Procedures

• WARM-UP:

  Before beginning class, ask students to brainstorm a list of terms that describe their living conditions:

  What type of home do you live in? Describe the indoor features such as access to running water, bedrooms, etc.

  Have students share their responses.

• VOCABULARY INTRODUCTION:

  Have students complete the vocabulary activity. If using their personal devices, they should make a copy of the Google Slide and match each term to the appropriate definition. If they are using this as a printed handout, they can draw arrows to the correct match.

  HANDOUT: New York City Tenement Museum Vocabulary Activity (Google Slide)

  Students will match definitions for the following vocabulary terms:

  • Deplorable
  • Immigrant
  • Poverty
  • Regulation
  • Sanitation
  • Tenement House Act

• EXPLORATION:

  After reviewing the vocabulary terms and addressing any misconceptions, have students view the following video clip about the New York Tenement Museum. Students should complete the related Graphic Organizer with information from the video and answer the accompanying questions.

  HANDOUT: New York Tenement Museum Graphic Organizer (Google Slide)

  VIDEO CLIP: New York City Tenement Museum (8:30)

  • What was the purpose of the tenement houses?

  • What was the primary population that lived in the tenement houses?

  • Describe the living conditions in the tenement houses.

  • How did activists bring about changes in the living conditions in the tenement houses?

• APPLICATION:

  Using what they learned in the video clip, have students complete the T-chart below to compare life today to that of the immigrants who lived in the tenement houses in New York City.

  HANDOUT: New York City Tenement Museum T-Chart (Google Doc)

• CONCLUSION:

  Ask students to consider their notes from the video as well as class discussion and discuss any parallels they see in our country today. Then, they can select one of the following activities to complete:

  1. Classroom Museum Exhibit: Students can create an artifact from that time period to include in the exhibit along with a written explanation describing its significance.

  2. As a journalist, write a newspaper article describing the living conditions during this time.

  3. Select a perspective from which you would like to create a journal entry describing your experiences living in this time period.

• ALTERNATIVE/EXTENSION ACTIVITY:

  Caption It! Joseph Riis Photography