Objective
: Students will become familiar with and understand vocabulary that is associated with immigration.
Procedure
: Teachers will distribute the meanings of vocabulary associated with immigration. Students are to take the list home and study them for homework. The next day teachers should divide the class into four to five teams. Teachers will then review the terms by playing jeopardy. The team with the highest number of points should receive a reward to be decided upon by the classroom teacher.
Material Used Vocabulary list on immigration
Immigration Terms:
1. The crossing- refers to the passage of immigrants by ship by way of the Atlantic Ocean.
2. steerage- the cargo holds below a ship's waterline; many immigrants traveled in the steerage class where by the end of the 1800's ticket prices had been reduced to $15
3. Statue of Liberty- a gift from France to the U.S. in 1886; became a symbol of hope and opportunity for the New Immigrants.
4. "The New Colossus"- a poem inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty. Written by Emma Lazarus, it serves as a welcoming message for immigrants.
5. The Golden Door- an expression that referred to the U.S. as the land of economic opportunity.
6. Angel Island- in San Francisco Bay. Between 1910-1940 about 50,000 Chinese immigrants arriving on the West Coast passed through this island. In contrast to the procedure at Ellis Island, processing at Angel Island included harsh questioning and a long detention.
7. Ellis Island- located in New York harbor; all immigrants traveling steerage class and docking in New York harbor were processed into America by way of Ellis Island .
8. Ellis Island disinfectant- immigrants and their clothes were sprayed for lice with this chemical before being allowed to leave Elis Island.
9. runners- people from various ethnic groups who met the immigrants at Ellis Island; because they spoke the same language as the newly arrived immigrant they were usually trusted; they would find work and a temporary place to stay for the immigrant; many times they took advantage of them.
10. Baggage Room-located at Ellis Island. Immigrants arrived first in this room and were told to check their belongings while they were being processed
11. Registry Room-located on the second floor at Ellis Island; medical exams were performed here as well as intelligence tests; gathering of personal information by inspectors.
12. Detention- referred to being kept at Ellis Island for a variety of reasons such as medical or legal, or waiting to be picked up by a family member; women traveling alone would not be allowed to leave the island without an escort.
13. Trachoma- a highly contagious eye disease; grounds for denial of entry into the U.S.(even today).
14. sweatshops- workers experienced deplorable conditions; overworked, underpaid, poor ventilation and hazardous conditions.
15, piecework- workers paid by what they produce each day and not by the hour.
16.melting pot- a mixture of people of different cultures and races who blended together by abandoning their native languages and customs.
17. nativism- overt favoritism toward native-born Americans.
18. tenements- apartments that were rundown; poor ventilation and lighting; overcrowded conditions
19. neighborhoods- immigrants settled in areas near their own people; thus, areas sprang up like Little Italy, Little Warsaw, Chinatown, etc.
20. Old Immigrants- people from northern and western Europe who were usually skilled workers and literate; came in the early 1800's.
21. New Immigrants- people from southern and eastern Europe who came to the U.S. in the late 1800s; usually unskilled workers and illiterate.
22. contadini- Italian peasantry
23. mafie- small bands of bandits in western Sicily, originally formed as a self help system of retaliation against the French and Spanish rulers who kept the people oppressed and illiterate.
24. padrone- boss or leader and was the name given to the work agents who hired Italian laborers and shipped them to the United States on a contract basis.