Coming to America

Through this set of three lessons about Ellis Island, class members will learn about why immigrants came to the United States, find out about the difficulties that went along with coming to America, become familiar with the immigration...

Everyone comes from somewhere. An interdisciplinary lesson on Elvira Woodruff's The Orphan of Ellis Island includes discussion starter and writing prompts for the novel, as well as a graphic organizer to help learners begin their own...

Imagine being interrogated by someone you don't know about minute details of your life. Imagine that the interrogator is matching your responses to the answers of other family members. Imagine how you would feel knowing that the...

Family and friendship are two very important themes of the historical fiction novel The Orphan of Ellis Island by Elvira Woodruff. From video clips and writing prompts to reader's theater and family interviews, this resource provides...

The Buttonhook by Mary Jo Salter is the focus of a unit that explores the immigration experience to Ellis Island. First, scholars bring in an artifact that represents their heritage. A group-exercise allows them to share and discuss...

Luther Powell immigrated to the United States to live the American dream—and create a better life for his son, four-star general Colin Powell. Elementary academics look at documents, such as, ship records to understand the immigration...

An enlightening activity focuses on the life of Mercedes Valle, an immigrant from Ecuador. Scholars analyze ships and census records to understand the life of Mercedes Valle. In addition, they participate in a group discussion and...

We are all immigrants to this country and the study of immigration can help students connect to history in a personal way. Students will listen to audio clips from the Ellis Island web site, discuss the treatment of immigrants in the...

Everyone is an immigrant in their own way. Young scholars read historic documents to understand one woman's journey from Germany to the United States. The activity uses a mixture of text, discussion, and written prompts to help...

This lesson helps learners compare and contrast the stories of immigrants from decades ago to those of recent immigrants. It also compares the differences between immigrants' experiences at Ellis Island and Angel Island.