Ellis Island Where the real journey begins!
What was Ellis Island? When immigrants first arrived to New York, they docked at the Ellis Island Immigration Station.
How would you describe Ellis Island? According to If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island by Ellen Levine, the text says, Ellis Island was like a miniature city for immigrants. There were waiting rooms, dormitories for over a thousand people, restaurants, a hospital, baggage room, post office, banks to change foreign money, a railroad ticket office, medical and legal examination rooms, baths, laundries, office areas for charities and church groups, and courtrooms.
Dormitories
Ellis Island - The Process Imagine you are an immigrant traveling to America. Imagine how excited and happy you would feel once your long journey is about to end. You finally made it to Ellis Island! Yes, immigrants were extremely excited to arrive at Ellis Island, but their real journey was only beginning. Before they could enter America, there were stops they had to pass through at the Immigration Station. Remember, there were thousands of immigrants arriving at the same time. That s one long line to wait on! It could take many hours, or even days, just to exit the boat.
Ellis Island- The Process 1. Baggage Room 2. Stairways to the Registry Room (known as the Great Hall) 3. Medical Exam 4. The Great Hall 5. Legal Inspection 6. Money Exchange 7. Journey s End- The Kissing Post
First Obstacle at Ellis Island: Medical Examination Who examined the immigrants at Ellis Island? Doctors examined the immigrants before they even realized it! When immigrants walked up the stairs to the Great Hall, doctors were watching them in what was called the six second medical exam. The doctors wanted to see if immigrants limped or showed any other signs of health problems such as difficulty breathing.when they reached the top, the doctors looked at their skin, throat, hands, and scalp in a two or three minute examination. Children older than two had to walk by themselves. All immigrants were asked their names to see if they could hear and speak.
Medical Fair or Examination- Unfair? Close Analysis The Six Second Medical Exam Two to three minute examinations
Let s Pretend.. You re an Inspector at Ellis Island! Your job is to inspect each person that enters Ellis Island. Your boss tells you about a very contagious eye disease called trachoma. Your job is to make sure no one with this disease enters the country. You are asked to use a metal button hook to roll your eyelids back to see if the immigrants have this disease. That seems painful! As an inspector, why might you have used this tool?
Your first task as an inspector! A little girl approaches you with eyes that are all red. One of the signs of trachoma is red eyes. Would you let her stay? Why or why not?
Let s think... As an inspector, are you getting the whole story about this little girl just by looking at her for a few seconds? What else may have caused her eyes to be red?
A True Story According to Ellen Levine, one child had been sick on board ship, and had cried so much that her eyes were sore. She was almost sent back home but after three days of rest, she was allowed to stay. Remember to always consider MULTIPLE sides of a situation.
Ellis Island- Detainment vs. Deportation Detained- keep (someone) in official custody, typically for questioning Deportation- to send out of the country by legal deportation
Reasons for Detainment Illness or disease Mental capacity Misinterpretations of language Women and children traveling without male
Reasons for Deportation Contagious diseases Had committed crimes in their old country Had the promise of a job If you were not able to support yourself or your family Had certain mental or physical problems that would keep you from being able to work
Language Barriers Imagine you are an immigrant at Ellis Island and you do not speak English. What kind of difficulties do you think you may encounter?
What is your name? According to the website, Ellis Island: America s Gateway, Andrjuljawierjus, Grzyszczyszn, Koutsoghianopoulos, and Zemiszkicivicz are a few of the names that Ellis Island inspectors had to decipher from handwritten manifests. The inspector's prime task was to question new arrivals to verify information already recorded in the ships' manifests; however, scores of immigrants contend that in the process their names were changed or simplified. Though these changes have never been verified, stories of immigrants receiving new names as they stood behind an inspector's desk on Ellis Island are part of America's oral tradition.