Teacher's Guide for APPLESEEDS Statue of LibertySeptember 2001
Teacher's Guide prepared by: Martha Berner, Consulting Teacher, Cajon Valley Union Schools, El Cajon, CA.
Packing for the TripThis lesson is designed to enhance student understanding of the material in the September 2001 APPLESEEDS issue, Statue of Liberty. Focus is placed on the following articles: "Welcome Aboard the Ferry," "Freedom! Now What?" and "Growing Up on Ellis Island."
Grade Level: 3 - 5
Performance Objective: Through their artwork, students will "pack" a bag to take on a hypothetical immigration voyage to a new home.
Thinking Skills Objectives: - Students will analyze choices used in packing for prior trips.
- Students will apply their knowledge of the immigrant experience to a (hypothetical) personal situation.
- Students will synthesize information from several articles and class discussions.
- Students will evaluate possible choices of items to pack, before making final decisions.
Materials: September 2001 issue of APPLESEEDS; paper; drawing materials (pens, crayons, markers, pencils).
Background: Most of the immigrants who passed by the Statue of Liberty on their way to America were not rich. All the steerage passengers on the ship across went though Ellis Island. They had the cheapest tickets and no space set aside for them. They were usually crowded together in smelly, cramped areas in the lower decks, with no room for luggage. They brought very little with them and had to choose wisely when they left their old countries for their new home. Most important were what they needed aboard the ship and what was necessary when they got to New York. Their few belongings were customarily packed in baskets or bundles, rather than the luggage that richer passengers used. They had to carry everything on and off board themselves.
Setting the Stage: In class discussion, ask the students if they have ever taken a bag or suitcase with them when going away from home. On the board or chart paper, compile a list of the items taken. Ask them how and why they chose these items. Guide the students into categorizing the items (clothing, food, entertainment, keepsake, etc.).
Procedure: Now ask them to choose carefully in selecting what they would take if they were leaving home for good, heading for a new country. Limit them to what they themselves can carry in one container. On lined paper, students will write a list of what they would take.
Questions to guide their choices: What clothing will you need? What will you take for health, cleanliness, grooming, emergencies? How will you entertain yourself as you travel? What have you taken with you in the past that you don't have room for, this time? What special mementos, keepsakes and possessions must go with you?
After deciding what to pack, students will draw the outline of the container (suitcase, box, etc.) on unlined paper, any size. Using pencils, markers, pens, or crayons, each student will draw the items, packed inside the suitcase.
Closure: Provide time and guidelines for students to share their individual suitcases with each other, either in pairs, groups, or whole class. Be sure to have them include why they made the specific choices.
Using the following prompt, have students write about their choices on what to pack: "Pick 3 or 4 items in your suitcase to tell about. Write a paragraph (or more) describing them and explaining why you chose each of those particular items to pack."
For a lesson plan on immigration, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty, visit http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/american_mosaic/. |
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