Wednesday, December 5, 2001
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Wednesday, December 5, 2001 |
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Burch hosts annual Immigration Day Students, parents and teachers at Robert J. Burch Elementary School recently took a trip back in time to 1898 New York City to see what life was like for early immigrants who settled in the town. Each year, fifth-graders at the school study a unit on immigration during 1880-1920. Through their studies, they learn about how immigrants lived, worked and played in a country whose language and customs were different from that of their homeland. "I think what amazed the kids the most was that as many as eight to 10 people would live together in a one-room apartment and that all of the apartments on a hallway shared one bathroom," said Becky Byrd, a fifth-grade social studies teacher at Burch. "Many of these kids have their own bathrooms and they were just horrified at the thought of sharing a bathroom with that many people." Through a book called "Immigration Kids," students learned what life was like for the children of the early immigrants. While parents struggled to hang on to old country traditions, their children were Americanized quickly and started adopting customs of the new world. The students learned that the favorite sport among immigrant children was baseball because it represented America. For the past four years, it has become a tradition at Burch to host an immigration day at the end of the social studies unit. Students transform the cafeteria to resemble New York City in 1898 with buildings they draw and paint. Dressed in traditional clothing from the country they represent, students share different ethnic foods, customs, and items that are characteristic of one of the various countries from which the early immigrants migrated. "I thought it was really cool to learn that my favorite food came from Greece," said Emma Piggins, who had plenty of her favorite steak, pita bread and feta cheese, to share with visitors who stopped by her table. Logan House, who represented Austria, said the one thing that amazed him the most was the number of famous people who were from the country. "I learned that Arnold Schwartzenegger and Sigmund Freud were both born in Austria," said House. "I think that's pretty neat." This year's Immigration Day featured two new attractions, an Armenian bathhouse and organ grinder. Students from other grade levels at the school had the opportunity to tour the different ethnic neighborhoods represented in the cafeteria. "These kids really look forward to when they become fifth-graders and get to do this project," said Byrd. "This is just a fun way to end the unit on immigration."
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