Lesson Plan

Ellis Island Lesson Plan: Middles Edition

Live an Ellis Island arrival day, run a penny patina lab, and scale the statue.

This is the Middles Edition of Ellis Island: one ready-to-teach week written just for grades 4-6. 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: What did one day at Ellis Island feel like for a family hoping to start over?

The Week

• Mon: Gateway in the Harbor (Reading) • Tue: A Letter Home (Writing & Words) • Wed: Penny Patina Lab (Science & Math) • Thu: Arrival Day Role-Play (Hands-on Project) • Fri: One Journey Museum (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 4-6 classrooms, co-ops and substitute plans.

What's inside

• 5 ready-to-teach days for Middles (grades 4-6), about 60 to 90 minutes a day
• Lab sheet: Penny Patina Lab
• Sequence cards (Arrival Day) and a cut-and-sort page (Push or Pull?)
• Writing page: A Letter Home from Ellis Island
• Hands-on project: Arrival Day Role-Play
• Word search, crossword, scramble and secret code puzzles
• 8 fact cards, 9 vocabulary cards and a book list of 5 titles
• A certificate and an answer key for the grown-up

Instant PDF download after checkout. Print at home.