Day #8 – Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty
12/06/2010
Ellis Island was one of the best days that we have had on the trip. To be able to go into an area where no one else is allowed to go is so much fun and interesting. Jessica was a great person to have for a guide as well as show us how we can use artifacts in the classroom. I liked the activity and how you can picture these people coming off of the boat all nasty, tired, hungry, scared, and frustrated and then having to be checked over. To be treated by the best physicians in the United States would have been wonderful, but it probably would not always be a wonderful experience because it seemed like it would not be a short stay for any of the patience. The contagious and infectious ward was with patience and the nurses not being able to leave must have been boring. To see that approx. 98% made it to the mainland there must not have been contained.
Going along with the tenement house I could have my students go through a mock exam and pretend that they have some of those diseases that the immigrants did bring to the United States. And then have them end up in a tenement home after they filled out a ledger with all of their information. I think that type of activity would be fun and the students would be involved and be able to feel what it would have been like to be possibly their grandparents or great-grandparents. I would also explain that some immigrants also went through Castle Gardens, which I had never heard of until this trip to the island. There is always a misconception that immigrants only came through Ellis Island, but they entered the U.S. from all up and down the coast, but the main port would have been through the island, and the immigrants that did get processed though the island were the third class passengers from the ships.
Along with a simulation it would be nice to have the students see if they would be able to find their relatives who came to the island. This way they would have to talk to family members to, at the least, learn the names of their family members, to see if they traveled though Ellis Island.
The Statue of Liberty was just a sight to see. This great symbol of the United States out in the harbor right off the coast of Manhattan. The Ferry Ride was peaceful, but made sure that we would get great pictures of the statue. We were not able to get under the statue, but walking around it was just wonderful. There was also a film crew at the statue and it turns out Matt Damien was there. I did get to see him as he rode off on the ferry to New Jersey.
I will have to ask Wendy about the lesson. I would love to go and see her teach it. If there is anyway that I could get the lesson from you and make a copy I would love it. I think it would be real interesting to see if the students would talk to their parents and find out about their family. I just have a question, what would you guys do if there was someone who was adopted or in foster care. I know that I have had a few, I really wouldn’t want to make them uncomfortable.
When I student taught at Centennial (about a hundred years ago) we did an Ellis Island activity such as what you are describing. The kids researched their family and then went through each processing station. It was great and something they did every year. You may want to check with Wendy if they still do it, and if not I’m sure I still have the information about it at school if you want it. A good addition would to add the other entrance points and even those who snuck in from Canada – let them see that illegal immigration is nothing new and maybe some of its most vocal opponents are Americans as a result of it!