Going Home

On Thursday, the college class, Advanced Literature, taught by Dr. Cai observed and participated in our multicultural literature lesson.  The college students were interested in learning ways to integrate multicultural literature into the curriculum. The book, Going Home, was read aloud by Mrs. Guenther.  There were two main themes.  One was the concept of home.  The other was the reasons family move to new locations or countries.  My students and the college students shared what home means to them.  They are as follows:  (Alexis)  A place where I can snuggle with my dog.  (Leah)  A place where you can relax and be with your family.  (Milo)  It is a warm and sunny place.  (Alyssa)  It is a place where you can relax and have fun and eat. (Emma)  It is a safe place.  You feel comfortable there. There is family and things you love there.  (Zoe)  A place where you and your family can spend time together.  (Sophia)  A place where you sleep.  A place where your brothers and sisters are. (David)  I can go to my room and be by myself.  I can read my chapter books.  (Abby) A place where you can be with your family.  Sometimes I get homesick, when I leave it.  These ideas were all demonstrated in the book Going Home by Eve Bunting. 

Book Summary
This is a touching story about a Mexican-American family who returns to Mexico for a visit for Christmas.  The story is written from the perspective of one of the children who observes how hard his parents work in the fields and how much their parents love Mexico.  He finally understands the reason for and the magnitude of his parents sacrifice in order to give their children opportunities in the United States.

Student Reactions
The students enjoyed the book.  The students selected favorite quotes from the book that they found meaningful and shared their personal reaction to the quotes.  One quote was, "Mama was excited to be going home to Mexico, but home was also here.  The students understood  the character having a feeling of home for more than one place. Others liked the quote, "the walls were bulging with rememberings".  The students understood that families enjoy sharing past memories at family celebrations.The students also discussed the opportuities the children in the book experienced from living in the United States.  They were a better education, learning English and  more oppportunities in the future due to their education.