Setting up the Activity in your Classroom:

Depending on the grade level and maturity level of each class, activities can be facilitated as independent work, collaborative group work, or whole class instruction.

If a computer is available for each student, guide students to the activities either through printed URLs on handouts or on the board.

If you are working in a lab, set up the computers to be on the desired Web site as students walk into class. If there are fewer computers than students, group the students by reading level. Assign each student a role: a "driver" who navigates the web, a timer who keeps the group on task, and a note taker. If there are more than three students per computer, you can add roles like a team leader, a team reporter, etc.

If you are working in a learning station in your classroom, break out your class into different groups. Have rotating groups working on the computer (s), reading printed background information, holding smaller group discussions, writing first drafts of their scrapbook, etc. Details described further in the Teaching sections.

You may also want to create a special display for your classroom library in honor of Immigration. Check out our Recommended Booklist for suggested print materials. Be sure to keep a shelf available for students' oral history scrapbooks!

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Stimulate Background Knowledge with these related links:

The American Immigrant Wall of Honor
http://www.wallofhonor.com
Visitors explore their family's genealogy in America, or the opportunity to pay tribute to them by having their name(s) added to the wall. Links to other sites offering genealogy, ethnicity, and educational resources are provided.

American Immigration
http://www.bergen.org/AAST/Projects/Immigration/
Two tenth-grade students, Jonathan Lee and Robert Siemborski, created this site as part of an American History project. It traces the history of immigration, both legal and illegal, to this country from 1607 to the present.

Angel Island
http://www.angelisland.org
Angel Island was a chief port for Chinese immigrating to California and other parts of the U.S. The site provides information concerning the expansion and achievements of Chinese immigrants to the nation.

Ellis Island
http://www.internationalchannel.com/education/ellis/
This site on the history and importance of Ellis Island includes background information, an oral history project, and even excerpts from an immigrant cookbook. Audio clips with remembrances of people who immigrated through Ellis Island are available in the WAV format here.

Letters from an Immigrant
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/4074/starkege.htm
A series of letters published between 1890-1911, are a good record by members of the Geerdts family. The letters offer a look into the daily lives of a German immigrant family living in America's Midwest and the relations they kept with each other when separated. The letters are shown in their original German as well as in English. Links to family photographs are provided.

The National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/stli/mainmenu.htm
Learn the history and other facts about Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.

On the Lower East Side
http://tenant.net/Community/LES/contents.html
Photographs and primary documents of the era, such as descriptions of child labor and immigrant families, are at this site about conditions on New York's Lower East Side around the turn of the century.

The Portuguese Historical Museum
http://www.serve.com/phsc/index.shtml
This online museum focuses on Portuguese immigrants who settled in California. The purpose of this museum is to tell the story of the immigrants, their hopes and dreams, their achievements, culture and heritage. Links to other sites with Portuguese content.

The Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation
http://www.ellisisland.org/
Visit the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation's award-winning web site to learn more about Ellis Island and the American Immigration Experience. Find out what you can see at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, interesting books you can read on immigration and genealogy, and lots of other fascinating Web sites you can connect with. Or search online to see if your family's name is on the American Immigrant Wall of the Honor .

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm
This site provides an in-depth look at the INS. Its services include assistance and direction on applying for U.S. citizenship, a description of the regulations for naturalization eligibility, requirements for immigration employment, and a brief history of the INS.

The Utah Education Network: Ellis Island
http://www.uen.org/utahlink/activities/view_activity.cgi?activity_id=3810
This site gives links to several websites but also includes many questions that students can answer while exploring the links. These questions cover a variety of topics from comparing immigration patterns through time to the history of Ellis Island.

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Graphic Organizer:

Reading Comprehension: KWL: Grades 4–8
This Reading Comprehension: KWL (PDF) helps students organize information about each aspect of immigration. The lesson culminates with a presentation of their researched material either in a written report or oral presentation. See Assessment and Evaluation.

Source: The Big Book of Reproducible Graphic Organizers by Jennifer Jacobson and Dottie Raymer; Illustrated by Amy Redmond

Organizer Patterns: Organizational Outline: Grades 6–8
This Organization Outline (PDF) helps students organize information as they research an aspect of immigration to the United States. The organizer allows students to gather and organize facts in order to write a clearer, more accurate research paper. See Assessment and Evaluation.

Source: Graphic Organizers by Karen Bromley, Linda Irwin-De Vitis, and Marcia Modlo

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