Third Graders Play the Part During Immigration Day

To cap off their study of immigration, Lower School transformed into Ellis Island. Dressed as European immigrants from the 1890s, students moved from “steerage”— students were crowded in one classroom—into the “Great Hall," the assembly space. Upon arriving in the Great Hall, students had to meet inspectors, find their families, and take health, mental and citizenship exams. With little direction, they had to figure out how to get through all the steps in the immigration process. 
“We purposely disorient them,” said third grade teacher Sue DeOreo. “Our goal is to make the experience of immigration more tangible and hopefully build a sense of understanding and empathy for what people went through when they first arrived in the United States.” They even eat bananas and milk – the same snack that was provided to immigrants at Ellis Island. 
 
Immigration Day is the culminating event of the third grade “Peopling of America” unit. For four weeks, children study their personal cultural identities, learn about why and how people came to America and interview members of the Country School community who are immigrants themselves or who have family members who are immigrants. They chose which select items they would have carried with them to their new homes. Each class also writes a journal, collectively creating the story of an individual immigrant and imagining his or her experience of coming to America.
 
“Experiential activities like Immigration Day are a vital component of the Country School education,” said Head of Lower School Kathi Holz. “They engage children’s imagination and deepen their learning.”
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New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.