The Task

You will search the Internet for information about immigration to the USA through Ellis Island. You will use the information you learn to write four diary entries of an immigrant who has entered the USA through Ellis Island. The four diary entries will focus on four different aspects of the immigration process:

• In your first diary entry, write about the reasons for which you want to emigrate to the USA. Why do you want to leave your country of origin? Why do you want to go to the USA?

• In your second diary entry, write about your journey to America. What do you take with you? Do you go on your own? How do you travel there? Describe the atmosphere aboard the ship so that the reader of your diary entry can imagine what travelling aboard an overcrowded ship at the beginning of the 20th century was like.

• In your third diary entry, describe your day on Ellis Island. What are the first things you see when you come to America? What happens after your arrival? Do the inspectors let you pass all the exams without problems? What do you see, hear and smell on your first day in America?

• In your fourth diary entry, describe your first day as an immigrant in the USA. Do you stay in New York? Do you travel to another town? Do you already know where you are going to work? Are you going to see friends or relatives who live in the USA? Are you happy to be in America?

When you have finished your diary entries, we will discuss the results in class. You will choose the diary entries that will be shown in an exhibition.

You'll find all necessary links and information in the Process section.