News & Views

NCCS Third Graders Recreate a Turn of the Century Ellis Island Experience

Third graders at New Canaan Country School experienced what it might have been like to immigrate to America at the turn of the century. The hands-on learning simulation is part of the third grade’s cultural identity study on the “Peopling of America.”  

Assigned various personas, such as a Greek peddler, a French dressmaker and Polish sweatshop worker, students dressed in character and attempted to navigate their way through a re-created version of the famous Ellis Island inspection station. Faculty, acting as immigration officials and health inspectors, asked them some of the 29 questions typical of those posed to travelers of the period, such as “Who paid for your passage?” “What is the condition of your health?” and “Are you able to read and write?” 
Many students quickly realized how chaotic and arbitrary the process might have seemed to those attempting it in real life.  Staff were also invited and asked to address the students in languages other than English, simulating what it might have been like to not understand what was being said.  

Students have been studying how different groups came to America and contributed to the fabric of the nation. “This experience allows students to celebrate cultural differences and to understand how our unique backgrounds and experiences contribute to our identity as Americans,” explained Third Grade Teacher Valerie Schirmer. Students explored these concepts through storytelling, poetry, interviews, artifacts analysis, field trips — including an upcoming trip to the actual Ellis Island Museum — and the reading of literature. 

This year-long study focuses on themes of resilience, courage, respect and empathy. 
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New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.