Version élève → Anglais · Lycée général · 1re · Première

Séquence 7 · Mother of Exiles: the golden door

What promise did the Americas make to newcomers, and was it kept?

Bonjour !

Dans cette séquence de anglais, tu vas chercher à répondre à la grande question écrite en haut de la page. Elle se fait en 3 séances. Pour chaque séance : lis la consigne, étudie les documents, réponds aux questions sur ta feuille ou sur l'ENT, puis recopie l'essentiel dans ton cahier. Tu peux imprimer cette page avec le bouton « Imprimer ».

À la fin, je serai capable de :

Les mots importants

modals of deduction in the past (must have, can't have)immigration vocabularypersonificationcontrast: while, yet

Ressources de la séquence

Les notions, les repères et les pistes pour aller plus loin, utiles pour toutes les séances.

Les notions à maîtriser

Must have / can't have + past participle
Deduction about the past: They must have been exhausted after the crossing.
Personification
Giving human qualities to an object: the statue « cries » with « silent lips ».
Exile
A person forced to leave their country.

Repères

DateÉvénement
1883Emma Lazarus writes « The New Colossus » to raise money for the pedestal.
1886Dedication of the Statue of Liberty (28 October).
1892Opening of Ellis Island immigration station (1 January).
1903A plaque with the poem is placed inside the pedestal.
1924The Immigration Act sets national quotas.

Pour aller plus loin

Sources et bibliographie

Mon parcours : je choisis mon rythme

Séance 1 · Ellis Island: the gateway

75 min

Séance approfondie : cours développé, documents sourcés, activités exigeantes avec coups de pouce.

La question du jour

What did newcomers experience when they reached New York?

Mon plan de travail

Le cours à lire · Deductions about the past

To make deductions about the past, use modal + have + past participle: must have (almost sure), might / may have (possible), can't have (impossible). After two weeks at sea, they must have been exhausted.

Document 1 · Ellis Island

Text written by the teacher from historical sources.

From 1892 to 1954, about twelve million immigrants passed through Ellis Island, a small island in New York Harbor. Most came from Europe: Italy, Ireland, Germany, Eastern Europe. After a long crossing, they were examined by doctors, who wrote chalk letters on the coats of people who looked ill. Inspectors asked about their names, jobs and money. Most people were admitted in a few hours; about two per cent were sent back. In 1924, the Immigration Act introduced national quotas, and the great wave ended.

Source : teacher's synthesis.

Pour bien lire ce document :

harbor (US) / harbour (UK): port; chalk: a white stick for writing on a board; quota: a fixed maximum number.

Activité 1 · Understand

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Documents

Consigne :

Read and answer.

  1. How many immigrants passed through Ellis Island?
  2. What did doctors do?
  3. What changed in 1924?

Ce qui est attendu (5 pts) : Reading

Activité 2 · Practise

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Lesson

Consigne :

Write deductions with must have, might have or can't have.

  1. They travelled for two weeks in crowded ships. (tired)
  2. Some had no English at all. (understand the inspectors)
  3. Families waited outside. (feel)
  4. A few were sent back. (be)

Ce qui est attendu (7 pts) : Language

Activité 3 · Produce (spoken)

25 min
Travail à rendre

Supports : Lesson, documents

Consigne :

Record 1 minute 30: imagine you are a guide at the Ellis Island museum; describe the arrival of immigrants. Sentence starters: Imagine you have just crossed… / They must have felt… / Most of them….

Ce qui est attendu (8 pts) : Production

Trace écrite · document à compléter (papier ou ENT)

Complète la trace écrite avec les mots de la banque, puis recopie-la dans ton cahier.

millionmust

Ellis Island received about twelve _______ immigrants; they ______ have been exhausted.

Séance 2 · « The New Colossus »

75 min

Séance approfondie : cours développé, documents sourcés, activités exigeantes avec coups de pouce.

La question du jour

How does a poem change the meaning of a statue?

Mon plan de travail

Le cours à lire · Personification and contrast

Lazarus contrasts two statues: the Colossus of Rhodes, a male conqueror, and Liberty, a mother who welcomes. She personifies the statue: it cries with silent lips. Use while and yet to contrast: The Colossus conquered, while Liberty welcomes.

Document 1 · Emma Lazarus, « The New Colossus »

Sonnet, 1883 (public domain).

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Source : Emma Lazarus, « The New Colossus », 1883 (text on Wikisource).

Pour bien lire ce document :

brazen: made of brass; astride: with one leg on each side; pomp: grand show; huddled: pressed together; refuse: rubbish; teeming: overcrowded; tempest-tost: thrown about by storms.

Activité 1 · Understand

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Documents

Consigne :

Read and answer.

  1. What is the « brazen giant of Greek fame »?
  2. What is the new statue called?
  3. Who does she invite?

Ce qui est attendu (5 pts) : Reading

Activité 2 · Practise

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Lesson

Consigne :

Complete with while or yet.

  1. The Colossus was a conqueror, ___ Liberty is a mother.
  2. Her lips are silent, ___ she cries.
  3. Old lands keep their pomp, ___ America welcomes the poor.
  4. The poem promises welcome, ___ quotas came in 1924.

Ce qui est attendu (7 pts) : Language

Activité 3 · Produce (written)

25 min
Travail à rendre

Supports : Lesson, documents

Consigne :

Write 120 to 150 words: comment on the last five lines and explain why they are famous. Sentence starters: In these lines, Liberty… / The list « your tired, your poor » shows… / Yet, this promise….

Ce qui est attendu (8 pts) : Production

Trace écrite · document à compléter (papier ou ENT)

Complète la trace écrite avec les mots de la banque, puis recopie-la dans ton cahier.

Exilespersonifies

Lazarus ___________ the statue: Liberty becomes the « Mother of ______ ».

Séance 3 · Mediation: an audio guide for the pedestal

75 min

Séance approfondie : cours développé, documents sourcés, activités exigeantes avec coups de pouce.

La question du jour

How can I explain this symbol to visitors who don't know it?

Mon plan de travail

Le cours à lire · Writing an audio guide script

An audio guide script speaks directly to the visitor (Look up… You are standing…), gives two or three facts, a quotation and a question to think about. Keep sentences short.

Document 1 · Model script

Model text written by the teacher.

You are standing at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. Look up: her torch is 93 metres above the ground. Inside the pedestal, a plaque carries a poem by Emma Lazarus: « Give me your tired, your poor ». For millions of newcomers, this statue was the first image of America. Ask yourself: what would you have felt, arriving here after weeks at sea?

Source : teacher's model text.

Activité 1 · Understand

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Documents

Consigne :

Read the script and answer.

  1. Find two imperatives addressed to the visitor.
  2. Which quotation is used?
  3. What question ends the script?

Ce qui est attendu (5 pts) : Reading

Activité 2 · Practise

15 min
Essentiel

Supports : Lesson

Consigne :

Rewrite as audio-guide sentences.

  1. The visitor must look at the torch.
  2. The plaque is inside.
  3. Think about the immigrants.
  4. It is 93 metres high.

Ce qui est attendu (7 pts) : Language

Activité 3 · Produce (spoken)

25 min
Travail à rendre

Supports : Lesson, documents

Consigne :

Write and record a 1-minute audio guide about the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island. Sentence starters: You are standing… / Look at… / Ask yourself….

Ce qui est attendu (8 pts) : Production

Trace écrite · document à compléter (papier ou ENT)

Complète la trace écrite avec les mots de la banque, puis recopie-la dans ton cahier.

questionvisitor

An audio guide speaks to the _______, gives facts, a quotation and a ________.

Fiche à trous · je complète

Complète le texte avec les mots de la banque (sur papier ou dans le document de l'ENT).

18861954Exileshave

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in ______.

Lazarus calls the statue the « Mother of ______ ».

Ellis Island received immigrants from 1892 to ______.

To make a deduction about the past, I use must ______ + past participle.

Ce que j'ai appris

Les 3 idées que je retiens :
Une phrase en anglais que je veux retenir :
Ce qui reste difficile pour moi / ma question pour le professeur :