What's in a name?

So yesterday, my class started a new IB unit. This one is about the migration of people both historically and current. I began by giving them a form to fill out...one that asked for their name, what they liked so far about fourth grade, what they hoped to learn in this unit. The catch was that the first form was in Arabic. The tension was crazy and the noise level rose a few decibels as they said, "HUH? We can't read this!!" "Fine," I replied and proceeded to give them the same form but written in Chinese. Much of the same response. Frustrations were mounting all over the room. I continued giving them  the same information in a variety of languages. A bit of tension was released as I handed them a form in Italian, which they thought was Spanish. However, the release was short lived because they soon realized that they couldn't read this form either. When I finally did hand out a Spanish form, they all relaxed a bit, especially my two students whose first language is Spanish. And then I did give them the form in English. We had a great discussion about what they were feeling as they were trying to read the information in the different languages. It was a great provocation for this unit and what many of the immigrants to this country must have felt as they went through Ellis Island. Tomorrow we start a new adventure as they become an immigrant child embarking on a new land...