Artifact Analysis Used in Examining Immigration to the United States in the Early 20th Century by Bradford Miles Introduction or Background: Students should have already learned the basics of the Ellis Island experience, the American Dream and the importance of the Statue of Liberty. Also, students may have completed lessons in immigration push-­‐and pull factors, population growth in the major cities (e.g. New York), the factory system, tenement housing, settlement houses, ethnic neighborhoods, urbanization, discrimination, and Americanization. Previous lessons could have included actual accounts of immigrant treatment found in immigrant letters (primary sources) and/or letters from the American perspective, political cartoons, newspaper articles, songs or poems of the day, advertisements, etc. Grade Level: Middle School, High School History Learning Outcomes: 1. Students will work cooperatively using prior knowledge to formulate a conclusion using photographs of artifacts from the Ellis Island experience. 2. Students will construct their Family Tree, a short history, and consider some of the artifacts their families’ ancestors may have used or experienced as well as their supporting details, such as what is the artifact, how/why was it used, etc. Time Required: 60-­‐90 minutes, plus a day for the Family Tree Assessment presentation Materials and Resources: •
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5-­‐6 folders of photos (students will be grouped together with a folder to share) 9-­‐10 photographs of artifacts or actual artifacts related to Ellis Island. Suggestions include a buttonhook (for checking eyes for trachoma), an intelligence test, a reading literacy test, an Ellis Island stairwell, inspection card, photo of a nurse checking for lice on a patient, an exam chart of possible ailments, chalk, a jacket collar showing a written letter in chalk, and a lady getting her eye examined with buttonhook. o Optional: PowerPoint: To load the images for review one at a time with the whole class during teacher-­‐led debriefing. Family Tree Assignment and Rubric Activities: 1. Divide students into groups based on teacher preferences and needs. Hand each student group a folder that they are instructed to not open until instructions have been given. Students will choose a leader, a time keeper (all pictures should be viewed for an average of 2 minutes, with expectations that kids will come back and look at it later most likely) and a recorder (to record notes about each picture while the group discusses). 2. Direct students to open the folder and discuss each picture in whatever capacity they choose with the knowledge they have Students should review all 9-­‐10 pictures/artifacts. Recorder should record ideas of each picture that students mention, knowing that students may change 3.
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their minds as they discuss (e.g. chalk means school to every child which leads them to think the stairwell leads to class and the girl getting checked for lice is in school, then they see the inspection card and the Bible verse literacy test and they are then not sure, so revisions will be necessary). Students review the pictures looking for a connection between them all to figure out that this event is the Ellis Island experience for immigrants.(Teacher may decide to collect the group notes as part of grading). (40 minutes) Ask students for their explanations of the pictures and/or their beliefs of the connections among them. Hearing the other groups may create some “aha” moments as students hear things that they may not have seen in the pictures themselves. Turn in assignments with all names attached if classwork is to be graded. (5-­‐10 minutes) Review each picture using PowerPoint or similar media, and discuss the meanings of each picture and then confirm any connections the students mentioned correctly. (5-­‐15 minutes) Students will now construct a timeline (can be a list) of the events for an immigrant character of their choosing. As an example, this character could be a 10 year old poor Polish girl travelling to Ellis Island with her mom and siblings to meet up with their father who left 2 years before to get a job and a home in America. You must consider economics, education levels, clothing, etc. as the poor will be treated differently than the wealthier. A sentence or two will suffice for each artifact or event along the timeline, but students should now be able to demonstrate through the timeline that they understand the process for immigrants to Ellis Island. Can be collected or reviewed by other students or as a whole class. (15-­‐20 minutes) http://www.history.com/topics/ellis-­‐island/videos/the-­‐ellis-­‐island-­‐medical-­‐inspection (video for Ellis Island medical tests through immigrant accounts) http://www.ellisisland.se/english/ellisisland_immigration3.asp (explanation of some tests and symbols) Introduce the Family Tree Assessment. (10 minutes) Follow-­‐Up Activities: 1. Immigration Day: Some students are given an immigrant identity with country origin, job skills, religious background, educational background, health background, and how wealthy/poor they may be. Let them research the clothing of the type of immigrant that they are representing, how their accents were, etc. (This would be very powerful if students could choose their families’ background if known). Other students (about 7) are to be inspectors and a judge (these can be parents if you would like and have that support). The inspectors can even put them through basic physical tests (5 jumping jacks, lift a set of books or desk, check posture, etc.) while the judge receives those that are being deported for students to plead their case (bad health, no job skills, etc.). Create Ellis Island stations in your classroom and put the kids (dressed in their own made costumes) through the basic process of whether they will be allowed to enter into the United States or not. Takes an entire class period. 2. Students will compose a short story (1-­‐2) pages depending on student abilities of a fictional immigrant character and their experiences at Ellis Island that includes information on their background, such as country of origin, important dates, belongings and family members or friends left behind, belongings and family members on the ship, job skills of those that will work, health if important, ages, dreams of America, push and/or pull factors, etc. 3. Alternative: Instead of the short story on paper, it could be performed. Students could group up and complete an Act it Out of events for an immigrant family using the same above criteria. This could be recorded as well. Assessment: Family Tree: Students will collect information on their family histories. Students then will construct a Family Tree on poster board or similar material, a student made scrapbook, or using some sort of media such as Prezi, PowerPoint or even applications like iMovie where their tree can be animated and more entertaining. Students will present their findings to the class, making sure to include place of origin, any important dates, and any artifacts that they may have or have pictures of, family photos, descriptions of education, jobs, hobbies, major events, or anything else that explains their history. Supplemental Information: 1. Have students complete a virtual tour of Ellis Island through the following site: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/index.htm 2. Statue of Liberty Multimedia presentations and mobile offerings for e-­‐tours: http://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm Standards: Common Core State Standards CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RH.6-­‐8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RH.6-­‐8.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered). CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RH.6-­‐8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RH.6-­‐8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic. CCSS.ELA-­‐Literacy.RH.9-­‐10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources. North Carolina Middle Grades: 6-­‐8.LH.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. 6-­‐8.LH.3 Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered). 6-­‐8.LH.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. 6-­‐8.LH.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic. North Carolina High School (adaptable): 9-­‐10.LH.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources. 11-­‐12.LH.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas. 11-­‐12.LH.3 Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain. 11-­‐12.LH.9 Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources. Project Assignment: Family Tree
Due Date _____________________________
Summary: The large majority of Americans have ancestors that came originally from another country as
immigrants. Although many came during the years between 1870 to approximately 1930, many did
come before and definitely afterward. You will be creating a Family Tree based off of your own history.
The tree will be in two parts: a visual representation and an oral presentation.
Expectations:
1. Research your family’s history/background focusing on country of origin for those that came to
America as immigrants. Any Native Americans will not need to focus on immigrant status. But
will have an aspect just as interesting as you will focus on where your ancestors originated from
within this land. This research should start with oral questions of family members, especially the
oldest relatives you have, to gain necessary background knowledge, before you branch out to
find out what life may have been like for your ancestors in books or on the internet. Questions
to consider asking to get the conversation going:
a. Where did our family come from originally?
b. Why did ______ decide to come? Was life in __________ (home country) difficult? (Lack
of jobs, money, famine, disease, lack of education, threats on life, bad government, for
adventure in a strange land, etc.)
c. Were they known for anything interesting? (Sewed own clothes, farmers, inventors,
author, graduated college before most, married young, religion, etc.)
d. Where did they settle in America (state, city, town, anything) and what did they hope to
accomplish? Did they succeed in their life time? Was life better in America after they
were here? Did they experience any “-isms” like racism, nativism, sexism, classism, etc.?
e. Ask about artifacts they may have used. If they were poor women, they washed their
clothes by hand maybe using a washboard. This may have even been a business for
them to make extra money so a washboard could be an artifact as an example. It’s not
needed for every person on your tree, just 2.
2. Compile research into your oral presentation and your visual piece.
a. Visually you could present your information with a website like www.prezi.com , or
software like Microsoft Powerpoint. This would allow you pictures and music to really
make a nice looking modern presentation.
b. Or an iMovie could be utilized making a documentary style video of sorts of your family
tree.
c. Or a poster/presentation board could be used. This allows you to draw out your tree
and choose how to display pictures and design the look of your overall presentation. For
some of you, this style is easier to present with.
d. Maybe a scrapbook would work for you. This potentially can be tough but rewarding. To
present this, you need a smaller group, say 8, so they can view the book as you point out
the interesting pieces of your family’s history.
e. Orally, you will present your family’s history to the group(s). You may dress as that
immigrant if you would like, or dress the part of a famous member in your family, or just
look professional in dress (shirt and tie for boys, a dress or similar for girls). Some
students may be asked to present at a showcase night later this year.
Rubric for the Family Tree
Subject
Title
Content
Time in class
Design
Oral Presentation
4 Points
Title is easy to
find and read, and
is very effective
and creative and
appropriate for
the Family Tree.
Information
provided was
accurate for all
events and items.
Time was used
extremely well
and focus was
always on task at
hand.
The tree is
pleasing to the
eye, easy to read
and follow and
has “pop” to it.
Speaking was
superior. Student
knew what to say,
was engaging and
stayed on task.
Spent enough
time covering all
areas.
3 Points
Title is easy to
find and read, is
effective and/or
creative and
appropriate for
the Family Tree.
Information was
accurate for most
items and events.
2 Points
Title is not easy to
find or easy to
read, but is
appropriate.
1 Point
Title is not
present or quite
hard to find.
Information was
accurate about ½
the time.
Most or all of the
information was
clearly inaccurate.
Time was used
well and rarely
was focus lost on
the task.
Time was used
pretty well, but
was distracted by
other students or
devices at times
Its mostly pleasing The tree is nice in
to the eye, pretty areas, but has
easy to read and
some messy spots
follow.
too. Could have
been easier to
read or follow.
Very good
Adequate
speaking. Easy to
speaking ability
follow. Knew
for the project.
what to say
Trailed off topic at
mostly and stayed times, lost focus
on task and good
on what to say
amount of time
and when, and
was spent.
timing was
inconsistent or at
least too short.
Rarely did student
stay on task and
was normally not
using class time
wisely.
Weak design and
looks rushed or is
hard to read or
follow.
Speaking ability
was weak.
Audience should
not hear or lost
interest due to
speaking.
Searched for what
to say quite a bit
and timing was
off on the
speaking.
Student Name _______________________________________________________________________
Presentation Medium selected ___________________________________________________________
Rubric Grade _______/__20______
Letter Grade _____________