Avi Writer
City of Orphans: Teaching Guide
"Amazing things happen" in Avi's City of Orphans, and the suggestions in this teacher's resource will guide readers through through the many stories of the different characters living in the tenements of 1893 New York.
Curated OER
Life in a Big Urban City in the Gilded Age
While this presentation is not heavy in text it more than makes up for it with the telling images of life in New York at the turn of the century. Use as a supplemental lecture tool when covering immigration, tenements, Shirtwaist...
Curated OER
Primary Sources
Materials provided by The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, located in New York City, offer researchers an opportunity to examine primary sources and use these sources to understand the past. Class groups analyze different documents to...
Curated OER
Lesson on Superlatives
Students practice basic Internet navigation skills, find and summarize information on a Web site, and explore tenement life in the 19th and early 20th Century.
Curated OER
A Lens into the Past
Explore the history of immigration through photographs. Scholars will view and discuss photographs depicting the culture and lifestyle of late 19th and early 20th century immigrants. They take pictures of current examples of culture in...
Curated OER
Urbanization As Seen Through Late 19c - Early 20c Architecture
Incorporating the cultures, architecture, and ethnic populations of several American cities (namely Chicago and New York), this presentation displays vivid photographs of buildings and people in 19th - 20th century urban America. The...
Curated OER
Understanding Tenement Life
Students look at life for immigrants in the 19th century. In this immigrant lesson, students discuss how the poor German, Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants lived in tenement housing. They research the reasons they came to America...
Curated OER
The Immigrant Experience In America
Learners study immigration, Ellis Island, and tenement life from 1890 to 1924. Each student create an identity of an immigrant and write an essay in the first person. Essays describe what they found when they arrived in New York City.
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
How Did the Other Half Live?
Students study the conditions under which immigrants lived. They determine what it means to make it in America. They observe the connection between immigration and unionization and how immigration changed the City of New York. They...
Curated OER
Visual Art: Romare Bearden
Students examine the art of Romare Bearden, focusing on a stained-glass window designed for a New York City elevated railway station. they visit the site and discuss the art after viewing it from various perspectives. Based on their...
Curated OER
Frederick Law Olmsted
Students explore life in New York and the creation of Central Park. After reading a picture book about Frederick Law Olmstead, they discuss the expectations and evolution of New York's Central Park. Next, students describe a park near...
Curated OER
Dreams, Stars, and Beaches
Compare and contrast ideas, hopes and dreams with those of Cassie in Faith Ringgold's, Tar Beach. your students can entries in their journals expressing their ideas.
Curated OER
Children in the Labor Force
Students, after reading the articles "Historical Background" and "Progressive Era: Child Labor," create a two to three page document using Inspiration that deals with either the reasons children worked, child labor laws and Lewis Hine's...
Curated OER
Immigration
Eighth graders examine the American immigration experience. In this immigration lesson, 8th graders watch a video about Ellis Island and discuss the processing that took place there. Students write letters in the voice of American...
Curated OER
Reading A Historical Photograph
Students examine a historical photograph to gather information and draw conclusions.
Curated OER
Chapter 6 and 7 Unit Test
In this Progressive Era and Big Business test instructional activity, students respond to 15 matching, 3 multiple choice, and 4 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Lewis Hine
Students define the term Industrialization. They use specific examples, discuss why and how industrialization grew during the early twentieth century in America. Students evaluate the contributions of technological advances, geography...
Curated OER
Immigration and Urban Life
Fifth graders research the impact of immigration. In this social studies instructional activity, 5th graders discuss how immigration affected the economy. Students discuss the living and working conditions of immigrants in the 1800s.