Compare and Contrast Ellis Island and Angel Island Activity

Students will watch and analyze 2 videos on Ellis Island and Angel Island and the experiences immigrants had at each by answering 37 questions (and 5 more to compare and contrast them). They will then analyze 9 political cartoons according to 4 prompts. Lastly, they will design a cube in one of two ways to show what they learned (additional text based links are provided if students need or want more information).

The videos are about 5 minutes each and are from PBS and the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. The answers, teacher information, and instructions for putting the cube together are included.  

Sample questions include:
--Why was there also a fear connected to reaching Ellis Island?
--What did those 12 million people in the first 30 years have in common?
--Explain the connection between wheat from Kansas and immigration.
--Summarize the fate of those who were identified with question 10's answer.
--Identify the first two steps immigrants took upon arriving at Angel Island.
--Why were the line inspections carried out?
--Describe what happened in the registry room.
--Why weren’t the buildings at Angel Island demolished?

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