Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students learn the true immigrant story of Tillie Anderson, who became the world’s first female cycling superstar.  Kids gain an appreciation for immigration in the previous century.  They also gain a bit of cultural insight into how competitive sports have changed over time.

Lesson Plan:

Suggested Grades:

3-5

Objective:

To be able to retell the story of Tillie Anderson, a Swedish immigrant to the U.S. in the 1890s.

Suggested Time:

35-40 minutes

Success Criteria:

Each student will complete a short capture sheet on Tillie the Terrible Swede so that she will be able to remember and retell Tillie’s story.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction:

Ask the students to tell you what they have been working on in their Unit of Inquiry.  Remind them that they have seen photos of real immigrants and heard one fiction story about an immigrant (When Jessie Came Across the Sea).  Today’s lesson will give them a real story of a real immigrant and her contribution to the world of sports after she arrived in her new country.

Because Tillie Anderson was from Sweden, it may be helpful to locate Sweden on a globe so that the children understand the journey she traveled.  Using a globe or map will also link this lesson to last week’s lesson on using an atlas.

2. Main:

Read and discuss Tillie the Terrible Swede by Sue Stauffacher and illustrated by Sarah McMenemy.   Here are a few tips and things to look for:

McMenemy, the illustrator, uses a limited palette on some of the pages with great effect.  On the first page, where we meet Tillie, most of the colors are in reds or pinks.  Tillie “pops” out at the reader because she is in yellow.  Point this out to the children.  The illustrator has done this on purpose so that we know where to focus our attention.

The students will almost certainly not understand the cultural taboos against women being involved in sports, having a muscular build, or competing so aggressively.  I often ask questions like:

How many of you like to ride bikes?  Boys, where do you like to ride?  Girls, where do you like to ride?  Do any of you like to ride around in slow circles or in a figure eight?

When you do sports, girls, would you like to wear a long dress?  Boys, would you like to wear a long robe when you do sports?   Why or why not?  How did Tillie solve the problem of not having any athletic clothing to wear?  (Answer:  She used her sewing skills and made her own sports garments.)

You may need to clarify words like “velodrome,” “pacing,” “heat,” or “mortified.”  The language in the story is wonderful, but some of the vocabulary will be a stretch for English Language Learners.

Work through the student capture sheet as you go.  This is not meant to be an independent activity, rather a group, class activity.

Once the writing is done, show students real pictures of Tillie from the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame web site.

3. Conclusion:

Remind the students that every immigrant has a story.  We are fortunate to have Tillie’s retold for us in such a lovely picture book.  Encourage the students to retell Tillie’s story to their families this evening and to explore other immigrant stories by checking out the biography section of the library.

Resources:

1. Tillie the Terrible Swede by Sue Stauffacher and illustrated by Sarah McMenemy.
2. U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame: Tillie Anderson, here.
3. Student Handout (attached).

Recommended books for this lesson:

Tillie the Terrible Swede by Sue Stauffacher and illustrated by Sarah McMenemy.

Notes:

None

Key Terms:

Cycling, Female Athletes, Bicycle Racing, Bicycle History, Tillie Anderson, Swedish Immigrants, Immigration

Student Handout, Tillie the Terrible Swede

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.

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:

1. 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.
2. Clipboards
3. Paper
4. Pencils
5. Brain Pop Jr. segment on Ellis Island (if available)
6. 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:

1. What is your home country?
2. How did you reach this new country?
3. What made you decide to leave your home?
4. How long did your journey take?
5. What were the conditions on your journey?
6. What have you brought with you?
7. What did you have to leave behind?
8. How will you support yourself in the new country?
9. What are you most concerned about, now that you have reached your new country?
10. 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

Mother and Child Immigrant Photo

Three Immigrants Photo

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:

1. When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest.
2. Copies of Student Handout
3. Pencils
4. Clipboards or Tables
5. 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

Student Handout, When Jessie Came Across the Sea