American Centuries

Pocumtuck Valley
Memorial Association

American Centuries > Lessons > History Lessons By Teachers > The Hundred Dresses and the Treatment of Immigrants

The Hundred Dresses and the Treatment of Immigrants

Details

Author
Kathy Eichorn
Topic/Subject Area
Immigration; Eastern European
Historical Era
Rise of Industrial America, 1878–1899, Progressive Era, World War I, 1900–1928
Grade Level
Elementary (K–5)
Creation Date
2006
Last Revision Date
2024

Related items

About This Lesson

Summary and Objective

By reading a work of historical fiction about a Polish immigrant family and reading primary sources, students will understand that immigrants were not always welcomed in their new communities.

Materials & Resources

Collection Items

Teaching Plan

  1. Students will have previously read the book, The Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes, which is about a Polish immigrant family. They will also have studied point of view in language arts.
  2. Students will read the newspaper articles from “Materials & Resources” above to learn more about the treatment of immigrants. They will read some entries from Ellen Louisa Arms’ diary to learn more about point of view.
  3. With the teacher facilitating, students will discuss the immigrants’ point of view gathered from the various articles.
  4. Students will write 3-5 diary entries from the main character’s point of view concerning how she and her family were treated.
  5. Students will share their diary entries with the whole class.
  6. As an extension, students can write their diary entries into realistic-looking old diaries that they have made.