Wednesday, July 27

Today we will begin preparing for our next film - Under the Same Moon.

Movie description: In this tale illuminating the plight of illegal aliens, Kate del Castillo plays Rosario, a woman working illegally in the United States to provide a better life for her son Carlitos (Adrian Alonso), who remains at home in Mexico. Longing for his mother, Carlitos stows away on a van that's headed for the border. But an already treacherous journey becomes even more so when Carlitos is separated from his smugglers (Jesse Garcia and America Ferrera).

For today, you will be doing some background research on the first immigrants.

Between 1892 and 1954, over 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island on their way to becoming part of America's "melting pot." Even though the trip was very difficult, people still considered America the land of opportunity.

For each question, you should be writing 2-3 sentences.

1. What countries did they come from?
2. Why did they come to America?
3. Were they welcome here? EXPLAIN.
4. What did they do when they arrived? Where did they live? Jobs? Housing?


Read the following and visit the following sites to answer the questions:
Waves of Immigration: 1892-1954
Introduction
More often than not, when the topic of immigration arises, we conjure pictures of people from foreign lands, bundled in woolen coats, standing on the side of a boat headed toward Ellis Island, their eyes filled with wonder and hope. Once the boats docked though, the immigrants faced challenges that are often overlooked. The wave of European immigration from the late 1800's to the midtwentieth century changed the face of America. Europeans settled in a young United States, established traditions, built communities, influenced the economy, and solidified their place in North American history.

When examining European immigration, most roads lead directly back to Ellis Island. During the years 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through the port of Ellis Island, a small island in the New York Harbor. (Learn more about Ellis Island) An immigrant would get their first glimpse of the
new world as they spied the Statue of Liberty, appearing on the horizon and welcoming them to their new life. Once the immigrants had entered the new country, many were faced with obstacles they were not expecting. Each culture, though, managed to carve out their piece of America and create a personal history and vision of the American dream.

Websites:
http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Timeline.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellis_Island
http://www.nps.gov/elis/historyculture/upload/Brief-History-of-Ellis-Island.pdf