Hope and Tears: Ellis Island Voices

Which of the following describes the journey into America?

• time consuming and trying

• quick and comfortable

• fast, but dangerous

• long, but restful

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

The speaker of the poem is . . .

• passing through Ellis Island to gain entrance to America.

• entering a new country as an immigrant.

• visiting the statue of liberty as the descendant of immigrants.

• dreaming about traveling to America like their grandparents.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

How does the speaker describe America?

• It is a land that was taken from other people.

• It is where anyone can find freedom.

• It is not where the speaker considers home.

• It is a land that doesn’t live up to expectations.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

PART A: Which statement identifies the main theme of the poem?

• The descendants of the immigrants who came to America often don't understand the sacrifices their ancestors made.

• America no longer offers immigrants the freedom that it once promised people long ago.

• America has a complicated history of offering a new way of life to some while taking it away from others.

• Immigrants did not find the success they expected in America when they passed through Ellis Island.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

PART B: Which detail from the text best support the answer to Part A?

• “waited the long days of quarantine, / after leaving the sickness” (Lines 4-5)

• “on its way to the island / of the tall woman” (Lines 8-9)

• “waiting for those who’d worked / a thousand years / yet never owned their own. (Lines 11-13)

• “Like millions of others, / I too come to this island” (Lines 14-15)

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

The speaker says, “Yet only part of my blood loves that memory” (Line 18). What does that quotation reveal about the speaker’s attitude towards America?

• The speaker feels conflicted about America’s history.

• The speaker doesn’t like the memory of their grandparents.

• The speaker feels as if they don’t belong in America.

• The speaker doesn’t consider America a land of opportunity.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5