The third lesson in the Human Migration unit is a lesson on using atlases. The lesson on atlases is in the Information Literacy theme, under the Reference Materials Unit of Inquiry. It’s Lesson #2, Atlases. Please click here to see the lesson.
Human Migration #2: Ellis Island, Immigrant Questions
Lesson Overview:
In this lesson, students practice their skills in developing questions for inquiry. They also “meet” real immigrants using primary source documents to examine clothing, artifacts, and, in cases where they can figure it out, immigration journeys.
Lesson Plan:
Suggested Grades:
3-4
Objective:
Each student will practice formulating questions that would lead to better understanding of the immigrant experience. (Unit of Inquiry Lesson) (AASL 1.1.3, “Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding.”)
Suggested Time:
40-50 minutes
Success Criteria:
When given a photo of a real immigrant and a partner to work with, students will write between five and ten questions that would, if answered, provide more information about that immigrant’s experiences in traveling to a new country to make a home.
Lesson Outline:
1. Introduction:
Review Jessie and her experiences in When Jessie Came Across the Sea. Remind students that Jessie entered the United States via Ellis Island. Explain that today, we will work on writing questions that will help us learn more about the immigrant experience. Review the question words in English: Who, What, Why, Where, When, How, plus question forms such as “Does it?” “Can it?” “Do you?” “Will you?” “Did you?” If there is time, we will watch an Ellis Island Brain Pop Jr. video or take an Ellis Island tour.
2. Main:
Place students into working pairs. Every partnership pair is given a clipboard and a pencil, and instructed to find an immigrant photo and write between ten and twenty questions that would provide more information on the immigrant experience.
3. Conclusion:
Ask students to give one or two of their best questions – share as a group. Emphasize the importance of asking questions in accessing important information for our learning.
Resources:
- Ellis Island immigrant postcards. There is a book of postcards sold on amazon called Ellis Island: Portraits of Immigrants: A Book of Postcards. But, if you do not have the actual postcards, take the immigrant photos from the Washington Post article found here (two are attached). Mount the photos with backing paper and spread them out on walls around the library or classroom. Note that if you order the actual immigrant postcards, the immigrant’s country of origin is provided on the back. Students can use this information to try to trace immigrant journeys.
- Clipboards
- Paper
- Pencils
- Brain Pop Jr. segment on Ellis Island (if available)
- Scholastic Tour of Ellis Island found here.
Notes:
This is both an information literacy lesson and a Unit of Inquiry lesson.
I try very hard to make sure that I plan one lesson a year for each grade level in which the students are asked to generate relevant questions. Learning to ask good questions is fundamental to the PYP, but it is also the first step in research. Asking questions is an information literacy skill.
This is an excellent opportunity to practice asking questions, because students, especially those who attend international schools, are accustomed to meeting new people at school and in their communities. This lesson asks children to prepare questions after looking at an immigrant’s photo. Typical questions might include:
- What is your home country?
- How did you reach this new country?
- What made you decide to leave your home?
- How long did your journey take?
- What were the conditions on your journey?
- What have you brought with you?
- What did you have to leave behind?
- How will you support yourself in the new country?
- What are you most concerned about, now that you have reached your new country?
- What are you most excited about, now that you have reached your new country?
Help the children ask questions that will bring them new understanding. Please do not let them ask “Yes,” “No” or very short answer questions. Example: “How old are you?” “Are you married?” “What is your name?” These are fine if they are part of a question set aimed at understanding the immigrant.
I have found that this is very, very difficult for kids to do in Grade 3. Grade 4s are better, but try to see if you can get your 3s to do it should the unit fall into the Grade 3 curriculum. They are fascinated by the immigrant photos, especially those that have swords, guns, tattoos, or military uniforms!
Recommend Books for This Lesson:
None
Key Terms:
Immigration, Immigrants, Journeys, Travel, Human Migration, Ellis Island
Human Migration #1: When Jessie Came Across the Sea, by Amy Hest
Lesson Overview:
In this lesson, children come to understand a bit of the immigrant experience by seeing it through the eyes of the main character. The text is a bit lengthy for young children, so I sometimes paraphrase in places. But, this is a powerful story, beautifully written, and encompasses much of the Unites States immigrant experience. To make it more meaningful, bring an artifact or two from an ancestor.
Lesson Plan:
Suggested Grades:
3-5
Objective:
To better understand the immigrant experience. (Unit of Inquiry Lesson, Literature Link)
Suggested Time:
35-45 minutes
Success Criteria:
Students will capture Jessie’s feelings and challenges by making notes on the text to show their understanding.
Lesson Outline:
1. Introduction:
Ask the students about their new unit of inquiry. Show the book. Explain how the librarian has a personal connection to the story. Pass out clipboards and ask students to think about the questions as the story is read and discussion.
2. Main:
Read/paraphrase When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest. Check understanding as we go along. Be sure that challenging vocabulary such as “rabbi” and “widow” are clear.
Share any personal, family item you may have brought. It is very powerful if you have a photo of your grandmother or something your grandmother has made for you.
3. Conclusion:
Review answers to the questions together. Give students enough time to fill out their story capture sheets.
Resources:
- When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest.
- Copies of Student Handout
- Pencils
- Clipboards or Tables
- Family artifacts, especially anything made by a grandmother!
Notes:
This lesson is deeply personal for me because I was exceptionally close to one of my grandmothers. I never get through it without crying and, even though I’d rather not cry in front of the chlldren, my emotion always makes an impression.
If you don’t connect with this story, choose another that you do connect with. Most of us do have immigrant stories or grandmother stories we can share. Kids may have their own stories to share as well. The power of this lesson is that it makes the immigrant story personal in a beautiful and understandable way for children.
Recommended Books for this Lesson:
When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest
Key Terms:
Immigration, Immigrant, Ellis Island, Journeys, Grandmothers, Seamstresses, Language Learners, Opportunity, Challenge
Signs and Symbols #6: Scaredy Squirrel, Storytelling with Symbols
Lesson Overview:
In this lesson, students end their Unit of Inquiry on Signs and Symbols by having fun with Mélanie Watt’s Scaredy Squirrel. Scaredy Squirrel stories are told through a combination of words and graphic organizer-type illustrations. However, many of the illustrations also use symbols with which Scaredy Squirrel communicates his thinking and planning. Get to know a new author and engage your reluctant readers with Scaredy Squirrel. Symbols have never been more fun!
Lesson Plan:
Suggested Grades:
2-4
Objective:
Given a graphic organizer, students will create a Scaredy-Squirrel-inspired “Emergency Kit” by using symbols to represent objects they would like to have in their own emergency kit. (AASL 4.1.8, “Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.”)
Suggested Time:
40-45 minutes
Success Criteria:
Students will design ten simple symbols to fill a Scaredy-Squirrel-inspired emergency kit.
Lesson Outline:
1. Introduction:
Remind the students that they are working on signs and symbols in their current Unit of Inquiry. Ask them places where signs and symbols are commonly found. Explain that today they will learn about an author who tells her stories through words and symbol-rich illustrations. Not many authors do, but Mélanie Watt uses lots and lots of symbols in her Scaredy Squirrel books. Big Idea: Stories can be told with symbols! Not only Ancient Egyptian stories that use hieroglyphics, but also modern stories as well!
Ask the children if they know Scaredy Squirrel. Ask what they remember about Scaredy Squirrel, where he lives, what he does every day, or what he fears.
Explain to the children that today we’ll share Scaredy Squirrel stories and look for symbols in the stories.
2. Main:
Share Scaredy Squirrel with the children. Read the book the first time for the plot and basic organization of the story. Make sure the children understand how Mélanie Watt organizes her stories and tells them. Make sure that the children understand the humor and wit in the stories.
Work through Scaredy Squirrel a second time and let the children identify the symbols that Watt uses in her storytelling. Here are a few that they should be able to come up with:
Poison ivy, germs, killer bees, nuts, arrows, clocks, hard hat, soap, band aid, bug spray, net, sardines, emergency kit
Make sure that the children understand how Watt’s use of symbols contributes to the story and how her use of symbols makes her storytelling style distinctive.
Together, as a class, ask the children what they would put in an emergency kit if they could make one. Their ideas might include snacks, life vest, mobile phone, first aid supplies, walkie-talkies, batteries, medicine, reflective vest, list of addresses and contact information, a map, etc. Be sure that you scribe 15+ ideas from the class. Use a flipchart, white board, or promethean board so that all the students can see the class emergency kit ideas.
Pass out copies of “Create Your Own Emergency Kit” from Kids Can Press on the Scaredy Squirrel web site, found here. (See the second page of the PDF.) Have the children use the class list of ideas, plus any of their own ideas, to use symbols to compete their own emergency kits.
If the children finish and if there is time, read and enjoy another Scaredy Squirrel story together (optional).
3. Conclusion:
Tell the children that your work with them in the Signs and Symbols Unit of Inquiry is now complete, but that you encourage them to read more from Mélanie Watt, work with more infographics, learn more flags, and pay attention to the signs and symbols in the library. The world is full of signs and symbols, and it has been a delight to share these learning experiences with them.
Resources:
- Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. ISBN
- Scaredy Squirrel website, found here. Includes games and lesson plans.
- Storytime suggestions for Scaredy Squirrel, including the Emergency Kit activity template, found here.
- Pencils, colored pencils, or markers.
Notes:
Mélanie Watt’s Scaredy Squirrel stories have enormous educational value. I find them to be underutilized and hope that this lesson spurs your thinking as to how these kid-friendly, fun-filled texts can work for your students. Although I’ve written this lesson as part of a unit on Signs and Symbols, you could also use the texts to work with the concepts of:
- Graphic Organizers
- Event Planning (how to leave the nut tree, how to visit the beach, etc.)
- Organizational Skills
- Time Management
- “I used to think . . . but now I think” visible thinking routine.
Recommended books for this lesson:
- Scaredy Squirrel by Mélanie Watt.
- Any of the other Scaredy Squirrel stories, also by Mélanie Watt.
Key Terms:
Scaredy Squirrel, Mélanie Watt, Symbols, Squirrels, Fear, Courage
Signs and Symbols #5: National Flags as Symbols
Lesson Overview:
In this lesson, students learn that flags are symbols of countries. Flags have colors, shapes, and pictures or symbols. When these elements come together, a universally recognized symbol of the country is the result. Let your children explore state flags or flags of the world in this hands-on, art-extended lesson.
Lesson Plan:
Suggested Grades:
2-3
Objective:
Understand that flags are national symbols and sketch three national flags. (AASL 4.1.8, “Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.)
Suggested Time:
45 -50 minutes
Success Criteria:
Each student will be able identify at least three country flags. Each student will sketch the three flags and, together with his/her classmates, create a class “Book of Flags.”
Lesson Outline:
1. Introduction:
Remind the class that, in this Unit of Inquiry, they are studying symbols and signs. Ask them to remind you what a symbol is. (Answer: Something that stands for something else.)
Tell the children that today they will have the chance to work with some of the most common symbols in the world. These are symbols that represent countries or, sometimes, cultures. They are almost always rectangular. Most of them have colors, line, and shapes, but not words. Sometimes they fly at the top of poles. You see them a lot during the Olympics, at other sports competitions, or at festivals. See if the children can guess that today they’ll be working with flags.
2. Main:
Introduce the children to the reference materials you have that show flags of the world. Flags are often found in almanacs, atlases, or encyclopedias. They can also be found online, but in my experience the children like to be able to flip pages so that they can see many flags at one time.
Pass out the student assignment sheets. Read through the instructions together. Give the students time to complete the assignment. If they can’t complete everything, that is okay. The assignment sheet has four blank flag templates, and they should try to complete at least the first three.
I like to have a few featured flags on the screen or board to set the tone of the lesson. If you have some or can print a few, it will help the children focus on flags as symbols for this lesson.
3. Conclusion:
Ask the children to share their flags with an elbow partner or someone from another table. Ask children why flags are such effective symbols and why most countries have a national flag.
Collect their work, cut the flags apart, and bind them into a class book. You could also make a simple display by attaching the flags to a string and hanging the flag banner in the classroom or throughout the library.
Resources:
- Copies of the Student Assignment Sheet (attached). Modify for your students as needed.
- Pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers, or oil pastels.
- Computer with an Internet connection for accessing Google Images.
- Set of almanacs or atlases that features world flags.
- World Book Online (or other digital subscription) that has a collection of world flags (optional).
Notes:
I have written this lesson for international country flags, but there are many ways to adapt this lesson for your students. If you live in a country that has states and state flags/crests, you can easily incorporate those into the assignment. If your students are well traveled, be sure to ask them for a flag from a place they have never visited. If your children have not had much opportunity to travel, you may wish to adapt the lesson by having them match completed flags to countries/locations on a world map. Please choose the adaptation that will be most beneficial for your students. The big idea is that flags are symbols – as long as you’ve got that, the lesson will be fine.
Recommended Books for this Lesson:
One of the following, or any text that has a collection of World Flags:
- Class set of Scholastic Kids’ Almanacs
- Class set of National Geographic Kids’ Atlases
- Class Set of National Geographic Kids’ Almanacs
Key Words:
Signs, Symbols, Flags, Atlases, Almanacs, Atlas, Almanac, World Flags