With immigration a topic referenced in Pope Francis’ recent talks in the United States, Franciscan Sister Marcolette Madden’s invitation to Sandee O’Connell to do a socio drama for her Silver Lake College of the Holy Family methods class on an nineteenth century German immigrant is certainly appropriate and timely on many levels.
Thank you for responding to the invitation to join us for Sandee O’Connell’s portrayal of Grossmutti Gumpf, a nineteenth century German immigrant. Sandee, a former fourth grade teacher in the Manitowoc Public School District, is currently the assistant Education Curator at the Manitowoc Maritime Museum. During her presentation Sandee tells the story of her relatives who came from Germany and settled in Wisconsin. The portrayal is geared for 4th graders and gives college students a concrete example of how to incorporate socio drama in elementary level classes.
Sandee’s portrayal has been a highlight of the course, Social Studies Methods, for years. Students follow-up this learning experience by creating their own socio drama.
Sandee’s presentation is interactive in the sense that she distributes several artifacts representative of the late 19th century immigrant experience and gives participants helpful prompts regarding when to showcase the artifact.
Sandee welcomes input from teacher candidates and other participants who shared information/stories about immigrant history.
