Immigration and Ellis Island BY Jean Rice

Immigration and Ellis Island BY Jean Rice

Think About… • What does the term “immigrant” mean? • Why did people want to leave their homeland and come to America? • Describe what the journey to America may have been like. • What was Ellis Island? Where is it located? • What did immigrants experience upon their arrival in America?

Use the KWL document in Kidspiration (pictured below) to record information on Immigration and Ellis Island. Print your completed KWL doc and be prepared to share with the class.

What does the term “immigrant” mean? Wikipedia says : Immigrants are people who move to a new country. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigrants_(disambiguation)

Why did people want to leave their homeland and come to America? • Promises of freedom and opportunity for a better life • They may have been mistreated in their homeland because of religious beliefs or political ideas • They heard that in America success could be found through hard work

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/i?pp/ils:@field(NUMBER+@band(cph+3a13598)):displayType=1:m856sd=cph:m856sf=3a13598http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/i?pp/ils:@field(NUMBER+@band(cph+3a13598)):displayType=1:m856sd=cph:m856sf=3a13598

Describe what the journey to America may have been like for immigrants. With a partner, use the Photo Analysis Word document (on the Y drive) to record your thoughts about the previous photo. The document looks like this

Quote from an Immigrant… "Oh God, I was sick. Everybody was sick. I don't even want to remember anything about that old boat. One night I prayed to God that it would go down because the waves were washing over it. I was that sick, I didn't care if it went down or not. And everybody else was the same way." -Bertha Devlin, an Irish immigrant in 1923 http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Eivirt.html

Between 1892 and 1954 more than 12 million immigrants came to America through Ellis Island.What was Ellis Island?Ellis Island is located in New York Harbor. The island is named after Samuel Ellis, whose family owned the island from 1770-1808. In 1808 the US bought the island. In 1890 Ellis Island was chosen for the first Federal Immigration Station. The government built large buildings on the island where immigrants waited before they were permitted to enter the rest of the United States. Millions of immigrants went through the station. Degezelle, Terri. American Symbols Ellis Island. Print.Where is Ellis Island?

Immigrants waiting to be transferred http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a13599

What was the Immigration Station? http://sydaby.eget.net/swe/pics/ellis_island_l.jpg

Quote from an Immigrant… "I remember my grandfather always telling me how he knew he could be rich in America because he saw riches in the architecture of Ellis Island. He felt that if they let the poor in such a gorgeous hall then life in this country was just." -Rosanne Welch, granddaughter of Giuseppe Italiano, and Italian immigrant in 1904 http://students.umf.maine.edu/yestrajm/public.www/Immigration%20Website/ny.jpg http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Eivirt.html

Recollections from Immigrants http://www.history.com/content/ellis-island/ellis-island-video

Ranger Stories…a window into the lives of immigrants http://www.nyharborparks.org/podcasts/rs-ellis.html

What did immigrants experience upon their arrival in America? Landing at Ellis Island http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a14957

Immigrants just arrived from Foreign Countrieshttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Ellis_Island_arrivals.jpg

U.S. inspectors examining eyes of immigrants http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a10036

Doctor's inspection of suspects for skin diseases http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c16222

Final discharge from Ellis Islandhttp://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b39451

Detention pen--on roof of main building where immigrants held for deportation could go in fine weather http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c16223

Arriving at Ellis Island http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsc.00157

My grandparents’ citizenship documents—they came through Ellis Island from Czechoslovakia.

Let’s find out more… Virtual Tour of Ellis Island http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/stop1.htm

Watch this video entitledEMIGRANTS LANDING AT ELLIS ISLAND “Shows a large open barge loaded with people of every nationality, who have just arrived from Europe, disembarking at Ellis Island, N.Y. A most interesting and typical scene.” Click the photos and then choose one of the formats to view (RealMedia, MPEG or Quicktime) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.m2a10987

This interactive map dated March 2009 shows where immigrants of various descent settled across the US between 1880 and 2000. What can you learn about immigrants from this map?Interactive Map

This link provides a first-hand account of the thoughts and feelings of immigrants as they arrived in America. Click the American flag to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFz_UVjygG4&feature=related

What is the connection between these documents? http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b00563 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbpe.07902500

Project:Immigrant Postcard

Take home the questionnaire pictured below. Complete it with your parents’ help and bring it back to school.

Create a postcard in Publisher that shows where your ancestors came from and the mode of transportation they used to get to America.

The template you will need can be found on the Y drive. Your finished product should look something like this: Print your postcard on cardstock in color!

People continue to immigrate to America today. Click this linkhttp://chcaestech.wikispaces.com/ to learn why one of our CHCA parents, Mrs. Burk, came to live in the United States from her homeland, Brazil.

Let’s Think Again… • What does the term “immigrant” mean? • Why did people want to leave their homeland and come to America? • Describe what the journey to America may have been like. • What was Ellis Island? Where is it located? • What did immigrants experience upon their arrival in America?

Immigration and Ellis Island BY Jean Rice