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CURRICULUM
GUIDE
Unit Title: Immigration
Grade Levels: 6-8
Subject/Topic Areas: American history, 1820-1920;
immigration
Key Words: Immigration; Ellis Island; radio play;
American history; freedom; anti-Semitism; prejudice
Unit Designers: Linda Fuccillo, Liz Della Paolera,
Lesley Bannatyne, Marianne Adams
Unit first taught: Morse school, 1999
Time Frame: 10-20 lessons
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Click here for Teacher
Resources:
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Link to Massachusetts Standards:
History and social sciences #3 (research, evidence and point
of view) and #4 (society, diversity, commonality and the
individual); Language Arts #1(discussion), #2 (questioning,
listening, contributing), #3 (oral presentation), #18
(dramatic reading and performance), #26 (analysis of
media)and #27 media production); Arts Theater #1 (acting),
#2 (reading and writing scripts) #5 (critical response)
Brief Summary of Unit (including what students
will understand as a result of this unit)
Students will work with several types of historical and
literary resources and perform in-class drama and dramatic
writing exercises to understand the experience of immigrants
in America between 1820 and 1920. The class will produce a
radio broadcast as a final project.
Drama Strategies
Journal writing; photograph-inspired point of view
character writing; monologue performance; dramatic tableaux;
radio dialogues and reports; mock interviews.
Key Concepts (What statement(s) clearly expresses
what I want students to know and understand?)
Important events and circumstances in other countries sent
thousands of people searching for a new home and a better
life. There was often a vast difference between the
opportunities immigrants anticipated and the realities of
the life they found in America. Resistance, discrimination,
disease, poverty and opportunism were as much a part of the
early immigrant experience as freedom and prosperity.
Essential Questions (What specific questions will
guide this unit and focus teaching and learning?)
- Why would people leave their homeland and start a new
life in a foreign country?
- What contributions did immigrants from various lands
and creeds make to our nationhood?
- What factors contributed to making life better or
easier for some people and why?
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Students will know
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Students will be able to
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• effective strategies for listening,
speaking and presenting their findings in formal
and informal contexts
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• use multiple strategies to explore and
narrow a topic
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•how to read an original document in
historical context
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•distinguish historical fact from
interpretation and fiction
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•the history and details of immigrant life
in several countries, at Ellis Island and in
America
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• research and write creatively about
historical events
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• what makes a radio program effective,
arresting and authentic
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• recognize and produce good dramatic
scripts and readings
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• basic acting principles such as voice
projection, expression and character study
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• develop a voice and character as a
performer; use the medium of radio effectively
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EVIDENCE OF STUDENT
UNDERSTANDING:
Summary of performance tasks and projects
- Students deliver a monologue created from their
journal entries that exhibits expression, personality and
clear vocalization.
- Students adapt a dialogue for use in radio broadcast
that shows evidence of research and contains historical
references such as conditions in the characters' country
of origin and descriptions of Ellis Island; perform
scene.
- Students research the conditions of a specific ethnic
group in America during the early 19th century; present
findings to class.
- Each student keeps a daily "Immigrant Diary."
- Students write a commercial in a radio format.
- The class produces a radio broadcast that
demonstrates considerations of the audience and shows a
creative balance of narration, dialogue and character
portayal.
Summary of quizzes, tests and prompts.
- Vocabulary quiz on key words
- Immigrant Diary writing responses
- Test on historical content of unit
Other Evidence (e.g. observations, work samples
and dialogues)
- In-class discussions of what it's like to be an
immigrant
- In-class sharing and discussion of journal
entries
- Radio script
- Peer critique of monologues, dialogues, tableaux
- Tape of radio broadcast
SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES:
What sequence of teaching and learning experiences will
equip students to develop and demonstrate the desired
understandings?
Part One: Who are these people? (2-5
lessons)
The Trunk: introduce the unit to students with
trunk (or box) filled with memorabilia/artifacts: the
lost, sole possessions of a newly-arrived immigrant, such
as a letter addressed to someone in America, photographs,
a music box, candlesticks, a tea cup, a baby toy,
clothing, etc.
Drama improvisation #1: Show us the scene in
which the person gets their object back after years of
missing it.
Discussion: who would this belong to; what kind
of person would have this item where did they come
from?
Students discuss feelings associated with being an
immigrant.
Teacher leads theater games designed to improve
cooperation, projection, and confidence. Establish
regular "drama training" time (30 minutes) each week,
beginning with vocal warm-up for improved articulation
(see resources for choice of exercises).
Teacher gives information about politics,
lifestyles and economics of various countries of
origin.
Part Two: Ellis Island (3-5
lessons)
Theater vocal exercises and games (see
resources)
Teacher hangs photographs of people at Ellis
Island around the room; plays selections of world music
to provoke sense of the period and cultures depicted.
Gives each student a sheet of paper with the following
three prompts on it (prompt worksheet, photos in
resources)
- Write about how one of the photographs makes
you feel
- Draw a conclusion about something you see in a
second photograph: I think that _______ because of
______.
- Select a third photograph that has people in it.
If you could ask only one question of the people in
the photo, what would it be?
As a class, discuss what students know about
this subject; what they want to know.
Teachers share information pertaining to Ellis
Island: contagious diseases, sterilization, methods of
screening and detainment.
Creating Tableaux:
Show several new photographs of groups of
immigrants. Break students into smaller groups and
give each group a photograph to work with. Students
discuss what they see or imagine - countries of
origin, socioeconomic backgrounds, emotions;then use
their bodies to recreate the photo and represent a
moment in history. Who is there? What are they doing?
What are they wearing? How are they feeling? How can
you show that in your tableau? Play music as
background atmosphere.
Mock-Interviews:
Student develop a list of questions for a
realistic "mock immigrant interview" that might have
taken place at Ellis Island. Students work in pairs,
then share results by introducing the "immigrant"
they've interviewed and telling his or her story to
the class.
Homework: Students learn vocabulary of the unit (list
in resources).
Teacher introduces students to immigrant
stories and history using historical resources, stories
and poems, and first-hand accounts.
Students study all previously viewed
photographs. Each student writes a diary entry from
one specific person's point of view, and shares entry
with class. Discuss historical details that could be
added.
Homework: develop entries into a monologue (a first
person dramatic narrative).
Follow-up activity: add costume piece or prop
and perform monologue as character.
Part Three: Making the
transition into a citizen (3-5 lessons)
Theater vocal exercises and games.
Teacher introduces "Immigrant Diary"; students
keep a daily diary of their chosen immigrant. Teacher
provides prompts for writing; write first entry in class.
Share writing.
Students read (aloud) play, Ashore on Ellis
Island (Albert Cullum and David Almeida, Curriculum
Associates), an account of a fictional Italian family and
their experiences at the turn of the 20th century.
Teacher shares information about conditions,
laws effecting immigrants, Jewish, Irish, German,
Italian, and Russian immigrant experiences in America and
how they differed.
As a class, students compare historical
narratives, historical documents and interpretive
documents to understand the differences.
Students write simple dialogues based on
script-starters, such as "Hey! That's my trunk!" or "We
don't rent to _____." Working in pairs, they take turns
adding sentences until a one-to-two page dialogue is
written. Read dialogues outloud and iscuss what worked
dramatically. (dialogue starters in resources)
Homework: revise dialogues based on feedback.
Students act out revised dialogues and
polish them for use in radio broadcast.
Students research life and conditions of one
immigrant group or family; share information with class,
continue writing in Immigrant Diary on a daily basis.
Part Four: Radio
broadcast (2-5 lessons)
Theater vocal exercises and games.
Students brainstorm elements of a good radio broadcast;
listen to samples of other radio broadcasts both by
students and by professionals.
Homework: write a 15-30 second commercial for radio about
a product that an immigrant would use or be interested
in. Specifiy background music and/or sound effects.
Teacher provides information on radio, both
historical and technical. Students listen to samples of
radio drama, discuss elements that make a good broadcast.
Students read their commercials outloud into a tape
recorder, trying to make as many of the sound effects as
possible. (see resources)
Homework: choose three different settings where a radio
drama might take place. Write a list of all the sounds
that you associate with each setting. Think about what
sounds help the listener indentify where you are.
Remember, in radio, the audience must create a mental
picture based on what they hear.
Students divide into writing groups. Some
students write pieces for radio by adapting their
dialogue exercise, interviews, photograph writing and
diary entries. Others write (historical) current events
stories, on-the-spot coverage, and interviews with
fictional immigrants. Others write a narrator's part to
tie the broadcast together and provide segues.
- Sample on-the-spot scenes include:
- the arrival by ship in New York
- physical examination
- a conversation among deportees
Rehearsal and Production (3- 5
class periods)
Students rehearse radio broadcast, add
sound effects.
Students record broadcast on good quality tape
machine. Listen and discuss.
Students write evaluation of unit that details
what they learned.
What resources are helpful and/or necessary to
accomplish this curriculum?
For Teachers:
Live On Stage!: Performing Arts For Middle School
(Teacher Resource Book, Carla Blank & Jody Roberts, Palo
Alto, CA: Dale Seymour Publications, 1997.
Specific exercises:
- p. 22-23 Run-on Stories (group storytelling)
- p. 60-62 Doubles (In pairs, one actor speaks and
the other says what she/he really means)
- p. 74-75 Paper Bag Dramatics (fill bag with
evocative "immigrant" objects - each group of students
pulls an object out, build skit around it)
- p. 101-103 Living History (each student chooses an
historical personna, writes monologue and performs
it)
- p. 104-107 Surveys (students develop questions to
ask a characters, create script from this)
Theater of the Mind: Writing and Producing Radio
Dramas in the Classroom: A Manual for Teachers, Don
Kisner, Balance Publishing Co., 1998
In Times Past: An Encyclopedia For Integrating US
History with Literature in Grades 3-8, Carol Otis Hurst
& Rebecca Otis, New York: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill,
1993.
A Rip-Roarin' Report-Writing Adventure, The
Mailbox. The Idea Magazine For Teachers (Intermediate),
Becky S. Andrews, ed., North Carolina: The Education Center,
Inc., 1999-2000 Yearbook).
For Students:
Live On Stage!: Performing Arts For Middle School
(Teacher Resource Book, Carla Blank & Jody Roberts,
Palo Alto, CA: Dale Seymour Publications, 1997 (Student
Edition).
If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island, Ellen
Levine, New York: Scholastic Inc.,1993. ISBN
Coming to America: The Story About Immigration,
Betty Maestro, New York: Scholastic Inc., 1996.
Ashore on Ellis Island, Albert Cullum and David A.
Almeida, American Moments: Classroom Drama. MA: Curriculum
Associates, Inc., 1996.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Books
The Colors of Freedom: Immigrant Stories, Janet
Bode, New York: Franklin Watts, 1999.
Everyday Life: Immigration, Walter Hazen,
Parisippany, NJ: Good Year Books, 2000.
Immigration Theme Series: Literature-based Activities
for Thematic Teaching Grades 4-6., Glenda J. Sims,
Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press Inc., 1992.
Immigration: Newcomers and Their Impact on the United
States, Tricia Andryszewski, Brookfield, CT: Millbrook
Press, 1995.
Immigrant Girl: Becky of Eldridge Street, Brett
Harvey, New York: Holiday House, 1987.
Who Belongs Here?: An American Story, Margy Burns
Knight, Gardiner, Maine: Tilbury House, Publishers,
1993.
Immigrants: A Library of Congress Book, Martin
Sandler, New York, New York: Harper Collins
Publishers, 1995.
Spacious Dreams: The First Wave of Asian
Immigration, Ronald Takaki, New York: Chelsea House
Publishers, 1994.
Radio Drama Resources
Four Star Radio Plays for Teenagers, edited by
A.S. Burack, Plays, Inc., Boston, 1959
Dramatized Classics for Radio-style Reading, Lewy
Olfson, Volumes 1 & 2, Plays, Inc., Boston, 1974.
Plays from Radio, edited by A.H. Lass, Earle
McGill, Donald Axelrod, Houghton Mifflin, 1948.
Broadcasting for Beginners, I.G. Edmonds, and
William Gebhardt, Holt, Rinehard and Winston, NY, 1980.
Web Sites
Immigration:
- National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/stli
- Ellis Island Home Page
http://www.ellisisland.org/Immedp/index.asp?
- History Channel
http://www.historychannel.com/ellisisland/main.html
- Copyright-free photographs of Ellis Island from the
Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/070_immi.html
Radio:
- http://home.sprynet.com
Provides articles on all aspects of radio drama such as
producing, directing, scripting, how to add sound
effects, etc.
- http://www.crabapplesound.com
Has Old Time Radio Catalogue based on library collection
of over 15,000 vintage broadcasts from the 30s, 40s, and
50s. Excerpts are available for listening.
Materials
• Tape players with microphone built in for
recording; cassette tapes
• Instruments and paraphenalia for making sound
effects
• Photographs of immigrants from 1820-1920
• Music from various world cultures to use as
background for improvisation, character and scene writing
and as background music in radio broadcast
Curriculum developed by the Department of
Drama and Dance, Cambridge Public School teachers and
Studebaker Theater artists involved with the Cambridge
Public School Drama Collaborative, a project funded in part
by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. CPSDC
is a multi-year teacher training program that helps teachers
integrate drama into the curriculum.
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