Vision, and Goals
- Build It - Establishing Your Objectives and Tasks
- Location of Proposed Project
- Bus Talk: The Summary
- What do We Need: Creating your Budget
- Who Will Support us: Developing your Fundraising Campaign
- Roles and Responsibilities: Creating your Coordinating Committee and Advisory Committee
- Generating Publicity/Buzz: Create Your Press Release and/or Media Story
- Mobilizing Community Support: Now We Have to Get People Involved in the Actual Project Event.
- Are we making a difference: Evaluating your Impact
- Reflecting on What We Did
- Celebrating and Recognizing Our Efforts
Have students prepare posters or PowerPoint presentations describing their project plan, and present the proposal to officials from the school and/or community (e.g., PTA, school board, town council, or civic organizations such as Rotary or Kiwanis). If possible, implement the project; try to get the whole school involved!
Suggested Student Assessment:
Student project plans and presentations should be evaluated based on students’ understanding of the key concepts of migration (especially refugees/immigrants), the quality of their research, the synthesis of the components into a clear portrait of the target community’s conditions, concerns, and contributions, and how the students propose to connect with the community in order to make a difference. The stages of preparation, action, and reflection should all be considered as part of the evaluation.
Extending the Lesson:
- Have students map the Lost Boys’ diaspora, using the handout Migration Journey of the Lost Boys and Girls, along with the National Geographic Xpeditions maps of Africa, Sudan, 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 the 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 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 about choropleth maps, see the National Geographic Xpeditions: Mapmaking Guide (Grades 9-12). Students may also find the National Geographic Xpeditions Activity: Tell a Migration Story . . . with Maps helpful.) Optional: As a class, discuss the activity "Did You Notice . . . ?" Explain that Mark Bixler, author of The Lost Boys Of Sudan: An American Story Of The Refugee Experience, gathered figures for boys per state from the U.S. State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration; the other data (3,800 Lost Boys entered U.S. since the year 2000) came from other sources.
- Which states received the most Lost Boys for resettlement?
- Did any Lost Boys settle in your state or nearby states?
- Listen to Sudanese music featured on National Geographic: World Music. National Geographic: World Music: The Afrobeat Sudan Aid Project aims to raise awareness of the current situation in Darfur, and all proceeds from album sales are being donated to relief efforts.
- Find out if there are any Lost Boys in your community or region. (States are listed in student handout Migration Journey of the Lost Boys and Girls. A list of states and cities in which Lost Boys were resettled is on a Web site about the book The Lost Boys Of Sudan: An American Story Of The Refugee Experience. States and cities are listed in the portion of the left navigation bar with a black background. 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 and community members. 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:
- Invite representatives of other refugee or immigrant groups or agencies who work with refugees/immigrants to visit your school and talk with students and community members.
- 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.
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