Key Terms

Before beginning the lesson, post the Key Terms where the class can see them:

Ask students to read each definition and provide either an example of how they’ve seen that term used or, if they haven’t seen it in use, an example of how they think it could be used in a sentence. At the conclusion of the lesson, reflection questions will allow students a second opportunity to use the Key Terms.

Assimilation: a process in which a cultural minority group begins to take on characteristics of the surrounding cultural majority.

Citizenship: The relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and is in turn entitled to its protection.

Colossus: a statue that is much bigger than life size (eg: Colossus of Rhodes—a statue of the Greek God, Helios, erected at the gates of the ancient city of Rhodes).

D-Day (also known as the Invasion of Normandy): the Allied invasion of the North coast of Nazi-occupied France on June 6, 1944; considered the initial operation towards liberating Europe from Nazi rule during World War II.

Detain: keep from proceeding; hold back.

Ethnocentrism: the attitude that one’s own group, ethnicity, or nationality is superior to others.  

Exile: the state of being barred from one’s native country, typically for political or punitive reasons.

Homeland: a person’s or people’s native land.

Immigrant: a person who comes to live permanently or semi-permanently in a foreign country.

Intersectionality: the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism) combine, overlap, and/or intersect, especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups.

Naturalization: The legal process by which a foreign citizen becomes a citizen of a new country.

Political Cartoon: a drawing containing a commentary expressing the artist’s political opinion; generally portraying current issues or events.

Prejudice: preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. A negative opinion or judgment formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge.

Racism: the belief that humans can be divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called “races”; that there is a link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural and behavioral features; and that some races are innately superior to others.

Redlining:  the systematic denial of various services to residents of specific, often racially associated, neighborhoods or communities, either explicitly or through the selective raising of prices. While the best known examples of redlining have involved denial of real estate and financial services such as banking or insurance, other services such as healthcare or even supermarkets have been denied to residents.

Steerage: a section of inferior accommodations in a passenger ship for travelers paying the lowest fares.

Xenophobia:  The fear, distrust, or hatred of strangers, foreigners, or anything perceived as foreign or different.