Home > History > U.S. History > VI. Twentieth Century to the Present

VI. Twentieth Century to the Present

On this page:

1. American Family Immigration History Center--Ellis Island
2. Ellis Island
3. Immigration : The Living Mosaic of People, Culture, and Hope
4. Immigration: Stories of Yesterday & Today
5. In the Mix - Teen Immigrants: Five American Stories
6. Journey To Topaz
7. PBS: The New Americans
8. The Ruby Bridges Foundation

American Family Immigration History Center--Ellis Island
http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/

If you want to learn about immigration, this is the site for you! The one and (in my eyes) only problem is that the page is run by Ellis Island and wants to sell you stuff, and has a lot of ads. But overall I highly recommend this site. At the moment, I am doing a report on immigration through Ellis Island and this is my main source. On top of it all, this site is very easy to navigate and loads VERY quickly. The site updates its information many times a year. Also the information is presented in many forms, and is organized well. A very nice feature is that you can find your ancestors that immigrated through Ellis Island. The best part of this site is that it is very clear, and has a TON of information. If you want to learn more, this site is a great resource!

• Student Author: Brent W.
• Teacher: Dave Haagensen
• Librarian: Renee Hoxie
• School: Thomas Jefferson Middle School
• Year: 2001-2002

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Ellis Island
http://www.historychannel.com/ellisisland/index2.html

If you were an immigrant, would you make it past Ellis Island? Well, if you want to know, this site's for you! At historychannel.com, they offer a free quiz that evaluates the conditions you would have faced at Ellis Island. It gives extra information about the immigration of your particular ethnic heritage. Here you can even build your own family tree! Just enter the names of your ancestors in the spaces provided, and the computer will make your family tree for you. If you'd like to see a detailed timeline on the development of Ellis Island, here's where to go. The good graphics and map of Ellis Island really make this site special. Students who want to know about the treatment of immigrants after Ellis Island would find the site very useful. I used historychannel.com to find statistics on how many immigrants were allowed into Ellis Island. I found even more than I needed! I found out about the conditions that were required to pass Ellis Island, and anyone who wants to know about any aspect of immigration, historychannel.com is where you must go!

• Student Author: Michelle N.
• Teacher: Dave Haagensen
• Librarian: Renee Hoxie
• School: Thomas Jefferson Middle School
• Year: 2001-2002

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Immigration : The Living Mosaic of People, Culture, and Hope
http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/index.html

Did you ever want to know what might have happened to the Italians when they came to the U.S.? This site tells you about the Italians and many other ethnic groups that migrated to the U.S.A. It also includes a timeline of information starting way back in 1492, and going until 1996. There are many stories that people have written about their experiences and how different it was when they arrived. It has stories from both today and the past. The pictures in this site are all very detailed and clear and help you to understand the writing. There are pictures of boats arriving at Ellis Island and of the people being examined. This site has so much information to offer; it's a great site for immigration research.

• Student Author: Elisa B.
• Teacher: Dave Haagensen
• Librarian: Renee Hoxie
• School: Thomas Jefferson Middle School
• Year: 2001-2002

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Immigration: Stories of Yesterday & Today
http://teacher.scholastic.com/immigrat/index.htm

I recommend this site for research and stories about immigrants. They have information on five young adults who moved here from Mexico, Haiti, and other places during the 1990's and their stories told in their own words. They also had an in-depth look at the experience of Seymour Rechzeit, a boy who came to America from Poland in 1920. There is an interactive tour of Ellis Island with audio and video as well as a scrapbook full of interviews, pictures and stories. Lastly, there are graphs, charts and tables on immigration statistics.

• Student Author: Bess B.
• Teacher: Rick Herndon
• This site helped Rick Herndon's class answer the question(s) "What are some reasons behind why people migrate to the United States and how are their lives changed? "
• Technology Teacher: Jill Cohan
• School: Ray F. Sennett Middle School
• Year: 2001-2002

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In the Mix - Teen Immigrants: Five American Stories
http://www.pbs.org/inthemix/shows/show_teen_immigrants.html

The Teen Immigrants web site is a good site because it has many things to see like the timeline and stories telling what it is like for people our age to come to America for the first time. This web page has real teens that immigrated from other countries telling what it is like to come to America. It also tells you what is fact and what is fiction about immigrants. Do you want to know what it is like coming to America for the first time or what you are thinking about when you first step into America? Go to this web site and you'll find out! (Ashley K.)

How would you like it if you are eating your dinner and all of a sudden your parents come rushing in, grab your arm and tell you you have to leave? "Why" you ask your parents. "Because there is a war going on" they tell you. I personally wouldn't like it very much. This site tells about 5 teenage immigrants. It has some other stuff too : immigration info, responses to some questions, you can also answer some other kids immigration questions, and it has some polls. It also has a T.V. show just like the internet site. The links are on the bottom of the first page. This is a great starting site for kids who want to know about immigrants their age. (Chris B.)

• Student Author: Ashley K., Chris B.
• Teacher: Rick Herndon
• This site helped Rick Herndon's class answer the question(s) "What are some reasons behind why people migrate to the United States and how are their lives changed? "
• Technology Teacher: Jill Cohan
• School: Ray F. Sennett Middle School
• Year: 2001-2002

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Journey To Topaz
http://wizard.hprtec.org/builder/worksheet.php3?ID=3091

The web site Journey to Topaz is a good resource for people who are reading the book of the same title. The site has pictures and maps of the internment camps for Asian-Americans. If you want to learn about Asian-Americans during WWII, visit the site and read the book and learn how life was for a little girl named Yuki who was forced to go to concentration camps in California.

• Student Author: Rachel S.
• Teacher: Marjorie Passman
• This site helped Marjorie Passman's class answer the question(s) "Where can students learn more about the topic dealt with in the book Journey to Topaz?"
• Librarian: Laura Holt
• School: Cherokee Middle School
• Year: 2001-2002

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PBS: The New Americans
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/newamericans/

Have you ever wondered how to find where your family came from? This site gives information on immigration now and for the past six decades. It provides information on where people came from and why. Population growth and decline over the course of American history is explained. The site even gives information on why some Americans think immigration is good or bad. Teachers are provided with lesson plans and guides, too. Overall this site is packed with information.

• Student Author: Audrey C.
• Teacher: Rick Herndon
• This site helped Rick Herndon's class answer the question(s) "What are some reasons behind why people migrate to the United States and how are their lives changed? "
• Technology Teacher: Jill Cohan
• School: Ray F. Sennett Middle School
• Year: 2001-2002

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The Ruby Bridges Foundation
http://www.rubybridges.org/

Every day the angry mobs on the steps of William Frantz Public School insulted and yelled at 6-year old Ruby Bridges on her way to school. This is carefully described with every detail by Ruby herself on the Ruby Bridges Foundation Web Site. The information is very organized and has a lot of depth. The error-free information on dates and events is very accurate. The touching graphics depict Ruby's troubled school life. The backround isn't too bright, making the site look official. Every different topic has its own site, and they are all linked to and from the home page. Topic headings, like "articles," "images," and "story" provide great information for reports and papers. This site doesn't advertise annoyingly, but you can find working links to purchase Ruby Bridges books. You can also reach them by using the "contact us" link. (This site was submitted as part of the "Talking Walls" unit.)

• Student Author: Dayu L. and Alex T.
• Teacher: Judy Patrick
• This site helped Judy Patrick's class answer the question(s) "From Ruby's point of view, what was it like to be the only child in the class? How important was it that Ruby go to this all white school? What was the attitude of the white people?"
• Librarian: Renee Hoxie
• School: Thomas Jefferson Middle School
• Year: 2001-2002

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