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Social Studies and the Young Learner 22 (2), pp. P1–P4
©2009 National Council for the Social Studies
Echoes of Angel Island:
Developing Historical Empathy for
Detained Immigrants
Vincent A. Ciardiello
Did you ever wonder why people in history acted the way they did? Some historians say that learning about the past is
often like living in a foreign country. It seems that people in the past did things differently. Teachers can help their students
develop historical empathy. History educators describe historical empathy as both a skill and a perspective in understanding and caring about the thoughts and actions of persons in history.1 Historical empathy helps students understand and
explain past events through the “eyes of others” and in the context of those who lived back then.
Here are some activities for fifth grade students to help them develop historical empathy for detained and mistreated
Chinese immigrants on Angel Island during the first half of the twentieth century. Any or all of these activities could be
used during a unit of study on immigration or U.S. history from the Gilded Age through the Roaring 20s.
Notes for the Pullout
Introduction: Sherry L. Field, “Perspectives and Elementary Social Studies: Practice
and Promise,” in O. L. Davis Jr., Elizabeth A. Yeager, and Stuart J. Foster, eds.,
Historical Empathy and Perspective Taking in Social Studies (Landham, MD:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2001), 115-138.
I. Examining a Historical Photograph: National Women’s History Museum,
“Chinese American Women: A History of Resilience and Resistance,” www.
nwhm.org/Chinese/8.html.
II. Compose a “Coaching Paper,” ca. 1925: William Wei, “The Chinese-American
Experience: An Introduction” (University of Colorado-Boulder/Harpers),
immigrants.harpweek.com/chineseamericans/1Introduction/BillWeiIntro.htm; E. Gee,
“Chinese on Gold Mountain: The History of Chinese Immigration California,”
www.usfca.edu/classes/AuthEd/immigration/.
III. Read a Detainee’s Poem and IV Write a Response: Center for Educational
Communications, “Ancestors in the Americas: A PBS Series Exploring the
History and Legacy of Asians in the Americas,” www.cetel.org; Lai, Him Mark,
Genny Lim, and Judy Yung, Island Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants
on Angel Island, 1910-1940 (Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press,
1991).
Angelo Vincent Ciardiello is an associate professor of social studies education at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York.
November/December 2009
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Handout 1
I. Examine a Historical Photograph, ca. 1925
Chinese immigrants came to the west coast of the United States
in great numbers from 1850 to 1930. China had a long history of mining. When gold was discovered in California in
1849, skilled miners eagerly sailed to the United States. Like
others who rushed to the gold fields, most of the first Chinese
immigrants were male, but a few courageous and adventurous
Chinese women also left.
As the gold rush dwindled, the need was increasing for
laborers to do the hard and dangerous work of building the
railroads. Tens of thousands of immigrant Chinese men and
boys came for this employment.
Angel Island, in the San Francisco Bay, served as an immigration station for the Chinese during the first half of the
1900s. They endured long interviews and physical examinations there. Some immigrants had to stay on Angel Island for
weeks or months before they could enter the country.
Examine this photograph. Read the caption aloud. Discuss
your thoughts about the photograph with the rest of the
class.
Unfamiliar with the language, customs, and Western medical procedures, the examination at Angel Island was often characterized by newcomers as humiliating and barbaric.
The examiner is wearing the official uniform of U.S. Public Health Service doctors circa
1925.
Source: Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.
www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/angel/gallery.htm
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Social Studies and the Young Learner
Handout 2
II. Compose a “Coaching Paper,” ca. 1900
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 aimed to prevent Chinese
workers from immigrating to America. Its passage was a watershed event in U.S. history. For the first time, a law named a
specific group of people as undesirable for immigration. The
act also marked the end of unrestricted immigration.
Only Chinese who had relatives who were already U.S.
citizens might be allowed to enter. Immigration officials
submitted Chinese immigrants to intensive questioning to
prove they had such relatives. If the testimonies given by a
newcomer and by his relative (already living in the U.S.) did
not match, the new arrival would receive deportation orders,
and would be sent back to China.
The Chinese community developed “coaching papers” to
help people during these interrogations. Coaching papers
were small pieces of paper—a few to several inches long—that
contained information about the hopeful immigrant’s madeup “family” in China. Even true relatives of Chinese in the
United States used coaching papers because of the absurdly
detailed interrogation questions. The immigrants memorized
the information on the papers during the sea voyage from
China. The immigrants sometimes threw the coaching papers
overboard as they neared their destinations.
My mother grew up in the town/
city of:
________________________
The number of stairs going from
the first to the second floor in my
house is:
________________________
The number of chairs in my house
is:
________________________
Create your own coaching papers with detailed questions
about your own home, neighborhood, and relatives. Include
a floor plan map of the rooms in your home. Here are some
of the details you can include in your coaching paper:
The number of steps from my front
door to the street is:
________________________
The number of windows in my
house is:
________________________
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Handout 3
III. Read a Detainee’s Poem
Some of the Chinese immigrants who were detained on Angel
Island wrote poetry on the walls of the barracks at Angel Island
to express their anger and sadness. They were separated from
their families and had to live and sleep in crowded rooms.
Many of these writers were young, between the ages of ten
and fourteen.
What mood does the poem create for you?
________________________________________
________________________________________
What is the poet remembering about the past?
Read an excerpt from one of these poems, and then practice
saying it aloud.
There are tens of thousands of poems on these walls
They are all cries of suffering and sadness
The day I am rid of this prison and become successful
I must remember that this chapter once existed
I must be frugal in my daily needs
—Written by one from Heungshan
________________________________________
________________________________________
What does he think about his present situation?
________________________________________
________________________________________
What is he hoping the future might bring?
________________________________________
________________________________________
Why did the author not give his name?
________________________________________
________________________________________
IV. Write a Letter in Response
Write a letter to the author of this poem explaining your feelings about his situation. Here is an introduction that can help you
get started:
I know that I can never fully appreciate exactly how you feel.
You are detained in a place like a prison, and you are separated from your family.
Maybe you have been quizzed and questioned about the silliest of details.
Do not feel depressed or alone. Many have been where you are now. Things change.
For you, I hope that __________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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Social Studies and the Young Learner