- People moving
- Sailing in ships across the Atlantic
- Steam ships
- Often going to Ellis Island
- Dates in the early 1900's
- Who were these people?
- Where were they going?
- Why were they traveling?
- Where is Ellis Island and what does it have to do with immigration?
- Why do these documents always talk about aliens?
While the children were discussing their ideas about the historical scenario in question, one child said, "I wonder why they were traveling to Ellis Island. I mean why did they even care? Did Ellis Island have a treasure?"
Sometimes when I hear unexpected comments like this, my initial reaction (in my own mind, of course) is to kind of surprise. "Isn't that cute. They think there is treasure on Ellis Island." And then dismiss the idea all together because I know the travelers weren't hunting for burried pirate's treasure.
Over time, I've been practicing suspending judgement. I'm trying not to react to the idea and theories of children until I have a better understanding. In making an effort to listen, I have to pause and ask a follow up question. I'm not perfect at it yet, but more often than not I am completely blown away by the thinking behind some of the statements I initially do not understand.
"Tell me more about that."
"Well you know how the early settlers of Jamestown came because they thought there was gold? I wonder if these people thought there was some sort of treasure too and that it was buried on Ellis Island."
What a valid point. Hadn't there been rumors of gold influencing the settlers of Jamestown? Hadn't there been large migrations to the west coast because of the gold rush? Seeking treasure was a very real motivator throughout history.What I was tempted to view as a simple child's view of pirates and treasure was actually a profound connection to this child's previous knowledge of history. The class had spent their time as second graders completely immersed in the study of the early Virginian settlers of Jamestown. Come to think of it, weren't many of those immigrants in search of a treasure of sorts?
Not only did this child's idea make sense in context, it was a pretty brilliant idea. Yes, they were traveling to Ellis Island for treasure. The next question is what was that treasure.
Seeking the context of thoughts allows me to spot gems that I would have otherwise completely overlooked.
Love that they are bringing in what they learned last year! Just one small moment that shows the power of spending time deeply studying a topic rather than glancing over many eras in history just learning dates and facts. As a teacher, I could often see how difficult it was for other people not involved in the day to day of the project to trust the process. How do we know that spending so much time on one period in history will be worth it? Are kids who study in this way going to miss out on something by not studying many different topics in history over the course of the year? But it makes me wonder, would they have made those same connections if they hadn't spent so much time immersing themselves in the study of Jamestown? It is amazing to see how, even a year later, they still have an incredible sense of what it would have been like to be coming to a new world at the time of the settlement of Jamestown and are using this understanding to further their study of history. Impressive, Andrea, that you were able to take a step back to explore the wonder of the moment and see the connections they are making!
ReplyDeleteAndrea,
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful blog. It is always so interesting to further investigate what may be behind a simple comment. Indeed Ellis Island truely did hold so many treasures for its immigrants. Certainly a question to keep in the back of your mind.