If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island
by Ellen Levine
This book contains thirty-six small chapters with titles posting questions, such as "What was Ellis Island?", "Did all immigrants come through Ellis Island?", "Why did people come to America?", "What did people bring with them?" The book as a whole describes the greatest human migration in history from the 1880s until 1914. It is about the fatiguing journeys of immigrants, their hopes and difficulties, and their adventures.
We read this book with illustrations in a shared reading mode, which means every student has a copy of the book in his or her hands, and I read the text aloud. This book provides plenty of information, and it is a great source of contextual knowledge.
Ellis Island. New Hope in a New Land
|
|
by William Jay Jacobs
This short book basically has the same information as the book presented above, but it is especially interesting because it contains photographs of the period that recreate the American immigrant experience - its hardships, uncertainties, anxieties, as well as its overwhelming sense of hope. Again, the students and I read the text together, stopping for clarifications and mini-discussions.
This book offers many good photographs of immigrants on the way to America and on Ellis Island, so I have found two that I want my students to work on. The first one is a close shot on page 3, showing passengers on the deck of the S.S. Pennland. Mostly women in warm coats are sitting here and there among many figures of sleeping people wrapped in blankets and some rags. Viewers can see the turned-down faces of the two women who are closest to us. We also see some men standing in different poses on the edge of the deck in the background. The clothes of the immigrants are probably the most conspicuous feature in the photograph: they are old-fashioned, suggesting that the photograph was taken a long time ago. The expressions on their faces are anxious and serious. The photograph conveys an atmosphere of tension and worry.
The second photograph, titled "A Group of New Arrivals in the 1920s" (page 21), on the contrary creates a sense of excitement, joy, and sincere hope. The immigrants have just arrived to America. They are descending from the ship. Their faces shine with smiles. Some men wave their hats in a gesture of greeting. The children are the happiest. Only two women in the photograph reflect the seriousness of the moment, as if they do not believe what is happening - the happy arrival in the land of freedom.
Other impressive photographs are available on the website of the Library of Congress. They can be easily copied to one's computer and used in a PowerPoint presentation in the classroom.