Lady Liberty: An Immigration Study

Various conditions forced or inspired people to move throughout American history. Students have been exploring the various "push" and "pull" factors influencing why one would make such a life-changing decision. 

Some discussed:

Push: Lack of jobs, natural disasters, political upheaval, extreme poverty

Pull: Communities of support, educational opportunities, religious freedom

Students explored Immigration movements across time and countries. We have explored movement throughout the entire year within and outside of our country. 

Using our district text from Benchmarks alongside other materials on immigration, 

students did a deep dive into the topic.

You can access the Virtual Tour here.

Students read picture books across different decades and countries.

Students read a variety of poems. An example:

Students collected ideas, anecdotes, and academic vocabulary throughout the study to build their capacity to write immigration poems. We paired the poems with Lady Liberty, art lesson courtesy of Deep Space Sparkle.

We will continue to explore immigration and migration as we study WWI and WWII.  Can you guess what is next?

Please note the language from the Library of Congress website that is helpful to remember:

*Terms used to describe images related to the lives of African Americans in the 20th century were assigned by individuals sometimes from outside and sometimes from within African American communities. Please note that terminology in historical materials and in Library descriptions does not always match the language preferred by African Americans individually or as a community, and may include negative stereotypes.

Lady Liberty

Students have been studying immigration that occurred between 1880-1920's. We have discovered that many European immigrants passed through Ellis Island. 

As people entered the U.S., they had a six-minute medical exam.  Trachoma was a prevalent eye disease that kept many people from being admitted to the U.S.

Students learned about the stairs of separation. There were three lines of stairs that separated people by admission or denial into the U.S. 

Students learned that there was another place of great immigration, Angel Island in California. Most of the immigrants that entered were Chinese.