America

Song: America (West Side Story)
Topic: Settlement/migration
How used: Played song to class and gave them a copy of lyrics. Firstly they had to identify 'Push' (from Puerto Rico) and 'Pull' Factors (to US). They then had to look at the idea of the 'American Dream' and whether migrants felt America met their dreams/expectations.
Resources: Lyrics on: http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/westsidestory/america.htm
Evaluation: I did this with a Year 9 class. It definitely captured interest. Some of the lyrics were difficult for some pupils to understand. Some got confused with what was describing Amercia and what was describing Puerto Rico.