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Teachers Brief for Ellis Island Web Quest

This brief is intended for a lesson on immigration for a fifth grade class. To teach this
lesson first I will define immigration. Then I will use an example of immigration from the past,
Ellis Island. Then I will compare immigration from the past to immigration that is occurring
today. The essential standard that aligns with this lesson is:
5.G.1.4
Exemplify migration within or immigration to the United States in order to identify push
and pull factors (why people left/why people came)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and
information.
5.SI.1
Apply criteria to determine appropriate information resources for specific topics and
purposes.

Immigration
What exactly is immigration? How is it different or similar to migration?
According to Diffen.com immigration is an individual or family to move to a new
country from their country of origin with due formalities at the embassy. In comparison to
migration which is the act of moving from one place to another-within a country or across
borders, for people or birds, and usually refers not to a single individual or family but a larger
demographic. (Immigration vs. Migration)
Past

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The popular saying is that America is a nation of immigrants, a melting pot. A great
example of this is the immigration of more than 12 million people between the years of 1892 and
1954. During this time immigrants from over a dozen countries immigrated to America through
Ellis Island. Ellis Island is located northeast of Liberty Island which is where the Statue of
Liberty is located. It is estimated that more than 40% of Americans can trace their family
history back to Ellis Island. (Immigration Stories of Yesterday and Today)
Immigrants came to America from all over Europe and other countries like Syria, Turkey
and Armenia. The reasons they left their homes in the Old World included war, drought, famine
and religious persecution, and all had hopes for greater opportunity in the New World. (Ellis
Island) The processing of immigrants through Ellis Island was a long process. People were lined
up, inspected for poor health, separated from their families and interviewed with thirty-two basic
questions. Many were returned on the next steamship back to their original country. Those that
were turned away had mental disabilities, disease, felonies, were illiterate or anarchists. The first
32 years of Ellis Island history was known as the time that many immigrants passed through the
golden door. The remaining years were much stricter because Ellis Island was restricted by
quota laws. Many different people came looking for a better life in America. (Coan, 1997)
Here is an excerpt of a story from a young girl named Cara Weichel, who is 9 years old when she
came to America from Austria:
I brought nothing with me. I just had a little bag with all my papers that hung around my
neck. I had to be very careful that I wouldnt lose it. And then he took me by horse and
buggy to Germany. And he bought me a doll. To this day I love dolls. So I just had the
bag and the doll. [Laughs.] I was just glad I was going. Thats all I rememberIt was
August 1905. I was still in the ward of this couple. They were also on the boat in second
class on top. I was in steerageI also remember people saying things like, Oh, be

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careful. Theyll steal everything on you. You have to be careful. So, of course, I wore
brand new shoes and I never had brand new shoes before. So I thought, Oh theyre going
to steal my shoes. So I went to sleep with my shoes on. I was so afraid that they were
going to steal my shoesThere were no other children to play withPeople in first class
used to throw money and candy down to us. I dont remember the food, I dont remember
eating. I slept on the bottom of a bunk bedThe trip took about ten days before we
arrived at Ellis IslandThey sent a telegram to my father, and he came the next day to
get meIt was the first time I ever saw him. And the officials would ask me questions,
and then him questions trying to determine if he was, in fact, my father because I didnt
remember himWhen we arrived in Guttenberg my mother was thereThe first thing I
did was take off my shoes. For that alone, I was so happy.
(Coan, 1997)
Present
We are still a nation of immigrants. The Center of Immigration Studies titled one of their
articles, Immigrant Population Hits Record 42.1 Million in Second Quarter of 2015. Studies
show that Growth in the immigrant population in the last year was led by a 740,000 increase in
the number of Mexican immigrants. (Center for Immigration Studies) Immigrants who come to
America today go through a process called a naturalization interview. On the Department of
Homeland Security website immigrants are told what they will expect for their interview:
During your naturalization interview, a USCIS Officer will ask you questions about your
application and background. You will also take an English and civics test unless you
qualify for an exemption or waiver. The English test has three components: reading,
writing, and speaking. The civics test covers important U.S. history and government
topics. See below to learn more about the test and the free study tools available to help
you prepare. (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)

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One hundred questions are given on the civics test. Many of these questions might be hard
for even an American citizen to answer. These questions would be good for students to try to
answer. Here are some of the questions that are asked on the civics test:

What is the supreme law of the land?

Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of

them.
What is one reason colonists came to America?
Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
Name one state that borders Canada.
Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
When do we celebrate Independence Day?
(U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)

Immigrants today come from all over the world. Here is a story told by a young girl from the
Ukraine named Asya:
Hi, my name is Asya. I was born in Nickolaev, Ukraine, but I have lived most of my life
in a suburban town near Atlanta, Georgia. I moved to the United States with my parents
when I was a baby. I am now in the third grade and speak both English and Russian. My
brother, Tim, is in the first grade. I also have a cat named Tiger and a pet water frog
named Perry. When I grow up I want to be a paleontologist, an artist, and an ice skater.
My family flew to the United States from Ukraine on an airplane. We moved from
Ukraine when my father won a green card and got a job here. We lived in Michigan first
and then moved to Atlanta.
Things are different in the Ukraine and the United States. The holidays are different. We
celebrate Christmas on January 7. Ukraine is an Orthodox Christian country, and
Orthodox Christian countries follow the Julian calendar. It is 13 days behind the normal
calendar, so we celebrate Christmas later than other parts of the world.
And Thanksgiving is a new tradition for us, because it is not celebrated in the Ukraine. At
Thanksgiving, we decorate the table and put all kinds of food on it. We celebrate together.
I have been back to Ukraine several times to visit. There is a lot more traffic in Ukraine
than here. When I visited, I remember thinking, "who can forget that road, it's so

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crowded!" People in Ukraine use a lot of different kinds of transportation. There aren't a
lot of cars, just vans and trains and buses.
When people ask me if I miss the Ukraine, I say that I miss my grandmother most of all. I
talk to my grandmother on Skype, and she tells me stories about her cat Buska. One day
Buska caught a pigeon and brought it in the house. Buska always does funny things. My
grandmother also tells me stories about the neighborhood in Ukraine where she lives.
I like living in the United States. It's clean, and I have a lot of friends here. Some of my
favorite places to go are the ice-skating rink and gymnastics class. I also like to go to
restaurants in New China. I love to go to the beach in Florida!
I think I will go back to live in Ukraine one day. My parents will have to decide that.
When I went to visit my grandmother in Ukraine, she met us at the airport with balloons
in her hand. It felt like I was really at home. It felt like my real home.
(Immigration Stories of Yesterday and Today)

Then and Now

The stories between these two nine year old girls were much different. Cara Weichel
came to America from Austria without her parents, on a ship, with one doll and one bag. She was
afraid, did not remember eating and was happy to get to America because she was finally able to
take off her shoes without the fear someone would steal them. Her trip was not a pleasant
experience. Asya came to America from the Ukraine with her parents, on an airplane and was
very young when she arrived. She came to America because her father won a green card and got
a job. She was a baby when she came to America and has happy feelings about her experience in
America. She misses her Grandmother but can Skype her and share stories.
Immigration to the Americas has skyrocketed. If you observe this chart you can see how
many legal immigrants came to America between the years of 1820-2009. Immigrants who came
through Ellis Island went through a health inspection and a series of questioning. Todays

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immigrants go through a more thorough questioning process. Immigrants from both then and
now come to America looking for a better life and more opportunity.

(Immigration Stories of Yesterday and Today)

The Center of Immigration Studies reported percentages of immigrant population from
these areas: Mexico, Latin America, East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa,
Europe, Australia/Canada. (Center for Immigration Studies) It is evident that immigration is
increasing and from a variety of regions. Ellis Islands immigrants came from mostly Europe,
Greece, Italy, and a few non-European countries.
Controversy
Immigration is a hot topic for debate in politics. Our nation is still a melting pot with the
number of immigrants rising faster than ever. In 1990, the U.S. had 19.8 million immigrants.
That number rose to a record 40.7 million immigrants in 2012, among them 11.7 million
unauthorized. Over this period, the number of immigrants in the U.S. increased more than five

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times as much as the U.S.-born population (106.1 percent versus 19.3 percent), according to a
Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data, this is still a country of immigrants, but
the profile of the immigrant population is changing dramatically. Now lady liberty waits for the
masses to stop huddling and stand, to turn yearning into power, to make American politics a
reflection of the countrys internal transformation. (Still a Nation of Immigrants)

References
(n.d.). Retrieved February 29, 2016, from Center for Immigration Studies:
http://cis.org/Immigrant-Population-Hits-Record-Second-Quarter-2015
(n.d.). Retrieved February 29, 2016, from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:
https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learners/study-test
Coan, P. M. (1997). Ellis Island Interviews in their Own Words. New York: Checkmark
Books.
Ellis Island. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2016, from History.com:
http://www.history.com/topics/ellis-island
Immigration Stories of Yesterday and Today. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2016,
from Scholastic:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/index.htm
Immigration vs. Migration. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from Diffen:
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Immigration_vs_Migration
Still a Nation of Immigrants. (n.d.). Retrieved 2 27, 2016, from NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/opinion/blow-still-a-nation-ofimmigrants.html?smid=fb-share