The story of Ellis Island comes alive through the memories, personal accounts, and impressions of the immigrants who passed through it from 1900 to 1925, in a study enhanced by full-color illustrations. Other books that I researched from teacher units on immigration for 5th grade: I Was Dreaming to Come to America: Memories from the Ellis Island Oral History Project by Veronica Lawlor Here’s a video from TeacherTube on a Virtual Voyage to Ellis Island. I think that Dee’s son might like a video on Ellis Island as a multimedia approach to learning. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA from School Library Journal While the time-travel element and subsequent plot twists occur almost too easily, the characters and situations are too involving to quibble about story construction. Easy to read and hard to put down, this convincing novel gives a poignant and believable picture of the lives and motivations of some of this country’s immigrants, and of one boy who learns about himself. He arrives on Ellis Island, first as a new immigrant, and finally as a boy returning from a long journey, or perhaps a dream, that has given him a new sense of himself as well as hope for his future. When one of the brothers dies tragically, Dominic accompanies the other two to America and discovers that the boys may actually be related to him in more than just spirit. ![]() Dominic becomes part of their adventures and gains a new sense of family. He is befriended by three orphan brothers who are waiting for sponsors to pay their passage to America. When he wakes again, he finds himself in Italy in 1908. Waking after the museum is closed, he panics until the prerecorded voice of one of the exhibits soothes him back to sleep. When a guide asks Dominic’s fifth-grade class to talk about their families during a field trip to Ellis Island, the boy is embarrassed because he has no heritage to discuss, and hides in a storage closet where he promptly falls asleep. Dominic Cantori has spent most of his life in foster care. The Orphan Of Ellis Island (Time Travel Adventures) by Elvira Woodruff And even if she does make it to America, she’s not sure America will have her. Strong-hearted and determined, Rifka must endure a great deal: humiliating examinations by doctors and soldiers, deadly typhus, separation from all she has ever known and loved, murderous storms at sea-and as if this is not enough, the loss of her glorious golden hair. In it, she records her observations and experiences in the form of letters to her beloved cousin she has left behind. ![]() Throughout her journey, Rifka carries with her a cherished volume of poetry by Alexander Pushkin. But she dreams she will, at last, be safe from the Russian soldiers and their harsh treatment of the Jews in the new country. Rifka knows nothing about America when she flees from Russia with her family in 1919. “I will do everything there,” I answered. Book Lists for Kids on Immigration for 4th Grade and 5th Grade Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse Let’s see if he can discover when and where his ancestors immigrated from.ĭee says his ancestry is largely European so I’ve found some great historical fiction that is Reluctant Reader Approved and perfect for 5th grade. Bottom line: is a great place to start! Dee and her husband will have to help him get started and guide him through this process. She also hired someone professionally to help her confirm the ancestry she discovered. My hairstylist has been researching her ancestors using and has spoken highly about it. THEN, we find some historical fiction that somewhat mirrors his ancestors’ experience to make this both personal and exciting. An immigration unit in which Dee’s son gets to research his own family’s roots and hopefully discovers when they immigrated to America. “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.” – Ignacio Estrada Books for Kids to Make Social Studies Exciting I envision us reading them together and I’ll definitely end up doing a lot of the actual reading. But it could be about the Gold Rush, about pilgrims, about the Alamo, you name it. So I was thinking of Willa Cather for that. He came alive when we’d read the snippets of stories, like the one recently about a young girl moving with her family from the city to the prairie. This past year, it was American social studies, mainly focused on regions. ![]() I’ll admit, the way they teach it is not exciting. He’s going into fifth and finds the subject so boring. Over the summer, I’m trying to spark an interest in history and social studies with Dylan. Turn it into a compelling story (a.k.a.
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