1. Opener: 

• Ask the students, what would make you leave your home to go live in another country? 
• Solicit answers from students. (Discuss the difference between voluntary reasons for leaving your country and involuntary forced reasons for leaving your home.)
• Review the UN definition of refugee on this website: 'Refugee' or 'migrant' – Which is right? UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency. Retrieved July 21, 2023 (https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/unhcr-viewpoint-refugee-or-migrant-which-right#:~:text=We%20say%20'refugees'%20when%20we,Choices%20about%20 words%20do%20i matter).
  • Have students compare the definitions and what sets them apart.
• Vocabulary Building 
  • Complete a Frayer Vocabulary model exercise with the term refugee at the center (in the center of four quadrants write the word “Refugee”)
    • In the first quadrant students write the definition of refugee in their own words; in the second quadrant have the students insert an image that represents refugee; in the third quadrant, have students write in an example of a refugee; and in the last quadrant, the students should write in a non-example of a refugee, the students share out the results as a whole class.

2. Shared Learning: 

• Pose the lesson questions: Why were the Hmong people forced to leave Laos after 1975? And what was the experience of leaving Laos like? 
• Tell students: At the end of this lesson you should know the answer to this question.  
• Tell students: We are going to analyze several primary and secondary resources, and as a class, I would like you to compile the information on a class shared document “Why did the Hmong leave Laos?” Show evidence for your conclusions.
  • We will read a source together as a class and then break into groups or pairs to analyze an assigned source.  
  • With your assigned source you will read it, and try to determine why the Hmong left Laos citing evidence from the source. You can use sentence starters to cite your evidence. Tell students they must explain their evidence, for example:
    • “As stated in this quote by (name of author) “insert quote,” the reason the Hmong people left Laos is….”
• Break students into four groups, each group will read/watch a story and take notes on the shared class document, “Why were the Hmong people forced to leave Laos after 1975 and what was the experience of leaving Laos like?” 
• Sources:
  • Interview with Nhia Lor Vang;  https://ucdavis.box.com/s/p84s6j46nbrccyi7fa5ly066go2trppf 
  • Interview with Mai Lee; https://ucdavis.box.com/s/oq3dfg9bhbxw3adf39iucead5yfwzrtf 
  • Struggle for Survival: My Parents’ Journey to a New Life, Txhawb California Directory, 88–90; https://ucdavis.box.com/s/7pte09upe0tgpy3ksgk9c2ewt19klcu4 
  • Escaping the Hands of Death video (16:00 minutes); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKw_3ntoyoc 
• Each group will choose a reporter to present the group’s findings to the whole class.
  • As students share, it might be helpful for teachers to jot the major details for each source on the board. This will help students track their understanding and add notes regarding the sources they were not responsible for.

3. Assessment Options:

Choose from one of the following types of assessment for your students: 

• Option 1: Write a short written or recorded response that answers the prompt: “Why were the Hmong forced to leave Laos? And what was this experience of leaving Laos like?”
  • Make sure students have the following contained in their written product: 
    • A thesis statement
    • Topic Sentences 
    • Detail Sentences 
    • Citations 
  • Suggested “Short Essay Rubric” from USC Center for Excellence in Teaching: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/g0qbahsgf6j1ovqf98857kkj04o4uwh6  
• Option 2: Present a short presentation that explores the prompt: “Why were the Hmong forced to leave Laos? And what was this experience of leaving Laos like?”
  • Students can utilize audiovisual elements to enhance the presentation. 
  • Suggested “Short Presentation Oral Rubric” from ReadWriteThink: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/xi04iqxnhi7fe1bzb7fuktmxd8jsyjgz 
• Option 3: Students will create a digital or paper storyboard to depict why Hmong were forced to leave Laos and the experiences endured. 
  • The final product can be a final, written, visual, or audio narrative. 

4. Sharing/Reflection:

• Have students showcase their assessment with one or two peers.
• In two to three sentences, students (as a group or independently) will summarize their response to the lesson question(s).