Social Studies Mentor Text Linky & a Freebie!

For the past three years, I have been part of the Teaching American History Grant in my district. This summer the three years ends and the grant is over. Unfortunately, the federal government is not extending any of these grants at this time.  The leaders brought in so many experts in the field of history, we were given tons of resources, and offered trips to New York, Washington, D.C., and St. Augustine. The timeline of study was the Revolutionary War to Immigration. Next week is our last summer institute. The three years did come with some work on the part of the participants. We had lesson plans to write along the way and we were observed by the leader of the grant. All in all it was a wonderful learning experience that I'm happy I participated in.

The content area of today's Mentor Text Linky from Collaboration Cuties comes at a perfect time. I just finished writing my final lesson plan which was on the topic of immigration. We had to incorporate literature and my partner and I chose  Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say and The Memory Coat by Elvira Woodruff. Our plan focus was on comparing the immigration process at Ellis Island and Angel Island. These two books offer nice background knowledge, mixing fact and fiction. We also created a PowerPoint with more information and photographs of these two places.

In this first book, the author reminiscences about his grandfather's journey to America from Japan and describes the cultural differences. I especially like it because the author uses his own family's experiences as the basis of the story.

The Memory Coat is the story of a Jewish family leaving Russia for America. It describes their life in Russia and how they almost didn't make it past Ellis Island into America.

To round out a study of immigration, this book Shutting out the Sky: Life in the Tenement of New York 1880-1924 is a good resource, especially for the upper grades. It tells the story of five immigrant families and the struggles of acclimating to America. There are a number of photographs which brings in the use of primary source documents.

After reading these (or other books about immigrants), your students can write a point of view narrative. After gathering factual information, they start by creating a profile of an immigrant by filling in this prewriting form. Students can then use this information to write an historical fiction narrative.

Click HERE to download a copy.

Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy your week!