Discussion Questions

Grade Levels: 7-12

Overview: Students will discuss community and how communities are mobilized. They will also explore how community organizing and grassroots organizing has produced political, social and economic change.

Objectives:

The student will:

• Use The Forgotten Americans film, the PBS Web site and the Internet to find information
• Demonstrate research skills and reading comprehension
• Demonstrate media literacy skills
• Demonstrate a willingness to learn about other cultures

English Language Arts

• Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
  
  

Questions:

• What does Proyecto Azteca do?
• Who has ownership of Proyecto Azteca?
• Who makes up EPISO and what does it do?
• Who created the organization Promotoras? And why?
• Who is Ernie Cortez and what does he do?
• What does Valley Interfaith do?
• Which organizations brought state and federal media attention to colonias?
• What did one Texas Senator say when he was told of the conditions in colonias?
• How did the Texas legislature react to information about colonias?
• What did the legislature do to stop new colonias from forming?
• Who did the new housing codes hurt the most?
• How many colonia developers did the Texas Attorney General sue?
• Rosie, from Green Valley Farms, convinced Cameron County to do what?
• Cameron County was given a grant to assist colonias. How much was the grant?
• How many colonias competed for the Cameron County grant?
• What organizations are advocates for colonias? Why are they needed?