Immigration Then & Now

SOCIAL STUDIES – Learning through oral history and primary sources, students will compare early immigration via steamship with immigration today.

Brigitte Bentele boarded the SS United States with her family and left Germany for America in 1956. Students will compare her story with another young boy in the 1920s and with immigrants today. Photo courtesy of the Brigitte Bentele.
Seymour Rechtzei was just eight years old when he boarded the Red Star Line’s Lapland to leave his home in Poland to pursue his dreams of being a star in America. Image from the SSHSA Archives.

  Learning Objectives:

Students will:

  • Use web technology to access immigration history
  • Develop an understanding of the concept of immigration
  • Compare and contrast immigration stories of the past with the present
  • Use technology to explore a historical place and event
  • Learn about different experiences of immigration from both video and written oral histories
  • Develop an understanding of push/pull factors in immigration
  • Learn about what it was like to travel by steamship and how it changed over time.

Materials Needed:

  • Large map of the world
  • Yarn in multiple colors
  • Push pins
  • Optional: Double-sided tape or another way to temporarily attach photos to the map display

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Brigitte Bentele (left) with her mother and sisters look at the Statue of Liberty upon their arrival to the U.S. from Germany on board the SS United States.
The SS United States. Braun Brother’s Collection, SSHSA Archives.

Education Standards:

Common Core

Key Ideas and Details:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1 -Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.2 -Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3 -Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.7 – Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.8 – Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.9 – Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.

Introduction Activity: Classroom Geography (1-2 days)

This activity will help students visualize their own and others’ connections to other countries around the world. First, hang a large map of the world. Ask students to bring in photos of themselves or draw self-portraits. Take the pictures the students provide and put them around the border of the map. Have each student connect a piece of yarn from his or her picture to a country or region where his or her ancestors lived, and secure it with push pins. You can color code the yarn by category such as country, continent, or world region. Encourage a discussion about the final map. 

Activity 1: Ellis Island Interactive Tour (1–2 days)

Step 1: Begin by explaining to students that everyone living in the United States has an immigrant past, with the exception of Native Americans. Over the last few centuries, millions of people have made their way to America. Some people, like slaves, came unwillingly. You can draw from the history of immigration via steamships here. 

Step 2: Write the word “immigration” on the board or a piece of chart paper along with its definition. Provide a few examples of immigration. If possible, use personal stories. Ask students to share their own examples, ideas, or questions about immigration. Invite students to share information about their own families’ countries of origin and write all responses on the board.

Step 3: Discuss events in U.S. history and world history that are related to immigration. List these on the board. Examples could include wars, natural disasters, economic opportunities in the U.S., etc.

Step 4: Write “Ellis Island,” on the board and explain how it is an important part of the history of American immigration.

Step 5: Invite students to take the interactive tour of Ellis Island. When they are done with the activity, have them write down what information they learned about Ellis Island.

**If you have time, you can do the virtual field trip to Ellis Island.

Activity 2: Brigitte’s Journey on Board The SS United States (1-2 days)

Step 1: Explain to your students that they will view a video on an immigrant who came to America from Germany as a child on board the SS United States. Discuss examples of push/pull factors in immigration. What are some reasons that may push people to want to leave their country and what pulls them toward the United States?

Step 2: Watch the video.

Step 3: Ask students to provide responses to these short answer questions:

  1. Did Brigitte’s family experience push or pull factors that led them to come to America or was it a combination of both?
  2. Explain in detail the reasons.
  3. What was Brigitte’s journey like on a steamship?
  4. What were some of the difficulties she experienced in America if any?
  5. Was there a part of the film that stood out to you the most?

Activity 3: Relive a Boy’s Journey (1–2 days):

Step 1: Introduce the story of Seymour Rechtzeit, an immigrant who came through Ellis Island as a boy and distribute the article “Relive a Boy’s Journey to America.” Provide time for your students to read Seymour’s story on their own or in pairs. If you have time and want to elaborate on immigration and disease, consider teaching this lesson as an extension.

Step 2: Have students review the images from the Red Star Line brochure from the SSHSA Archives (download the pdf to handout) and respond to these short answer questions:

  1. Ask students to recall the reasons Seymour came to the United States.
  2. How did his journey on a steamship differ from that of Brigitte?
  3. Seymour came to America in 1920 and Brigitte came in 1956. Do you think travel by steamship improved in the 1950s? What clues can you find in their stories that might make it seem that Brigitte’s travel was easier?
  4. Look at the images from the Red Star Line brochure for the Lapland’s first class accommodations. How did Seymour travel? Did class matter when immigrating? Explain the difference in passenger class between Brigitte and Seymour.

Activity 4: Immigrants Today & Immigration Data (1-2 days)

Have students learn about immigrants today.

Explore immigration data. 

Discuss as a class:

  • What are some of the differences that immigrants faced in the past compared with immigrants today?
  • Why was America a popular destination for immigrants? Is it still today?
  • How has America changed as a result of immigration?
  • Define immigration. What are some reasons people immigrate?
  • Explain the differences between immigrate, emigrate and migrate?