Tag: Iraqi Culture

Time Frame

• 2 class periods

 

Materials

• Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from a Fargo High School – Ashti Mohamed Ali’s story and video
• Highlighter
• Pencil and Notebook
• Vocabulary and Definitions Handout

 

Connections to the 7 Cs of Ethnic Studies

• Cultivate: empathy, community actualization, cultural perpetuity, self-worth, self-determination, and the holistic well-being of all participants, especially Native People/s and People of Color

 

Instructions 

 

Day 1 – Identity, Language, and Iraqi Cultural Background

 

Ignite

Show these visuals:

• Map of Iraq
• Baghdad on the map
• Photos of Iraqi families, schools, and daily life

 

Provide brief context:

• Iraq is an Arab country.
• Many people there speak Arabic.
• Some communities also speak Kurdish and other languages.
• There are different Arabic dialects across the Arab world.

 

Quick write:

Respond to one of the following prompts:

• What languages are part of your identity?
• When have you felt like you belonged, and when have you felt like you didn’t belong?
• What did you learn about Iraqi culture?
• What surprised you?
• How can language help people stay connected to culture and family?

Invite students to share with a partner.

 

Vocabulary Introduction

Distribute the Vocabulary and Definitions Handout before viewing Ashti’s video. Review each word, discuss the definition, example, and critical question. Students should keep the handout on their desks during all activities.

Cultural Background

Iraq is a country in the Middle East with a rich and ancient history. Baghdad, where Ashti was born, is the capital city and one of the oldest cities in the world. Iraq is home to many different ethnic and religious groups, including Arabs and Kurds.  

 

The Kurdish people are an ethnic group with their own language (Kurdish) and culture, found primarily in northern Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. Many Iraqi and Kurdish families came to the United States as refugees or immigrants, often fleeing violence, war, or political persecution. Minnesota and cities like Fargo, North Dakota have significant Iraqi and Kurdish communities. These communities have brought rich cultural traditions, languages, food, music, and values to the United States. 

 

The name Ashti (آشتی) means peace in Kurdish. Names in Iraqi and Kurdish culture often carry deep meaning connected to family history, values, or hopes for the future.

 

Watch Ashti’s Story

After watching video, have students think-write (one sentence):

• What languages are part of your identity?
• When have you felt like you belonged, and when have you felt like you didn’t belong?
• What did you learn about Iraqi culture?
• What surprised you?
• How can language help people stay connected to culture and family?

 

Exit Ticket

• What is one thing you learned about Iraqi culture, language, or identity?

 

Day 2 – Ashti’s Story, Identity, and Belonging

Warm-Up Review

Quick Partner Discussion:

• What do you remember about Ashti’s story?
• What language challenges did she face?
• What did you learn about Iraq or Iraqi culture yesterday?

 

Chunk 

Read and Analyze Ashti’s Story:

• Preview vocabulary list
• Read Ashti’s story together as a class or independently.
• Stop at certain points for annotation and discussion.

Students annotate parts related to the following questions:

• Ashti’s story says Iraq/Baghdad was unsafe. What clues help you infer why it might have felt unsafe?
• What might Ashti have lost or had to leave behind, and how could that affect her identity or sense of belonging?
• What language challenges did Ashti face when she came to the US? 
• How did those challenges impact her identity and sense of belonging? 
• Why is language important to culture?
• What parts of Ashti’s identity stayed the same after moving?
• What parts of her life changed?

 

Chew 

Partner Discussion

Students exchange ideas about identity, language, and belonging using text-based evidence. Refer to their annotated reading during discussion.

 

Discussion Roles

Student A shares for 1 minute using evidence from the text. 

Student B listens and responds, adding on their thoughts. 

Switch roles. 

Make sure students use at least one of the vocabulary words.

 

Sentence Stems

• Based on the clues or details in Ashti’s story ___, I infer that Iraq/Baghdad may have been experiencing ___, which created a sense of . . . 
• Her text says it was unsafe. One clue is . . .
• Ashti likely left behind ___, which could affect her identity by . . .
• A language challenge Ashti faced was . . .
• She had difficulty with ___ when she came to the USA.
• These challenges may have affected her identity by . . .
• This could impact her sense of belonging because . . .
• Language helped Ashti connect to ______.
• One part of Ashti’s identity is ______.
• Moving to a new country changed ______.
• It did not change ______.

Graphic Organizer 

Create a four-quadrant graphic organizer chart to support the conversation. 

 

 

Identity Reflection

Choose one question to answer:

• How did language shape Ashti’s identity?
• How did moving to a new country affect Ashti’s sense of belonging?
• What parts of Ashti’s identity stayed the same after moving?
• How did Ashti stay connected to her culture and family?

 

Reflection Sentence Stems

• One part of Ashti’s identity is . . .
• Language shaped her identity by . . .
• Moving to a new country affected her because . . .
• Ashti stayed connected to her culture by . . .
• I think identity is connected to language because . . .

 

Writing Task

Prompt

Explain how language, culture, and experiences shaped Ashti’s identity and sense of belonging. Use two examples from the text.

Structure 

1. Main idea: ________
2. Evidence from text: ________
3. Explanation: ________

 

Exit Ticket

Write one word or one sentence.

• How did language shape Ashti’s identity and sense of belonging?
• Ashti’s story shows that language, identity, and belonging are connected because . . .

 

Multilingual and ELL Support

• Model the use of sentence stems included in the lesson.
• Show Ashti’s video with captions in students’ home language as an alternative to the reading.
• Convert Ashti’s story to students’ home language so they can understand the context of her story.
• Allow students who are WIDA level 1–2 to fill in the blank instead of writing. 

 

Resource List 

• Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from a Fargo High School – Ashti Mohamed Ali’s story and video
• Background on why Iraq was dangerous at that time when Ashti and her family emigrated (this is for teacher context) www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/iraq
• Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Values and Principles (7 Cs) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cGOs7rsY9wT2qI-yIQh5dye8snRjGYxr/view

 

Vocabulary and Definitions Handout

 

Vocabulary Word	Definition	Example	Critical Question
Interpreter	A person who translates spoken or signed language between two or more parties in real time, often serving as a bridge between cultures and systems of power.	Ashti’s father interpreted for the US Army, a role that put his entire family in danger. Language work can carry serious risk.	What does it mean when a person’s bilingual ability makes them a target?
Identity	The complex combination of personal, cultural, social, and historical factors that shape who a person is, including race, ethnicity, language, religion, gender, and lived experience.	Identity is not fixed; it can shift depending on context, community, and power.	Can someone else define your identity for you? What happens when they try?
Culture	The shared practices, values, beliefs, language, art, and traditions of a group of people shaped by history, geography, and lived experience and passed down through generations.	Culture is living and changing. It is not frozen in the past.	What happens to a culture when it is colonized, marginalized, or assimilated into a dominant culture?
Challenge	A systemic or personal obstacle that requires resilience, strategy, and effort to overcome, often shaped by social, political, or economic forces beyond an individual’s control.	Some challenges are personal. Others are created by systems, like racism, poverty, or language barriers.	When is a challenge an individual problem and when is it a systemic one?
Language	A structured system of communication—words, sounds, and symbols—that a community uses to express ideas, preserve culture, and pass knowledge across generations.	Language is not just how we talk—it is how we think, remember, and belong.	Who decides which language has the most value in a society?
Belonging	The psychological and social experience of feeling accepted, valued, and seen within a community or space.	Belonging is connected to power—some people are made to feel they belong, while others are excluded.	What systems or structures make certain people feel like they do not belong?
Assimilation	The process by which a person or group adopts the language, customs, and values of a dominant culture—sometimes by choice, sometimes by force.	Ashti had to learn English and adapt to American culture to survive and succeed. Was that a free choice?	What is the difference between choosing to assimilate and being forced to?
Refugee	A person who has been forced to flee their home country due to war, persecution, or violence, and who cannot safely return.	Refugees do not choose to leave—they are forced to. This distinction matters when we talk about immigration policy.	How does society’s treatment of refugees reflect its values?