River Valley Students Journey to 'Ellis Island'

The fourth-grade students at River Valley School had the opportunity to learn first-hand what many of their ancestors experienced when they made their first stop in America: Ellis Island. More than 12 million immigrants originally entered this nation through the Ellis Island Immigration Station, and more than 40 percent of all Americans can trace their family history back to Ellis Island.

This week, the students had the chance to be a part of a simulation activity about that immigration experience through Ellis Island. The kids “packed a suitcase”, gathered their passport, and loaded a boat to head for America. Once the children arrived at “Ellis Island”, they experienced long lines at each “station” where they were interviewed and evaluated. After visiting the stations, the immigration officials made a decision about which “immigrants” would be allowed admittance into America. A few did not pass the screening and were informed they would be “deported.”

“I love the Ellis Island Simulation! I have been doing it for the past two years now and the kids truly get the experience of what it was like going through Ellis Island,” said fourth-grade teacher Rebecca Gallico.

Gallico went on to explain that the goal of this simulation is to allow the students to be put in the immigrant’s shoes and understand the hardships of what it was like coming to America.

“As we teach this unit, we learn about the geography of the different continents and the cultures that were brought here. “