Grades 3–5

This lesson can be taught over a 3-week period, but most activities can be taught in 1–2 class periods.

Lesson Introduction:
The focus for students in this age group is on comparing different immigration experiences. Students will compare and contrast the stories of immigrants arriving in the past to recent immigrants. They will also analyze the differences between immigrants arriving through Ellis Island versus Angel Island.

Activity 1: Ellis Island Interactive Tour 1–2 days
Explain to students that except for Native Americans, all people living in the United States have an immigrant past. Over the last few centuries, millions of people have made their way to America — and hundreds of thousands still come each year. Some, like slaves, came unwillingly. Most were drawn by the promise of greater freedom and opportunity.

Write the word "Immigration" on the board, as well as the definition. Give students various examples of immigration and use personal stories if possible. Invite students to share their own examples, ideas, or questions about immigration. Also, allow students to share information about their own families' ancestral countries of origin and write all responses on the board.

Discuss events in the history of our country or of the world that are related to immigration. List these on the chalkboard.

Write "Ellis Island," on the board and point out that it was an important part in the history of American immigration.

Find Ellis Island on a map of the New York area and display the map in the classroom. Invite students to take the interactive tour of Ellis Island. Hand out the KWL Graphic Organizer (PDF), and have students fill it out. Then during classroom discussion, have students create a list of things that the class wants to find out.

Ask students to write down at least two new questions they have about Ellis Island. Check Planning the Lesson for a list of Related Books and Background Knowledge for a list of websites about Ellis Island. As a class, brainstorm ways students might answer their own questions.

Activity 2: Relive a Boy's Journey 1–2 days
Tell students that they are going to learn about a young immigrant to the United States who came through Ellis Island. Introduce the photo story on Seymour Rechtzeit. Provide time for students to read Seymour's story on their own or in pairs at the computer. You may wish to print out a copy of the story for individual reading. Encourage students to think about the questions at the end of each chapter of Seymour's story. Have students write their responses and share them with the class. Ask students to recall the reasons Seymour came to the United States. Have students continue with their KWL Graphic Organizer to gather more information on Ellis Island and the immigrant experience.

Activity 3: Angel Island: Meet Li Keng Wong 1–2 days
Ask students about other ways immigrants could come into the United States. Encourage them to think of land and air routes. Ask them if they can determine what route an immigrant might take to the United States. As a comparison to Ellis Island, introduce the Angel Island experience of Chinese immigrant, Li Keng Wong.
Individually or in small groups, have students read Li Keng Wong's story, continuing to fill out their KWL Graphic Organizer. You may wish to print out a copy of the story for individual reading. Encourage students to think about the questions at the end of each chapter of Li Keng Wong's story.
When you come back as a class, see if any of the questions have been answered and if more have been added. Have a compare and contrast session between Angel Island and Ellis Island. See Discussion Starters below for some possible questions.

Activity 4: Meet Three Immigrants today 1 day
Ask volunteers to name the year Ellis Island ceased operation as an immigrant processing center. (1954) Point out that although the center is closed, immigrants continue coming into the country. Then ask students to read the stories of the three young immigrants either online or on printed sheets. As a class, discuss the differences between their stories and the stories of Seymour Rechtzeit and Li Keng Wong. Have them note any important comparisons on their KWL charts.

Activity 5: Explore Immigration 2 days
Explore Who Lives in America? Using the Asian American Statistics, look over the various charts and tables with students. Ask volunteers to describe the kind of information each chart is showing. Have them support findings with examples from each chart.

• Ask students to compare two graphs that give the same information. How are they similar and different?
• Have students state the advantages and disadvantages to using each one.

Divide the class into groups to take part in the Make Your Own Immigration Graph activity. Read aloud the page with students before assigning the activity. Then assign a different graphic for each group: pie chart, table, bar graph, line chart, two-column chart, and so on. Following directions in the activity, invite students to create a graphic organizer showing the class's immigrant history. Then have students investigate and discuss the following questions, among others, about the immigrant history of your area.

• Was your area primarily settled by people from one country?
• Why would immigrants have chosen your region in America?

Activity 6: Writer's Workshop: Oral History Scrapbook 4–5 days
In the first week of immigration studies, tell students that they will be recording and writing the oral history of someone who immigrated to the United States. Encourage them to start thinking about a subject for their oral history. As needed, help students find individuals to interview. Schedule a field trip to a nursing home, literacy center, or other location where students can meet immigrants and conduct their interview, or assign the actual interviewing as out-of-class homework.

Visit the Oral History Scrapbook with students. Choose a good example of oral history writing to read aloud. Review the Writing Rubric in the Writer's Workshop with students. Then ask students how the piece fulfills the requirements of a good oral history. Write their responses on the chalkboard. Have students search for other examples of oral histories from the scrapbook that fulfill the criteria. Print out their favorites.

Have students share one favorite oral history from the scrapbook. Challenge them to talk about three points that make the piece a good sample of the genre. Remind students to use the Writing Rubric for Oral Histories from the Writer's Workshop to inform their discussions. Encourage a group discussion about what makes an oral history good, and write those responses on the board. This will provide students with a list of things to think about when revising.

Pre-Writing: Students should begin working on their interview questions for the Oral History Scrapbook. Ask them to think about information they may have learned from the previous activities, have them look at their filled out KWL Graphic Organizer, and how that might help them come up with questions. Have students submit several questions for approval.

Visit the Writer's Workshop for pre-writing tips as well as for mini-lessons on quotation marks and note-taking to assist students with skills relevant to writing an oral history.

Drafting: Check in with students who are working on the Oral History Scrapbook. Visit the Writer's Workshop for tips on the drafting stage of their papers. Discuss effective ways for students to write their immigrant oral histories. For example, they might use the first-person voice, letting the immigrants tell their own tales.

Revising: Students should continue working on their submissions for this activity. Have students visit the Writer's Workshop for tips on the revising stage of their papers.

Editing and /activities/writing/review.asp?topic=Immigration: Students should continue working on their submissions for the Oral History Scrapbook. Have them visit the Writer's Workshop for tips on the editing stage of their papers. When students are finished with the editing stage, have them begin the Review process, and submit their final oral history for publication.

Extend the Lesson with these activities:

Cross Curricular Extensions

Create a Class Quilt
Celebrate the cultural backgrounds of your students with a class quilt. Distribute 8-inch squares of white or light-colored construction paper. Using markers or collage materials, have students create an image on their quilt square that represents their family culture. Encourage students to use diverse materials and themes such as photographs, food packaging, or recipes. Reinforce their squares with cardboard, if necessary. When all squares are ready, use a hole punch to make holes around the edges. Lace the quilt panels together with yarn. Display the finished quilt and invite students to explain their panels to the class.

Classroom Geography
Use this activity to visually identify connections students have to other countries in the world. Display a large map of the world or create one using an overhead projector. Have students draw self-portraits or bring in photos of themselves. Place the pictures around the border of the map. Have each student stretch a piece of yarn from his or her picture to a country or region where his or her ancestors lived, and secure it with push pins. You may want to color code the yarn by country, continent, or world region. Take time to discuss the finished map.

Hall of Fame
Invite the class to create a Hall of Fame of immigrants who have made important contributions. Guide students to search for biographies of the individuals using reference materials from the library or from online sources. For their Hall of Fame submission, each student should provide a photograph or other likeness of the person, identify birthplace and when he or she came to America, and explain in a paragraph his or her accomplishments.

Music from around the World
Work with students to investigate examples of music and literature from other lands that have influenced American writing and music.

Social Studies
Have students investigate words, foods, sports, and fashion that have their origins in other countries.

Discussion Starters:

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