BMUFSD: Eighth Graders Learn About Immigration In Interdisciplinary Activity

Press release from the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District:

2023-10-18

Briarcliff Middle School eighth graders have been learning about the mass immigration to the United Stated during the Gilded Age, and about the complexity of the immigration process.

In order to help create an all-encompassing experience of the process on a deep level, the eighth-grade team came up with an interdisciplinary project that highlights the different phases of the immigration experience using multiple subjects and activities.

The event took place over several class periods and involved the students traveling to five different classrooms. Each classroom represented a different theme related to immigration: the history of Ellis Island, reasons for immigration, medical screening, interview screening process and life beyond Ellis Island.

In each classroom they watched a short documentary film, answered questions about it, and then did an activity related to that classroom’s theme.

In the room about the history of Ellis Island, students selected one of four poems related to Ellis Island and analyzed it.

In the room about reasons for immigration, students answered the question ‘what would they bring if they were immigrants?’

In the medical screening room, students played games involving mental dexterity, such as Jenga.

In the room about the interview screening process, students filled out a questionnaire based on the U.S. citizenship test, with questions such as ‘What are the branches of the U.S. government called?’ and ‘How many terms can the President serve?’

In the room about life beyond Ellis Island, students worked on statistics related to immigration, such as how many came to and how many ended up staying in, the U.S.

After completing each activity, students received stamps on their documents.

“The activity helped me understand what it was like to go to Ellis Island and it made a lot of sense to go to the different rooms and see the different stages of the immigration process,” Jacob said. “My favorite room was the medical room. I liked learning about the different medical tests they had to go through, such as going up the steps to check their fitness, but it was kind of disturbing to see that they lifted their eyelids to look for disease.”

This press release was produced by the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.