Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American History

Perhaps you are like me and want to do far more than simply improve students’ reading skills. You want to teach with engaging, relevant texts that will leave you and your students changed and empowered. However, as a teacher of adult English language learners (ELLs), I have found that it is often difficult to find original novels for these students that contain high-interest, nonpatronizing content, yet are accessible for their level of English. Luckily, there is Hampton-Brown’s inZone book series, which supports ELLs in their development of reading skills while providing high-interest topics that are relevant to students’ lives. InZone books come in a vast array of reading levels and employ a multifaceted approach to providing the support that students need in order to engage in sustained individual reading. Each page includes boldface words and phrases that are explained and defined in simpler terms in footnotes. This feature allows students to effectively build their vocabulary without the interruption of using a dictionary. Additionally, comprehension checks are placed throughout the novels, which encourage the use of reading strategies such as inference, prediction, and asking questions. Another valuable feature of these books is the student journals that can be downloaded from the publisher’s web site at no cost. The journals provide many writing prompts, discussion questions, graphic organizers, and vocabulary activities that students can use in literature circles, enabling them to become more independent in discussing literature. Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American History, by award-winning journalist Jorge Ramos, is one inZone book that