Week 2 - Immigration

http://www.lesd.k12.az.us/webpages/kwestrick/index.cfm?subpage=522297

This is a website from Thomas Heck middle school in Arizona and has links to articles aimed at children who are studying immigration to America. One article that I have focused on is 'City Life in the Early 1900s'. The language used in this article paints a good picture of what life was like instead of just stating facts. The facts are being presented in the form of an immigrant who has lived in America for 40 years telling his experience to someone who has newly arrived in America. 'Imagine the year is 1920 and you are talking with a sixty year - old man who moved to New York City around 1880'. The article speaks directly to the reader which gets the reader to think more about what the article is trying to teach. Children reading this article can imagine that the immigrant is talking directly to them. This article also teaches the reader of technological advancements of the times, such as the invention of the car and the impacts that this had on daily life in the city and what changes this brought about.

As well as articles there are also audio and visual teaching resources, such as pictures of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. The use of visual aids gives those studying immigration a clearer insight as they can actually see it rather than just having to imagine it. The photos show what the immigrants looked like and the sort of clothes that they wore. Being able to picture what the immigrants looked like can make reading articles about them easier as the reader will have an image of them in their mind. jpg">