Culture and Identity Students learn about how families and groups express culture and that individuals have identities, or understandings of themselves, that are influenced by language, religion, geography, and other personal factors.
Theme: Culture and Identity | Grades 6 – 8
1910’s Rogarshevsky Family
The Rogarshevsky Family story features a Jewish American family and their 1911 tenement home. Students will learn about the push and pull factors of Eastern European immigration, their journey through Ellis Island, and their work in the garment industry at a time of industrialization. Through an interactive exploration of the family’s recreated apartment, historical photographs, and the 1900 census, students analyze how the family balanced work and tradition. Students will discuss the difficulties of factory work while learning about labor unions and working conditions through the actual experiences of Bessie Rogarshevsky, a teenage daughter in the family. Students will hypothesize about her potential involvement in the Shirtwaist Strike of 1909 and how the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire affected the family, neighborhood, and country at large.
Themes: Culture and Identity, Industrialization and Labor, Movements for Change
Topics: European Immigration
Duration: 60 minutes
Connections to our Curriculum:
- Rogarshevsky Family Story
- Lesson Plan: Examine a 1910 Census
- 1898 Photograph of Orchard Street
- Photograph of Picketing Women on strike 1911
- Online Exhibit – Tenement Women: Agents of Change
- Online Exhibit – The Census: Reading Between the Lines
1916 Meet Victoria
Meet Victoria is a costumed interpretation program. Students will be transported back in time to 1916 to learn from and interact with an actor playing Victoria Confino, an actual 14-year-old girl who immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island in 1913. Victoria will show students her home and daily life, tell stories based on her life experiences, and share how her family keeps their culture alive through food, language, holiday celebrations, and more. Students will learn about the push and pull factors bringing immigrants to the US at the time as well as cultural adaptation to a new home. Throughout the program, students engage with Victoria by asking her questions and making connections.
Themes: Complicating Stereotypes, Culture and Identity
Topics: European Immigration
Duration: 60 minutes
Connections to our Curriculum:
- Confino Family Story
- Lesson Plan: Explore the Confino Family Ship Manifest from 1910
- Lesson Plan: Explore Victoria Confino’s 1914 Report Card
- Kastoria Postcard c. 1900
1960s Saez Velez
The Saez Velez Family story features Puerto family and their 1968 tenement home. With the help of Puerto Rican migration scholars, students learn about the history of Puerto Rico, how Puerto Ricans became US citizens, and the Saez Velez’ journey to New York City as migrants. Through exploration of the recreated apartment, video interviews, family and neighborhood photos, and other primary source documents, students will examine the ways the Saez Velez family established themselves in the culturally and racially diverse Lower East Side of the 1960’s. Against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War, they will examine how different generations of the family exercised citizenship at home, school, work, and beyond. Students will discuss how the family’s efforts made a difference on a larger scale and reflect on their understandings of citizenship.
Themes: Industrialization and Labor, Culture and Identity, Movements for Change
Topics: Puerto Rican Migration
Duration: 60 minutes
Connections to our Curriculum:
- Saez Velez Family Story
- Lesson Plan: Think Deeply about José Velez’s Oral History
- Lesson Plan: Define Immigration and Migration featuring Epstein, Saez Velez, and Wong Family Photograph
- 103 Orchard Online Exhibit ft. the Epsteins, Saez Velez, and Wong families
- Online Exhibit – Tenement Women: Agents of Change
1970’s Wong Family
The Wong family story features a Chinese American family and their 1970’s tenement home. With the help of immigration scholars, students learn about the push and pull factors of their immigration and its relation to the Chinese Exclusion Act and subsequent immigration laws. Through exploration of a recreated apartment and garment shop, students will explore how the Wongs made a home in the neighborhood and how their experiences reflect the growth of Chinese communities and the garment industry in New York. Video interviews and family and neighborhood photographs will allow students to examine how different generations of the family navigate language, schooling, media, and work, leading students to discuss how they themselves form their own senses of identity and belonging.
Themes: Complicating Stereotypes, Culture and Identity, Industrialization and Labor
Topics: Asian Immigration
Duration: 60 minutes
Connections to our Curriculum:
- Wong Family Story
- Lesson Plan: Community Action – Footage of 1980’s Chinatown Garment Factory
- Lesson Plan: Respond to Kevin Wong’s Oral History about his name
- Lesson Plan: Define Immigration and Migration (ft. Epstein, Saez Velez, and Wong Family Photograph)
- 103 Orchard Online Exhibit featuring the Epsteins, Saez Velez, and Wong families
- Online Exhibit – Tenement Women: Agents of Change
Teaching Resources
We offer teacher-designed, teacher-tested lesson plans where students learn to interpret objects, oral histories, and primary sources while making modern connections. Find unit plans, lesson plans, primary sources, and non-fiction family stories, made for flexible use in your classroom.
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