My students found the stories compelling and easy to follow. Each story began and ended with either an actor or a present-day character reflecting on that person's life. This added valuable meaning and context. For example, some characters reflected on their life as if they were telling their stories when they were older. However, some stories were told by real people from the present.

For example, Joe Mah's story was told by his granddaughter; John Ware's story was told by a Black immigrant. Both reflected on the lives of the people whose story they were telling. I liked this because it linked past experiences in history with the experiences of people today.

My students liked these stories because they were true. They helped them understand what many people must have experienced in Canada's past. I also believe that watching these videos may increase our students' understandings about what their fellow students, especially immigrants, are experiencing.

I would recommend doing some pre-teaching before showing these videos to help students develop the context. They could be used around Canada Day and could be followed by discussions about racism and cross-cultural tolerance, as well as immigration issues. If introduced as educational materials, I believe they could be very useful for literacy and E.S.L. classrooms.