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Teaching Resources

Course Specific Curricular Activities/Assignments:

These models can be adapted and used as resource for faculty integrating the one book into the classroom. Curricular activities and assignments connect the One Book’s themes, issues, and ideas to specific disciplinary content, processes, and course learning outcomes.

1. Illustrating The Devil's Highway with resources from the University Library
   Use the outstanding resources from Sacramento State's Library to help students visualize the images and situations described in The Devi's Highway. >> More details

   Such an activity further will emphasize the relationship between the book and the circumstances of the historical events described. The activity can be done in small groups or individually, and the book can be divided into its five sections and the group or individual can be asked to illustrate one section of the book with 5-8 images from the University Library.

   The student(s) will have to do the following:

   1. Select 5-8 images for their section of the book.
   2. For each image, caption it with the following information: a short quote from the book that made the student(s) select that image and the actual information describing that image (e.g. who, what, where, and when).
   3. Present illustrations to their classmates.
   4. Write a short (1-2 page) reflection essay on why the images were chosen and how the illustrations helped the student(s) to understand and appreciate the book.

   

2. Creating your own Archive: Thinking beyond the One Book
   Encourage students to consider the issue of Civil Rights or Diversity or another recent historical event beyond the specific situations in The Devil's Highway and to create their own visual archive from various media. >> More details

   For example, students can assemble a visual archive relating to the immigration over the past two hundred years. This activity can also be done individually or in small groups; the illustrations can either be assembled digitally or in posters/portfolios.

   The student(s) will have to do the following:

   1. Brainstorm other historical examples of immigration in which a particular group's human and/or civil rights were violated.
   2. Select one of those events to investigate.
   3. Research various media for illustrations of that event.
   4. Select 5-8 images that capture the human impact of this event or movement.
   5. Caption each of the images chosen both with the pertinent historical information and with a conceptual comment.
   6. Present their illustrations to their classmates.
   7. Write a short (1-2 page) reflection essay on the similarities and differences between this event and those of The Devil's Highway and on how the activity helped them see the event more fully.

   

3. Making History Personal: An Oral History Project
   The purpose of this activity is to help our students see the complexities of the immigrant experiences, history is not an impersonal series of facts. Instructors can begin by sharing one or more of the oral histories of immigrants; these oral histories reflect the real experiences of immigrants throughout the history of the United States. >> More details

   This activity can be done in small groups, paired students, or individually. Students can interview family members or friends.

   The student(s) will have to do the following:

   1. Identify a subject for an oral history (both an event/experience and an individual).
   2. Create Questions for that interview.
   3. Conduct (and record) the interview.
   4. Compile the interview in a "publishable" form.
   5. Present a summary of the interview to their classmates.
   6. Write a short (1-2 page) reflection essay considering how this activity made history 'personal' to them.

   

4. Mock-Interviews with Luis Alberto Urrea
   This activity encourages students to read The Devil's Highway closely so that they can generate and respond to questions for the author. This activity can be done in pairs or individually. >> More details

   The student(s) will have to do the following:

   1. Research other interviews with Luis Alberto Urrea in the media. Examine them for the format and kinds of questions typically asked of the author.
   2. Generate 8-10 questions for the author related to her book and biography. (Students may be invited to submit or ask these questions of the actual author for Oct. 11-12)
   3. Based on information gathered about the book and author, student(s) will also generate the answers to the interview questions.
   4. Interview presentations: Role-Playing. Students will be asked to play interviewer and the author in presentations to the class.

   

University Library Resources

Sacramento State's University Library has created a bibliography of One Book resources.

One Book Bibliography (doc)

Other teaching resources and ideas

• Posting to the One Book Discussion Board assignments to repsond to prompts by course instructors.

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Extra- and Co-Curricular Programming/Activities:

The following faculty-developed models can be adapted and used as a resource for bringing multiple groups together for shared One Book activities. These resources focus on bringing cross-discipline groups together outside the classroom to connect the One Book’s themes, issues, and ideas to shared interests and concerns.

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last updated: 9/15/2010