Lesson Plan

Ellis Island Lesson Plan: Bigs Edition

Read a ship manifest, crunch immigration numbers, and record a real oral history.

This is the Bigs Edition of Ellis Island: one ready-to-teach week written just for grades 7-8. Every day follows the same rhythm: Reading on Monday, Writing and Words on Tuesday, Science and Math on Wednesday, a Hands-on Project on Thursday, and Show and Tell on Friday.

The big question: Why did millions leave everything they knew, and what can the records tell us about them?

The Week

• Mon: The New Colossus (Reading) • Tue: Recording a Family Story (Writing & Words) • Wed: Ellis Island by the Numbers (Science & Math) • Thu: Read a Ship Manifest (Hands-on Project) • Fri: Push, Pull and Barriers (Show & Tell)

Teaching more than one level? The all-levels edition of Ellis Island has Littles (K-3), Middles (4-6) and Bigs (7-8) in one file, so siblings or a mixed classroom can study the same topic together.

Perfect for homeschool families, grade 7-8 classrooms, co-ops and substitute plans.

What's inside

• 5 ready-to-teach days for Bigs (grades 7-8), about 90 to 120 minutes a day
• Lab sheet: Ellis Island by the Numbers
• Sequence cards (Building Liberty) and a cut-and-sort page (Push, Pull or Barrier?)
• Writing page: An Oral History Profile
• Hands-on project: Read and Build a Ship Manifest
• Word search, crossword, scramble and secret code puzzles
• 8 fact cards, 9 vocabulary cards and a book list of 4 titles
• A certificate and an answer key for the grown-up

Instant PDF download after checkout. Print at home.