Hey,

today we first talked about traveling abroad and settling in a foreign country as a warm up. Here is what we said:

Living abroad and travelling to foreign countries:

Léna would like to go to Quebec and to settle there permanently. She thinks Canada has the advantages of the USA without the drawbacks.
As for Julien, he would love to travel to many destinations, but maybe not to settle permanently abroad. He would like to be a globe-trotter.

Then we continued talking about the text "Why the caged bird sings". Here is what we said:

HOW TO EXPRESS OBLIGATION 

It was an obligation for her...
She had to go abroad...
It was necessary for her to...
It was mandatory for her to...
She was forced to...
She has no other choice but to... 

ATTENTION: MUST N'A PAS DE FORME PASSEE -> HAD TO

Ana has mixed feelings. She is torn apart between her previous life in Mexico (with her family) and the new life she has learned to enjoy in the US.
She must feel ashamed / guilty to like this new life.

Finally, we corrected the end of the translation. Here is the correction:

Using cash wired by Ana and her siblings, her family is building a sprawling two-story structure that overshadows the cinder-block shacks of her neighbors:

Avec l'argent envoyé par Ana et ses frères et soeurs, sa famille construit une structure à un étage qui s'étale et fait de l'ombre aux cabanes en parpaing de ses voisins.

The new home is already filled with plush sofas, stereos and television sets:

Il y a déjà dans la nouvelle maison des canapés somptueux, des chaines hifi, et des postes de télévisions partout.

As in many Mexican barrios, her family's conspicuous consumption has bred deep resentment:

Comme dans beaucoup de "barrios" mexicains, la consommation excessive de sa famille a provoqué une profonde rancoeur.

Poorer kids are banned from the house out of fear that they would steal toys and food:

On interdit l'entrée de la maison aux enfants les plus pauvres de peur qu'ils ne volent des jouets et de la nourriture. 

NB: attention! une structure passive en anglais se traduira souvent par un "on..." en français. Dès que vous voyez un verbe où quelqu'un subit une action, vous devez penser à cette solution.

HW: vocabulary test.