Life in a Suitcase: A History of Ellis Island

 In this lesson taught to high schoolers, students investigate human migration and immigration exploring the evolution of United States quota laws. Through comparing and contrasting European and American attitudes towards immigrants, students learn about immigration patterns throughout history. The students complete the lesson through song lyric and photograph analysis, as well as “migrating” to different stations throughout the classroom with various primary sources at each station.  The students then create a migration narrative describing life as an immigrant using evidence from the primary sources