|
|
|
Building
a Background
Why did they come?
What was it
like on Ellis Island?
The Family Tree
Ancestor Research
Ask an Expert
Remember...we don't order the
tools and then try to find a way to use them...we have an instructional
objective in mind first, then we ask how that technology can enhance the
instruction, enrich the content and extend the student's curiosity.
The teachers wanted their students to learn about the immigration movement in the early 1900's, and how their ancestors came to the U.S. at that time.
They also wanted to give the students experience in researching their family and their cultural background.
First an overview
of immigration in the 1900's. I read them the book, Watch
the Stars Come Out by Riki Levinson.
(The teachers also watched the Reading Rainbow Series Tape by the same name.)
Next to find what they
already knew about immigration...we came to an understanding of the
definition of the term Immigrant.
So that we were all on the same page, we defined an immigrant to include
anyone who at anytime for any reason comes to the United States.
Why did they come to this
country?
A laser disc titled Immigration by Pine Ridge
Publications includes wonderful narratives by several immigrants as
they crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
The website
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/index.htm
When they
click on the name of the person, they connect to a journal written by that
person describing their immigrant experience.
Students can expand their
own journal writing by registering with KID JOURNAL, an
online journal that sends out daily email prompts to the student.
http://www.kidzjournal.com/...where
every kid has a story to tell
What was
life like when
they arrived in this country?
WEB ACTIVITY...a
wonderful way to compare and contrast the experiences of two groups of
people is by using a VENN diagram. Using a word
processor students can use the Drawing toolbar, and the oval shape
tool to make two circles. By clicking on the tool and moving your cursor
over the desktop, the cursor becomes a crosshair. When you click your mouse
that is where the circle will start, then by holding the mouse down and
dragging you refine the size and shape. Notice that when you place one
circle over the other, you can't see the entire bottom circle...here is a
trick, just highlight the top circle, go to the paint can on the Drawing
toolbar and click on No Fill.
Students then compare two different immigrant experiences, those of
the Ellis Island Immigrants (East Coast) and those of the Angel Island
Immigrants (West Coast).
Students research the two topics on the WWW using a student search
engine.
Some sites I suggest are:
Yahooligans http://www.yahooligans.com
KidsClick http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/
Ask Jeeves for Kids http://www.ajkids.com/
Super Snooper http://www.supersnooper.com
AOL NetFind for Kids http://www.aol.com/netfind/kids/
Dizzy Duckling http://www.dizzyduckling
You might suggest questions as they search:
1. When you arrived on the Island, what was the first thing you saw?
2. How did you feel when you first left the ship?
3. What happened to you as you left the ship?
4. What people did you meet as you landed on the island?
5. How long did it take for the authorities to "process" you?
6. What types of things did they do?
7. What types of questions did they ask?
8. How long were you there?
9. What types of jobs were you planning on doing after you settling in your new home?
Lastly have them bring up the Venn Diagram, SAVE AS, and then their name, and begin to fill in the circles with the information they get from the sites. They can Multi-task also, remember, just minimize the Venn Diagram and bring up the Web Page...find the info...minimize the Web Page and bring up the Venn Diagram and type in the info!
Who Were These Immigrants?
The Family Tree...More than once I had to come up with a new way to do a family tree to help students trace the background of their parents and grandparents. A Technology solution is to use a program called
"Inspiration" (www.inspiration.com)
The program allows you to create "Trees", or "Webs like the one below with the simple click of a few buttons. The diagram can also be displayed in outline form.
What was in like
in the country my ancestors came from?
Doing
Research
Have students start with a "Graphic Organizer" using "Inspiration"
Going to the Media Center...
Now have the students
take their diagram with them to the media center to help focus their research!
TOP
Publishing What They've Done...
How about letting them make an INTERACTIVE POWERPOINT (go to the Enhance Section of this Site for the Tutorial)
By
linking the research to sites on the web, any student can work through the
activity in a simulated,
and
SAFE, web environment!
Ask
an EXPERT!
When students wanted to know how
many people came into the United States between 1905 and 1915, or how many
immigrants come into this country everyday...
Ask a Census Expert... http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/main/www/ask.html
There are experts on the web waiting to answer student questions on just about any topic...
Print
Resources
All book
icons are connected directly to AMAZON.com!
Coming to America: The Story of Immigration by Betsy Maestro, 1996
Do People Grow on Family Trees? Genealogy for Kids and Other Beginners by Ira Wolfman, 1991
Ellis
Island: New Hope in a New Land by William Jay Jacobs, 1990
Grandfather's
Journey by Allen Say, 1993 (Caldecott)
How My Family Lives in America by Susan Kuklin, 1992
If
Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island by Ellen Levine, 1993
Immigrant
Kids by Russell Freedman, 1980
The
Orphan of Ellis Island: A Time Travel Adventure by Elvira Woodruff, 1997
Leaving for America by Roslyn Bresnick-Perry, 1992
The Long Way to a New Land by Joan Sandin, 1991
The Long Way Westward (sequel) by Joan Sandin, 1989
The Story of the Statue of Liberty by Betsy and Giulio Maestro, 1989
Letters
from Rifka by Karen Hesse, 1993
They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson, 1940 (Caldecott)
The
Belonging Place by Jean Little, 1997
WEB
Resources
Take
an interactive tour around Ellis Island
http://teacher.scholastic.com/immigrat/ellis/index.htm
An
eight year old polish boy travels to America in 1920
http://teacher.scholastic.com/immigrat/seymour/index.htm
Find out who lives in America
http://teacher.scholastic.com/immigrat/facts.htm
Angel Island, a description of Chinese immigration into the United States
through California
http://www.angel-island.com/
Get the facts about the first explorers to arrive in the Americas and
information on the early Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia colonies
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Way/9301/HistoryDay.html
Information and insights into what was happening between 1928 and 1971, when
more than a million immigrants passed through Pier 21, their entry to Canada.
http://pier21.ns.ca/immigrat.html
Learn more about the history and upcoming documentary on Ellis Island presented
by the History Channel. This site on Ellis Island also includes audio
clips of immigrants who passed through on the way to a new life
http://www.historychannel.com/ellisisland/index2.html
