Students receive and read electronic reviews of their essays. Responses from reviewers will be used as basis for class discussions and further research. In this unit, students will conduct primary and secondary research to learn more about their cultural and ethnic heritage. 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 John Schick's Virtual Ellis Island Museum. While students visit the site they should evaluate what type of research students carried out to create their site, how they structured the site, and what sort of information and graphics they included. The list of criteria students develop from their research will guide them in conducting their research and constructing their own site. Using the criteria they developed earlier, students begin to conduct oral histories of family members to learn about their cultural and ethnic heritage.