Educators from around the country participated in our Primarily Teaching summer institute in Washington, DC, last week. They explored documents in the holdings of the National Archives that were created or received by immigration and naturalization officials from the late 1800s through the early 1900s.
The teachers found and described over 50 documents relating to operations at Ellis Island, public opinion about immigration, and immigration policy reforms.
We scanned and loaded them all onto DocsTeach, our online tool for teaching with documents, so that they can be used in interactive activities for students. See them all on DocsTeach!
Washington, DC, is just one of four Primarily Teaching locations this summer. All of the workshops fit within the national theme of “Leadership and Legacy in History,” matching that of National History Day in 2015. Educators at each location are exploring a specific case study, with original documents in our archival holdings, that fits within this broader theme.
Primarily Teaching is made possible in part by the Foundation for the National Archives, through the support of Texas Instruments.