Coming to America

We've been learning all about immigrants. The students had an opportunity to learn a little about their own family history. Next, we discovered why immigrants came to America, how they came, why they came, where they came from, and the many hardships they faced along the way. After we learned about the experiences of the immigrants we had our own Ellis Island simulation. The students all "became" an immigrant. They packed their "bags", came up with a personal account, and got on the ship to America. After the "long journey" to Ellis Island (the gym), the passengers were all released to various stations to receive clearance into the US.

Take a peek at our trip to America...

On board the ship, we were very crowded in steerage.

The students each read their immigrant story.

Some passengers were a bit scared. They were unsure of whether or not they would make it into America.

These students are filling out the information sheets to attempt to get into America.

When students had passed all o their inspections, the Immigration Clerk issued a Certificate of Citizenship to America.

This passenger is happy that he has passed many of the inspections so far!

Will he be able to pass the interview questions?

The medical exams were the scariest part as many passengers got very sick along the way.

Measles? Mumps? What will the doctor find out?

This passenger's health was questionable so he received a chalk mark on his back.

Ready to get those bags checked!

The first thing the students saw when they got to Ellis Island was the Statue of Liberty.

At Ellis Island, passengers had to wait in long lines.

Doctor inspections

Officially a citizen of the United States. Passengers were thrilled when they passed all of their inspections!

These passengers have been admitted into the United States and are waiting for their Certificate of Citizenship.

"And I'm glad to be an American..."

American citizens!

Welcome to America party!

Enjoying a Statue of Liberty torch cupcake

A much needed update on our learning...

We have been so busy learning lately. Here is just a little glimpse at a few things we've been doing. (I lost quite a few pictures from my computer. I apologize that not every child is pictured in this post due to the computer problem.)

Inferencing Detectives....The students all brought in their "trash". As a class we had to compile the clues and make an inference about the student.

A few Christmas pictures....

Bo made a home in our tissue box.

He left us a few fun videos on the computer.

Grandma came in as our Mystery Reader!! :)

We made suitcases to carry our Christmas Around the World souvenirs.

At Christmas time we wanted to show the teachers around the school how thankful we are for them. The students each wrote a thank you note to a different teacher/staff member and delivered it with a light bulb cookie.

Bo had to leave for the year, but he left us a message on our Boggle board!

Valentine's Day...In Math class we made our Valentine's Day boxes. The students were each given money to buy things to make their boxes. First they had to figure out what design they wanted to use to make their box. Next, they had to determine what materials they would need. The students then had to figure out how much money they would spend on the materials at the Valentine Store and how much change they would get back. Finally, they went "shopping", bought their materials, counted out their change from the cash drawer, and then started to create their boxes.

The boys are figuring out what materials they need to create their boxes.

Calculating...

Valentine's Day Party

Valentine's Day Minute to Win It

Cupid's Arrow game

Visions of Immigrants...As we learned about immigrants this past week, the students practiced visualizing. As we read, they used the visualizing strategy to picture in their heads what was happening in the story.

Geometric Cities...The students all created their Geometric Cities. They presented their cities and voted on which city they wanted to live in. Check out all of these GREAT posters!

Contraction Surgery..In Reading, the students got a chance to be surgeons. They had to use a scalpel (scissors) to make an incision in a patient (2 words that make a contraction). Next they used stitches (band aids) to connect the patient back together (make an apostrophe).