Dear Parents/Guardians,

As a reminder, our class has been working really hard over the past unit
to learn about immigration and the history of America. We are not only
learning about the different cultures and groups who have immigrated to
America, but we are looking at our own family history as well. How neat! This
book bag was created for the students to dig deeper into their family history
and to learn about where their ancestors came from or if they traveled to
Ellis Island just like the characters in the presented book below. I am so
excited for you and your child to work on this activity together!

This book back includes the book that you will have the opportunity to
read with your student as well as several other fun activities that I ask you
to complete before, during, and after reading the provided literature. You
will also see a brief survey provided that I ask you to fill out at the end of
the lesson to help me get guidance about how the lesson went for you and your
student. This feedback will help me make any possible changes in the future.

This book bag includes:

- Coming to America: The Story of Immigration by Betsy Maestro
- Direction sheet
- Questions to focus on and discuss prior to the reading
- Worksheet activities to fill out during and after the reading
- A survey for you and your student to complete after the activity
- A box of crayons

I kindly ask that you and your student work together to keep all of the
materials provided in this book bag neat and to assure that it is returned
in a timely manner. Parents and students will both be responsible for any
damaged or missing items that are not returned in this bag. We want all
students and parents to have the same opportunity completing the above
activities.

I hope you and your student enjoy this at home hands on learning
experience. I am so thrilled to have students extend their learning outside
of the classroom.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me!
- Miss Mansholt Please return by: Oct. 1st 2020
 Book Bag Direction Sheet

Before activity:
For the before activity, you and your student will
start by having a discussion about the book before reading
it. Look at the front and back cover of the book and go
through a picture walk by flipping through each page and
discussing the provided questions.

During activity:
For the during activity, discuss your family history
with your student and fill out the provided family tree
worksheet while reading the book. Pay attention to all of
the different cultures and countries that are seen
throughout the story!

After activity:
For the after activity, complete the crossword puzzle
with key definitions and facts that are seen throughout
the story. Try to not use your book!

Reflection
Please remember to fill out the book bag reflection so
help me further understand the effectiveness of the
provided activities.
Before Activity Student Name: _____________________________
Completed with: ___________________________

Before you start the reading, Coming to America: The

Story of Immigration, please answer and discuss the
questions:

- What do you notice about the front and back cover?

- What do you think the book will be about?

- When going through the picture walk, what stood out to

you?

- Is there anything you already know about the topic of

immigration?
During Activity Student Name:___________________________
Completed with:_________________________
MY FAMILY TREE
While reading the book discuss as a family the native countries you or your
ancestors have immigrated from. Please add your family heritage to the tree
dating as far back as possible. Include any siblings, parents,
grandparents, or other family members you think would best help show your
family history and culture! Use your crayons to add some color!
After Activity Student Name:_____________________________
Completed with:___________________________
Coming to America Crossword

Across
1.What Immigration center opened on January
1, 1892?
3. Another word for America due to the many
cultures and ways of live that are blended
together
4. Another word for American Indians
7. What is the name of the main ocean that
the Immigrants had to cross?
9. Who "discovered" America in 1492?
11. People who are forced to leave their
homelands to escape persecution or the
dangers of war and natural disaster
Down
2. What is the historical landmark the
Immigrants first saw when first arriving?
4. Where is Ellis Island located?
5. Who was the first person who stepped
ashore to Ellis Island?
6. How many languages were heard on the
streets of New York City in 1700?
8. People who come to a new land to make
their home
10. In 1990, Ellis Island was reopened as a ?
ANSWER KEY
 For my chosen book bag activity, I chose to focus on the social studies

standard: 3.1.9 Define immigration and explain how immigration enriches

community. The reason that I decided to focus on this standard for third grade

was because I thought that the topic of immigration and family heritage was

important content to introduce to students at an early age. The book that I

decided to focus my book bag on is Coming to America: The Story of Immigration

by Betsy Maestro. This book introduces students to just some of the ethnic

groups that immigrated to America and the reasons that they chose to do so.

The topic of immigration allows students to think about their own family

heritage and to have a deep and meaningful conversation with a parent about

the topic. This book also has some fantastic visuals that shows the true

diversity of our country. The book also discusses one of the biggest

immigration ports in America, Ellis Island, and explained the challenges the

immigrants faced when arriving to their new homeland. One of the most amazing

aspects of this book and the main reason I decided to choose this book was due

to the important dates and facts about immigration that are presented in the

back.

After reading the two book bag articles presented to us, I was able to have

a clear understanding of how I wanted to go about developing my Immigration

Book Bag. In the reading Making Global Connections with Family Book Bags by
Cruzado-Guerrero And Kenreich it explained that “your unit should include

goals that allow you to deeply examine cultural universals and develop a more

global perspective”(2). This quote really helped me think about what social

studies topic and standard I wanted to pursue with my book bag. The topic of

Immigration immediately stood out to me because I knew that the parents would

be able to help guide the students’ knowledge about the diversity of

different cultures that we see in America and in our own communities. After I

had the baseline concept that I wanted to pursue I tried to think of the most

engaging activities for the student and parent to complete together. In the

reading Take-Home Book Bags: A Motivating Strategy for Home Support by

Marciano it mentioned that “since children’s artwork most often consists of

drawing with crayons or markers, make a concerted effort to use other

activities for your book bag”(34). This quote stood out to me because it

challenged me to think of new and innovative activities to include in my book

bag. I endured the challenge of thinking of a set of activities for the family

to complete together that would not be too hard or too easy. The activities

that I ended up choosing were a question sheet, a crossword puzzle, and a

family tree worksheet. Overall, I am very happy with how the materials and

resources I chose to include in my Immigration Book Bag turned out!

Use the QR code below to access a visual
and audio recording of Coming to
America: The Story of Immigration!
 Book Bag Reflection

1. Which task was your favorite to complete in the book bag?

Why?

2. Which task in the book bag was the easiest for you to
complete?

3. Which task in the book bag was the hardest for you to
complete?

4. Would you recommend this book bag to another family to

complete? Circle yes or no.

5. Would you like to complete another book bag activity in the

future?

6. Any addition comments or suggestions?