In this unit, students will visit Ellis Island sites to learn about the patterns and history of immigration in this country. These explorations will serve as a personal link for students to the historical importance of immigration in United States history. Read and discuss selected resources about children and immigration.
Children develop an understanding of the concept of immigration and reasons why people immigrate.
Immigration Explorations, Part 1 . Organize students into research groups to visit sites on immigration that were created by other children. These sites will provide models for students to complete their own research. Using the criteria they developed earlier, students begin to collect and synthesize information on immigration. Having finished their primary and secondary research, students write a series of journal entries, from the perspective of an immigrant traveling to the United States via Ellis Island.