Ellis Island Experience Teacher Notes

This field trip is intended to be used after the introduction to your immigration unit, but before your class will take their simulated field trip to Ellis Island. You are certainly welcome to use it in any manner, but here are just a few suggestions for management.

• Timing - I would use this AFTER you have chosen your four "families" (Italian, German, Irish, Polish). Students should have done a little background reading and activities then and should have a framework for understanding the immigration experience.

• Group management - with the mobile lab, the online portion of this trip could be done in approximately one hour. I know that most of your "family" sizes have 4-6 children in them. I would have students work within their families, but put 2-3 students at a computer.

• Teacher Support - I will be training parents in working with this activity. For the online part of this, I would recommend having 4 adults. I would be happy to be one, you would be there as well as a paraprofessional and we can have at least one parent. Adults could help read parts that might be difficult for students and provide any assistance in taking down the ideas.

• Worksheet - see the attached worksheet to be filled in during the online portion.

• Letter Writing: This could be done as a writing assignment during class or for homework. However, I would love to see the drafts of the letters typed by students onto the AlphaSmarts and then put onto the computers. Third grade computer skills include an introduction to the spell check function. This is a perfect assignment for that activity.

• Final copies of the letters: These letters would not only give you assessment opportunities, but they could also serve as a help to students as they plan their dress, props, and demeanor for the simulated Ellis Island trip.

• Rubric: You may use this rubric with your students to help them assess how they did on this activity.