LESSON:
Reading a Photograph
GRADE LEVELS:
Grade 4 to Grade 7
DURATION:
1 to 2 class periods. This lesson plan was designed to be customized to your learning standards and to meet the needs of your students. Complete the whole lesson or select parts to use that best fit your learning standards and time.
OVERVIEW:
Students will be able to develop the skills needed to read and analyze a photograph as well as other primary sources. Through this skill development, students will be able to draw connections, using photographs, between the Immigration Act of 1891, the Industrial Revolution, and the need for a medical inspection at Ellis Island and other immigration stations. Students will be able to empathize with conditions experienced by the immigrant work force.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able:
- to develop the skills to “read” a photograph for information about the past.
- to develop the understandings of the connection between the Immigration Act of 1891, the Industrial Revolution, and the medical inspection process at Ellis Island
- to empathize with the conditions of immigrants in the workforce in the early 1900s
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
- What was the process of immigration through Ellis Island, during the height of immigration?
- What is the connection between the Immigration Act of 1891, the Industrial Revolution and the medical inspection process at Ellis Island?
- How are primary sources used in order to better understand historical topics?
- How does the screening process of immigrants link to the American expectations of discipline and cooperation in the workforce?
MATERIALS:
- Reading a Photograph Lesson Plan Packet PDF
- Photo Viewing Sheet (in lesson plan packet)
- Background Information for Educators about Ellis Island PDF
- Immigration Resources Bibliography PDF
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