Angel Island - The Other Port

Recall yesterday's Ellis Island. Today we visit a different island - Angel Island.

• Frame: not all ports welcomed all families equally
• Set expectation of careful learning

ANGEL ISLAND is in San Francisco Bay - on the Pacific Ocean side. About 500,000 people arrived here between 1910 and 1940, mostly from Asia. Many were Chinese families. Many were detained - held for weeks or months - because of a law called the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed in 1882, which made it very hard for Chinese families to enter the United States. While they were detained, some carved POEMS on the wooden walls of the barracks. The poems remain today and we can read them - translated into English. They are real primary sources. We will read 1-2 poems together gently. Both Ellis Island AND Angel Island were ports of arrival. Both had welcomes AND hard policies. The truth is bigger than one story.

• A poem is a primary source too.

  model It tells us this person felt sad. They had been waiting. They wanted to enter but the law made it hard.

  prompt Read together this translated poem (4 lines): 'America has a land that is rich and powerful, / But the immigration laws are harsh. / I have been here many days. / Sad and discouraged, I look at the ceiling.' What does it tell us?

• Where is Angel Island?
• What was the Chinese Exclusion Act?

M-2-S-HIS-10-A Photograph

Photo collage 11x17 with 3 Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation photos: (1) bay approach from ferry showing the barracks building on island; (2) interior of women's detention barracks with bunks; (3) close-up of wall with carved poetry visible. Each photo has discreet date label and AIISF source line. Style: respectful historical reproduction; the wall-poetry photo is the most important - it shows the primary source.

• Read one more translated poem in pairs. Fill in 4-section notice/wonder/source/feel card.

  scaffold Pre-translated poem; sentence frames
• Compare 2-column chart: Ellis Island / Angel Island - 4 facts each.

M-2-S-HIS-10-B Illustration

Poster 11x17 with 5 short poem excerpts (4 lines each, age-appropriate selections from the AIISF translated collection), each with: (1) Chinese characters as photographed on wall; (2) English translation; (3) approximate carving year. Source line: 'From Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island 1910-1940 (Lai, Lim, Yung).' Style: respectful, dignified, child-readable; poems chosen to honor the writers without traumatizing.

M-2-S-HIS-10-C Chart Physical / non-image

Chart 24x18 with 2 columns: ELLIS ISLAND (NY 1892-1954 / 12 million / mostly Europe / harbor with Statue of Liberty) / ANGEL ISLAND (SF Bay 1910-1940 / 500k / mostly Asia / Chinese Exclusion Act detention). 4 facts per column. Header: 'TWO PORTS. TWO STORIES. BOTH TRUE.' Footer: 'Source: NPS + AIISF.' Style: balanced, equal visual weight to both islands.

• Name 2 facts about Angel Island and 1 difference from Ellis Island.

• Word Wall additions
• Preview: tomorrow we begin our own family migration interview project

• Ask a family member: do you know anyone whose family came through a port of arrival? Which one?