Learning Context/ Introduction
Port of Entry: Immigration is a sample lesson highlighting the immigrant experience in American life. Students assume the
role of historical detective and travel back in time to the turn of the
As historical detectives, they search for clues to the past in images and
primary source documents from the American Memory collections.
Students begin their detective work by examining a series of
photographs depicting life and work on New York's Lower East side. They
visit other immigrant neighborhoods, one in the Midwest, another in Texas. In their
search for clues to the immigrant experience, students take an online site
visit to Ellis Island, the portal to America for millions of immigrants
arriving from Europe. Along the way students learn about the different waves of
immigrants that transformed America into a multicultural "nation of
Students complete their investigation by reading the immigrant stories
documented through personal interviews collected by the Federal
Writers' Project in the 1930s. These life histories from American Memory
contain compelling firsthand accounts of immigrant life in America.
Online Resources from Library of Congress
Library of Congress Home Page
Search the home page of the Library to learn about current exhibits,
special programs, publications, and services.
American Memory Collections
The Library of Congress offers a gateway to many American history primary
sources. For an annotated list of American Memory collections and the
broad topics covered in each collection, click on "Browse"
on the home page of American Memory.
The following American memory collections contain images, documents,
pamphlets, films, and/or oral histories relating to the theme of immigration.
The Learning Page
- Search Guides help users organize
their online search strategy by suggesting topics, people, places, events, and
historical eras, as well as words and phrases to use when searching for items
in American Memory collections.
- Collection Connections identify
the U.S. history content and themes of the American Memory collections as well
as related online resources from the Library of Congress. This option also suggests
teaching strategies for helping students develop historical thinking skills and
reach goals set forth in social studies frameworks.
- Read More About It
compiled by the Center for the Book provides a bibliography of print
sources for adult and younger readers.
- Features and Activities provide users with opportunities
to assume the role of detective and solve history mysteries. Weekly puzzle activities
help students hone visual literacy skills.
- Lesson Plans offer sample teaching
units on Congress and the Constitution; Using Primary Sources; and Oral Histories
as well as more than 50 American Memory collections.
Search this site for multimedia versions of exhibits presented at the
Library of Congress, including the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration
This site features full-text searchable legislation and the Congressional
Record from the 103rd Congress forward, the Congressional Record Index,
Bill Summaries, the full text of the U.S. Constitution, and How Our Laws
Library of Congress Online Catalog
This site offers resources for researchers and information professionals.
These include the catalogs of the Library of Congress and other libraries,
databases on special topics, and other Library of Congress Internet resources.
15-30 minutes, depending on individual student's exploration of the materials and links given into the American Memory collections
After completing Port of Entry, students will be able to:
- identify patterns of immigration throughout America's history;
- explain procedures immigrants followed at Ellis Island;
- recognize the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty in the immigrant experience;
- draw conclusions about life and work in America at the turn of the century;
- identify and analyze historical images;
- recognize point of view in print and visual materials;
- assess credibility of primary sources; and
- synthesize information presented in images, documents, and oral interviews.
Activities and Projects
There are many ways to integrate primary sources and images from this
lesson and the American Memory collections into your curriculum.
The following projects and activities on the themes of immigration and
turn-of-the-century America offer some ideas for integrating these
materials into your students' work.
- Write a letter to a friend or relative back home from the point-of-view
of an immigrant at the turn of the century. In your letter describe your journey
over to America, your arrival at Ellis Island, and how you are adapting to
life in your new country.
- Reread the chapter or sections on the immigration experience in your history
textbook and search the American Memory collections for photographs to illustrate
the narrative. Write a picture caption for each image you select or present
your images as a picture essay.
- Create a collage of images and words from the collections to illustrate
a theme in the American Memory collections such as patriotism, freedom, immigration,
multiculturalism, or a related topic.
- Compile a picture book entitled "The Changing Face of America." Search for
images of selected cities, towns, or streets at different periods of time
in America's past. Be sure to write a caption identifying the setting (time
and place in history) and significant visual clues the images provide about
- Imagine yourself as an investigative reporter. Search the collections to
investigate and report on social and economic conditions in America at the
turn of the century. Focus on living and working conditions for immigrant
laborers. Select a historical photograph. Predict what will happen one minute,
hour, or day after the photograph was taken. Cite reasons or evidence to support
- Find two life histories that illustrate developing social roles relating
to gender, race, life style, and technology. Create a chart or write a special
feature for a history textbook to compare life "then" and "now."
- Choose a life history of an immigrant of special interest to you and continue
the interview. Compile a list of questions that will elicit information you
want to know about the subject and his or her experiences coming to and living
Three handouts guide students as they search for historical clues.
- Analyzing Images - provides focus questions for discovering and analyzing details in images.
- Analyzing Primary Sources - provides focus questions for evaluating primary sources.
- What's New at the Library? - extends the lesson by taking students to the Library's website to explore its contents.
Handouts 1 & 2 have been integrated into the lesson. To expand
the lesson and help students discover the wide range of resources available through the Library's World Wide Web home page, use
Handout 3. All handouts may be printed for use with the lesson.
You are free to use any items in this lesson for educational
purposes. You may also duplicate and distribute the handouts, giving credit to
the Library of Congress as the source.
Because there are countless ways in which educators and students may use images
and documents in the American Memory collections, it is advisable that users read
the copyright restriction statement that accompanies each American Memory collection.
The Copyright Restrictions area of the Learning Page provides examples of responsible use of American Memory
collections in an educational setting.
Reproduced from the Library of Congress web site for teachers. Original lesson plan created as part of the Library of Congress American Memory Fellows Program.