Ellis Island

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Immigration is moving from your home country to live permanently in a foreign country.

Years ago, the largest immigration station in the United States of America was located in the New York harbor on Ellis Island. Between 1924 and 1982, over twelve million new immigrants came to America through Ellis Island. Many of these immigrants coming from different countries came to America in hopes of starting a new life. The hope of the new immigrants led to Ellis Island getting the nickname the Island of Hope.

Did you know Ellis Island used to be very small? It was only three acres when it was first used. As time went on, more land was added to Ellis Island. By the time they were finished, the island was over twenty-seven acres. William Alciphron Boring and Edward Lippincott Tilton were the architects that designed the buildings that still stand today on Ellis Island.

Many people from all over the world have come through Ellis Island to immigrate to the United States of America. Anyone who came to the island would have to pass inspection. They had to pass a medical inspection before they could enter the country. This helped keep harmful diseases out of the United States of America. They also had to be interviewed about whether or not they could take care of themselves. It was very important that new immigrants would be able to work and find jobs in America.

Today, Ellis Island is a popular tourist attraction. Each year, three million people visit Ellis Island. Here tourists can take a boat to the island and tour the buildings on the island. Many tours also take tourists to the Statue of Liberty, which is located directly across from Ellis Island! (To learn more about the Statue of Liberty, visit our lesson found under Additional Resources in the right-hand sidebar.)

You did a fantastic job learning about Ellis Island.

Share two facts you learned with your parent or teacher, then move on to the Got It? section to take a tour of Ellis Island.