LESSON:
Simulation: The Process of Passing through Ellis Island
GRADE LEVELS:
Grade 8 to Grade 12
DURATION:
2 to 3 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 experience what it would have been like for an immigrant coming through Ellis Island. Through this simulation, the students get to experience the different roles that individuals had on Ellis Island, which led it to be the busiest immigration station in America. At the end of this activity, the students will be able to reflect on their classroom experience as immigrants and be able to place themselves in the footsteps of the immigrants who came through Ellis Island.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able:
- to understand the basic steps in the inspection process of immigrants at Ellis Island.
- to explain how the screening process of immigrants is linked to the expectations of discipline and cooperation in the American industrial workforce.
- to empathize with the immigrant experience at Ellis Island.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
- What was the process of immigration through Ellis Island, during the height of immigration?
- How would the different individuals (inspectors, immigrants, etc.) in different roles feel as they went through the process of immigration?
- How does the screening process of immigrants link to the American expectations of discipline and cooperation in the workforce?
MATERIALS:
- Simulation - The Process of Passing through Ellis Island Lesson Plan Packet PDF
- Ship Manifest (located in lesson packet)
- Chalk Marks (located in lesson packet)
- Role Play Cards (located in lesson packet)
- Inspector Questionnaire (located in lesson packet)
- Mental Examination Tests PDF
- Inspection Tags PDF
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