The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Simulation teaches a real-life history lesson

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Second-grade students at McKitrick Elementary School, 5503 Lutz Lake Fern Road, went back in time, to the early 1900s, when the school had its third annual Ellis Island simulation on Feb. 27.  Students and volunteers, many dressed in period clothing, were able to get a taste of the kind of experience endured by people arriving in America during that time. The program featured the different steps that immigrants had to complete in order to become American citizens. For more, see our feature story of the week.

To simulate the boat ride to Ellis Island from their character’s home country, students and their handmade suitcases were crammed into the makeshift boat (a fenced in area) for 10 minutes. A quarter of the boat was reserved for first-class passengers, further reducing the space where students could stand. Volunteers periodically splashed water over the sides of the fence to mimic the ocean spray, as well as splashed them upon their arrival to simulate the delousing measures newcomers arriving in America faced. From left: Eli Pilcher, Ja’chai White and Mason Pettit. (Christine Holtzman)
In the Psychological Testing room, student Rafael Torres-Pereira sits in silence, clutching his suitcase, as he waits to be called. The tests administered here, such as the feature profile test, were widely used at Ellis Island, to determine mental ability. All the tests and questions used throughout the event were the actual ones used at Ellis Island in the early 1900s.
After completing the activity, which lasted about three hours, students were sworn in as American citizens by a judge, being portrayed by McKitrick Elementary School Principal Allison Cline. Before this step, they had to complete an application and take a citizenship test, answering questions such as: ‘What is your occupation?’ And, ‘Do you know the Pledge of Allegiance?’

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