Constitutional Rights Foundation
Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...
DocsTeach
Ports of Immigration: Angel Island and Ellis Island
Young historians travel back to the past to explore immigration in the United States. Scholars match images of immigrants to Angel and Ellis Island. The activity also includes a worksheet and a short group discussion to understand...
Curated OER
Immigration and Ellis Island
Fourth graders explore family histories. In this social studies lesson, 4th graders identify the countries from which their ancestors came and locate them on a map. Students discuss the role that Ellis Island played in immigration in the...
All for KIDZ
Building Relationships: The Orphan of Ellis Island
Family and friendship are two very important themes of the historical fiction novel The Orphan of Ellis Island by Elvira Woodruff. From video clips and writing prompts to reader's theater and family interviews, this resource provides...
abcteach
Ellis Island Writing Prompt
In this writing prompt worksheet, students read the questions and story starter about Ellis Island. There are provided lines for the story which the students will write.
Northeast Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency
Who Were the Tired, the Poor, the Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free?
Elvira Woodruff's The Orphan of Ellis Island: A Time Travel Adventure is the core text in a interdisciplinary unit study of immigration at the turn of the century.
Curated OER
Ellis Island: Gateway To America
Fifth graders study the immigration station on Ellis Island. Through several activities, they see that immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island came to America from different countries, mostly those in Europe, for a variety of reasons.
Carolina K-12
Turn of the Century Immigration
In an engaging simulation, class members imagine immigrating to the United States in the late nineteenth century and arriving at Ellis Island. They then write creative journal entries about their experience and chart their journeys.
Curated OER
And the Streets Are Paved With Gold
Students explore immigrant experience at Ellis Island, New York, at the turn of the century, and answer questions that challenge them to use thinking skills from various levels of Bloom's taxonomy.
Curated OER
Immigration Project
Students visit Ellis Island Immigration Museum (as a field trip or a virtual visit) and pretend to be Italian immigrants to the United States. They write a journal entry detailing their first week in the United States. They interview an...
Curated OER
Immigration and Ancestors
We are all immigrants to this country and the study of immigration can help students connect to history in a personal way. Students will listen to audio clips from the Ellis Island web site, discuss the treatment of immigrants in the...
Academy of American Poets
The Immigrant Experience
The Buttonhook by Mary Jo Salter is the focus of a unit that explores the immigration experience to Ellis Island. First, scholars bring in an artifact that represents their heritage. A group-exercise allows them to share and discuss...
Curated OER
Ellis Island/Angel Island
Fourth graders research Ellis Island and Angel Island. For this library media lesson, 4th graders use resources from the library to locate facts about Ellis Island and Angel Island. Students construct a Venn diagram to compare and...
Curated OER
Who is Fit to Enter? The Immigrant Experience at Ellis Island
Students examine the purpose of Ellis Island. In this immigration lesson, students explore the operation of Ellis Island as they participate in a simulation that requires them to organize and handle immigrants coming into the United...
Curated OER
Ellis Island/Immigration Scrapbook
Eighth graders explore the Ellis Island immigration processing station. In this immigration lesson, 8th graders research Ellis Island using the selected websites and create scrapbooks that contain pictures, clippings, and scraps that...
Curated OER
...If Your Name Was Changed At Ellis Island
Fourth graders investigate the concept of and reasons for immigration. They report on an immigrant group that moved to Illinois since 1700.
Education World
Every-Day Edits: Ellis Island
In this proof reading instructional activity, learners read a paragraph about Ellis Island. Students locate and correct 10 errors in the paragraph.
Odell Education
Reading Closely For Textual Details: Grade 8
Only a thorough understanding of history can save us from repeating it. Practice close reading skills with an eighth grade unit that focuses on 19th century America, including European immigration into Ellis Island and Frederick...
Americans All
A Simulation: The Peopling of America
What was it like to pass through Ellis Island? Learners move through the immigration process of the early 1900s in a simulation activity. A comprehensive activity includes role-playing profiles and other manipulative items such as...
Curated OER
Island of Hopes and Island of Tears?
Third graders research Ellis Island. In this immigration lesson, 3rd graders watch a power point presentation titled Island of Hope or Island of Tears?and discuss the personal belongings the immigrants decided to bring to the United...
Curated OER
Gateway to America
Fifth graders study about immigration, Ellis Island, and tenement life from 1890 to 1924. They create an identity of a fictitious immigrant and describe what they find when they arrive in New York.
Curated OER
Creative Writing/Historical Journals
Students write series of journal entries, from the perspective of an immigrant traveling to America via Ellis Island.
Curated OER
Immigration in America, 1870-1920
Fifth graders research patterns of immigration in America during the years of 1870-1920 using the Ellis Island website. They answer discussion questions, conduct Internet research on their own ancestors, and answer questions about the...
Curated OER
The Immigrant Experience in America
Students explore immigration in the United States. In this immigration lesson, students read about Ellis Island and tenement houses as they conduct research regarding the topic in order to write an essay.