Brief Description
Using the links provided, students explore the immigrant experience at Ellis Island, New York, at the turn of the century, and answer questions that challenge them to use thinking skills from various levels of Bloom's taxonomy.
Objectives
Students immerse themselves in the Ellis Island immigrant experience, form emotional connections, and produce writing that demonstrates the depth of the experience.
Keywords
Bloom's taxonomy, Ellis Island, immigration
Materials Needed
- pictures students have brought in of relatives
- computer with Internet access, printer, and scanner
- immigrant pictures from the Ellis Island Medal of Honor Index and Society pages
- an LDC projector
- the video An American Tail
- TV and VCR
- copies of the Internet activities from the Web site And the Streets Are Paved With Gold
- writing paper
- pens or pencils
Lesson Plan
The links provided at And the Streets Are Paved with Gold provide students with a virtual tour of Ellis Island, New York. The online assignment, in Sampler format, guides students to information about Ellis Island. Students are required to answer questions from various levels of Bloom's taxonomy, as well as produce a short piece of writing demonstrating their depth of understanding of the immigrant experience.
Introduction to Project:
- To whet the students' appetite for learning about the immigrant experience, have students bring in photos of relatives who emigrated from another country. Scan and copy the photos and use them to create a classroom bulletin board.
- Project the pictures from the Ellis Island Medal of Honor site onto a screen, and discuss such questions as these:
- What nationalities are represented?
- How might the immigrants be feeling?
- Why might they have left their homelands?
- What might the immigrants' dreams for the future be?
- Show the first section of the animated movie An American Tail, in which Fievel's father explains his dream of going to America -- where there are no cats! Run the movie to the point at which the mice family arrives at Ellis Island.
- Distribute the Internet activities from And the Streets Are Paved With Gold. Have students explore the links and answer the questions in complete sentences.
Assessment
Evaluate students' writing for complete sentences and correct punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. Evaluate students' answers to determine how well they understand the material.
Lesson Plan Source
Brenda Dyck(bdyck@masters.ab.ca), Master's Academy and College, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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