Immigration
With increased media attention surrounding immigration, family separations, and asylum seekers, your young ones may have questions regarding this complex topic. So let’s start this conversation now and help provide your young one with an empathic and social-emotional based understanding of an immigrant experience through story and theatre!
Starting the Conversation
In this video, Teaching Artist Sindy Isabel Castro creates a framework for grown-ups to begin, or continue, a conversation about immigration with young people. Sindy begins by defining two key terms: immigrant and immigration and talking about the history of immigration in America. Then, she reads Dreamers by Yuyi Morales and explores a family’s story of immigrating to America.
Next Steps
Are you ready to continue this conversation?
With your young person, jot down a list of the people, issues and topics you are thinking about when the subject of immigration comes up.
After watching the video, talk with your young person about immigration. Try asking them the following questions:
What is Immigration?
Why do people immigrate?
Who is an immigrant/ who can be an immigrant?/ What makes someone an immigrant?/ What does an immigrant look like?
What challenges do folks who immigrate to America face?
Resource Guide
This guide is designed for grown-ups to continue their education and grow their resources
Activity Guide
This guide is designed for grown-ups to share with their young people to continue the conversation and practice tools/themes shared in the video.
Add To Your Library
If you enjoyed the book featured in the video, add it to your family library! By purchasing the book through our Bookshop.org affiliate links, you’ll be supporting local bookstores and NYCCT’s work.

Start More Conversations
NYCCT’s Start the Conversation series has covered topics like race, civic duty, immigration, re-emerging from COVID-19 and more.
Future Conversations
NYCCT wants to hear from you! Is there a topic you’d like to see covered on Start the Conversation? Let us know!