Ellis Island Research and Share!

Second and third graders are learning about immigration!  They are watching videos about Ellis Island, where over 12 million immigrants came through to the United States between the years 1892-1924.  They watched a video telling about a young Filipino girl who came to the U.S. and what that experience was like for her.  We hope to also hear some of your stories of how you came to the U.S., as we know many of you also were born outside of this country.

Last week and this week, students studied and researched different questions about the Ellis Island experience – reasons for coming and also what happened while they were at Ellis Island – going through the Baggage Room to the Great Hall, going to the different examination rooms, and walking down the Staircase of Separation, where immigrants would go to the railroad ticket office, to the banks to exchange money, or sometimes back to their home country.

After reading and learning about their question, they shared it with the class, so all could learn the answers to the many questions.

Take a look at some of the questions they researched!  You will also see some pictures of the students when they were presenting to the class below.

We are excited to go to Ellis Island next week and walk in the shoes of immigrants.