Katelynn Arroyo

SSE 6115
Artifact Bag

1. Passport (T) Passports were one of the first documents obtained when preparing for the
trip to America. Each countrys process for obtaining a passport differed, but usually one
could be purchased for a small fee from local government officials. This passport belonged
to Maria Michela Caserta, born in 1891, who lived in southern Italy. A stamp from White
Star Line, the steamship company that brought her to America, is visible on the back cover.

2. Ship Manifest (T) Beginning in 1893, every steamship bringing passengers to the United
States was required to keep a ship manifest, or log book, listing the names, ages, occupants,
and other personal information of each passenger. Up to 30 passengers names were included
on an individual ship manifest. This manifest is from the Caronias journey from
Queenstown, Ireland, to New York in May 1906 is filled mostly with names of young,
unmarried Irish immigrants and includes details of how much money immigrants had,
whether he or she was literate, and the persons state of health. The information on these
manifests were also used to determine if immigrants would be turned away from entering
America.

3. Literacy Test: Chinese (T) In 1917, the US government instituted a barrier to restrict
immigration: literacy. All immigrants ages 16 or older had to read a passage of 30 to 40
words before being allowed into the country. Since it would have been impossible to require
immigrants to be literate in English, immigrants had to read cards printed in their native
language. There were two types of literacy cards: excerpts from the bible or instructional

cards.
4. Birth Certificate (T) In Ellis Island, a 125-bed hospital opened in 1902 which was
expanded in 1907 and again in 1910 bringing capacity up to 275. More than 350 babies were
born on Ellis Island. This birth certificate belonged to Robert Rodojcsin, born in 1921.

5. Declaration of Intention (T) This form from the US Department of Labor was one of
many that needed to be filled out before an immigrant could become a naturalized citizen.
This declaration of intention form belonged to Margit Bajhazi, a 21-year old woman who
traveled to New York from Hungary and became a dressmaker. This form includes a physical
description of Margit, as well as the dates and details of her immigration. To officially
declare her intent to become a citizen, she relinquished allegiance and fidelity to any other
government and solemnly swore that she was not an anarchist or a polygamist and that it was
her intention in good faith to become a citizen of the United States of America and to
permanently reside therein.

A. Briefly describe how these artifacts could be used to introduce or teach necessary concepts to
students?
These artifacts are great primary sources to introduce to students. According to the social studies
state standards, students in second grade will begin to examine primary and secondary sources,
identify reasons why people came to the United States throughout history, and discuss the
importance of Ellis Island to immigration from 1892-1954. These artifacts could be used to teach
these necessary concepts to students through a hands-on approach and historical inquiry method
of learning. Students could compare and contrast passports from this time period to passports of
today and the process to obtain one. Students could learn a lot about immigrants who passed
through Ellis Island from the Ship Manifest alone. The ships immigrants traveled on to get to
Ellis Island were often small and very crowded; the ship manifest gives a first-hand account of
just how many people were crammed onto these ships. Literacy tests were given to immigrants
as an attempt to restrict immigration; students could research the immigration process today to

see if Literacy Cards are still used and how the process differs. Students could compare
immigrants birth certificates to their own to see if any additional information has been added to a
Birth Certificate since this time period being studied. The last artifact in my box is a declaration
of intention which states the immigrants intent of becoming a citizen, remaining loyal to the
American government and permanently residing in the country. This is a great artifact to begin
teaching students the concept of citizenship, what it means to be a good citizen, and how an
immigrant from another country could become a citizen of our country.
B. How could the resources compiled here be used in your unit plan to entice, motivate, and
educate your students? Note one example using a book or website.
Students love when they have the opportunity to learn things hands-on. Tangible artifacts are a
great way to entice and motivate students to learn what is being instructed. These artifacts,
although not original documents, look and feel as if they were from the time period of 1892 to
1954. They are the next best thing to taking students to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum to
see original artifacts on display. Throughout my unit plan, students will be using the Interactive
Tour of Ellis Island through the Scholastic website online, as well as the Virtual Tour than can be
found on the same page. While students are taking the tour and stopping at each stop immigrants
had to pass through, these documents can be used to further their understanding of what was
happening as the immigrants proceeded through the stations. Using artifacts is a great way for
my students to examine and understand the use of primary sources and seeing these documents
first-hand will help students comprehend the material being instructed in my lessons on a deeper
level. I believe that these artifacts will get students thinking more deeply about the historical
content that lies within them which will spark questions from my students; these questions will
involve into inquiry and it is through an inquiry method of teaching that my students will have a
deeper understanding of Ellis Island and its importance to immigration.