Learning Targets: Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions
Materials:
- Two weeks before this lesson send home the parent letter (see attached) describing the project and asking if children can interview family members.
- Poster board, glue, makers/colored pencils/crayons, scissors, rulers, pencils, and book(s) of world flags
- Copies of personal photos, letters, artifacts
Set Up: Flat spaces for individuals to work, agenda on the board
Assumptions:
That student and their families are comfortable with researching the families’ history.
Accommodations:
- If a student or their guardians do not want to create a family tree, the student can research a historical figure
-Students who struggle with reading will read the book with a peer
-Graphic organizer for the family tree, modeling how to use it
-Color-coding directions
-Agenda/project description on board
Pre Assessment:
- “Today we are going to learn about our family. Please take a minute and think about what a family tree is? What does it tell you? Who is on it?” (Knowledge, Comprehension)
- After a minute, ask students to share their experience. Take a couple of volunteers. Write their answers on the board. (My dad’s/mom’s family, me, my grandparents, my cousins, etc)
Activities:
Day one
- Give context for lesson:
Family trees are a way to represent our relationships with our families. It is one way to explore your heritage. Does anyone know what heritage means? (Knowledge) (where you came from, your family, ) A family heritage is about exploring your past. What were your parents and grandparents lives like when they were your age? You are going to be detectives about your own family and its history. At the end of this project, you will have some information about your family to share and have a greater awareness of who you are.
- Introduce students to family trees by showing them your personal family tree. Explain family connections and how everyone is related. Show students your legend and how you identified connections: marriages, multiple marriages, divorces, adoptions, step-family members, etc.
- Ask students “What questions would you need to ask to gain this information?” (Analysis)
These are some possible questions:
· What are the full names of my parents? Where were you born? Who was you mom? Dad? Where did they live? What is the address? Do you have a picture? Do you have sisters or brothers? Did your parents? May I call my grandparents? When did they arrive in the US? Where are they from, what country? Who are they married to? What are their children’s names? What did they do for work? Could they speak English? Or what language did they speak?
- Discuss with the students any themes that emerged from their brainstorm of questions.
(time periods, dates, names, other countries) (Analysis)
- The teacher distributes 2 family group sheets (See attached) per students to complete with the assistance of family members. Go over the specific categories of the sheet, Ask students to turn to a partner and look at the sheet. Come up with any questions.
- Bring students back to the whole group and discuss questions about the 2 family group sheets (One family group sheet holds information on the child’s mother’s side of the family and a second family group sheet is for the child’s father’s side.)
- Some students may be apprehensive towards creating a family tree because their families are "broken". Have a discussion with students about how families are different because of these connections. (Disposition) Allow students to create their own ways to visually identify connections.
- Discuss the difference between nationality and ethnicity. (Disposition)
Nationality = belonging to a particular nation by origin, birth of nationalization
Ethnicity = belonging to a particular group, not necessarily a nation
- Share your ethnic background; what country(ies) did your family come from?
- When the students start gathering family information have then check in with the teacher. The teacher should keep a running tab about where the students are in their collection of family information and then proceed with the lesson. The next lesson (could be a week or two out, but should co-inside with when students have most of their family tree information)
Day two
- Revisit the context for the lesson. (above) Today we are going to learn how to present our information.
- Today we are going to discuss what you think is important about presenting your family history on a poster board.
- Right now we are going to look at how to design your family tree poster and create a rough draft on an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper.
- What do you think is important about presenting this information? (Neatness, sequence, title, extras) List these on the board. (Analysis, Evaluation)
- How do you think this information can be presented? (After they talk give a bad example and a good example) (Application)
- Create a rubric from the student’s ideas about the presentation. (An example below of basic’s I would want to look for) (Evaluation)
- Take out a piece of paper and create a rough draft of what your family tree poster could look like. Check with a neighbor for suggestions and then with me. (Application)
- After students have a clear idea bout the organization of their poster, and they have checked with the teacher, hand out the necessary materials to draw family tree. Students will be at different stages in this process being sure to keep a log.
- Hand out the necessary materials to draw family tree: poster board, glue, makers/colored pencils/crayons, scissors, rulers, pencils, and book(s) of world flags. Show students the world flags book(s) and demonstrate how to find a flag for a particular country. In order to include flags on the family trees, have students freehand by copying from book. Other options for including flags would be (1) printing a small picture of the flag(s) off the Internet or (2) using overhead transparencies and an overhead projector to trace the flag(s).
- Have students work individually on creating their family trees.
- As students’ record information about their family history, the teacher leads a class discussion on what the students are learning about their ancestors. Encourage students to explain where their ancestors lived, whom they lived with, their education and literacy level, if any family members were immigrants, the countries they came from, the languages spoken, their occupation, the type of industry or business they worked in, and if any family member was a veteran or served in the military. Ask students why the occupation of many women was “home” and what women often did who worked at “home.” What were the children doing? Going to school or working? As the students offer ideas, the teacher should record them on the board or large chart paper. Ask students what they find most interesting about their ancestors.
- Ask students to share any information they are finding interesting.
These are some possible guiding questions.
· Who were the people who lived before us?
· What did they look like?
· What were their lives like? (Analysis)
· What did they do for work and play? (Knowledge)
· What did they believe in?
· What challenges did they face? (Synthesis)
Day three
- Poster presentation
Assessment:
The poster presentations are evaluated by the student created rubric.
Possible follow up lessons:
- Interview of family life
- Identify the countries and cultures that are part of their family heritage.
- Locate these places on a map.
- Report on life in these places today
Resources
Web sites to begin with:
http://www.cyndislist.com/kids.htm#General
This is an extensive web site for kind with links to genealogy on the internet. Updated regularly.
This site provides searchable databases, some of which are free. Updated regularly.
A genealogy database for ancestry research in the United States. Updated Nov. 2004.
The National Genealogical Society, membership includes the right to borrow books. Updated regularly.
Books to use for reference:
Sweeney, J. (1999). Me and my family tree. New York: Crown Pub.
Grade 1st or 2nd. This book is simple and works for low readers. It develops a very simplistic and white middle class traditional view of a family tree. In the back there is recognition of other cultures and some of the pictures depict single parent families and handicapped families.
Taylor, M. (1999). Through the eyes of your ancestors: A step by step guide to uncovering your family’s history. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Grade 5 up- . This book has great black and white photos of families and all varieties of families are represented – extended, adopted, and blended. There is a list of organizations, questions to use, family history charts, an explanation of how to do genealogy research and detailed descriptions of available public records, addresses of genealogical libraries, and useful web sites to guide children on their family heritage search.
Wolfman, I. (1991). Do people grow on family trees: Genealogy for kids and other beginners. New York: Workman Pub.
Grade 5 Up-- Readable and interesting, full of intriguing stories, this guide is also visually attractive, with large print and many photographs and sidebars. Wolfman begins with the purposes of genealogy and then provides the how-tos, discussing heirlooms, photographs, oral histories, vital records and other documents, and more. There is a great deal of material on immigration, but it is unfortunately scattered throughout the book rather than grouped together as a unit. In addition, Wolfman has nothing on timelines, and the chapter on names is placed toward the end rather than at the beginning. Sample pedigree charts, family groups sheets and correspondence logs (which can be photocopied), addresses for birth and death records, and applications for federal records are included in the appendix.
Parent letter:
Dear Parent,
We are beginning a course of study that will explore your student’s ancestry. Through this curriculum, your student will explore his/her family tree and make connections to history in a personal and meaningful way. Your student will need help with collecting names, birth dates, wedding anniversaries, etc of your family members. Students may also bring in pictures of family members to glue to the family tree. The pictures will be cut and glued to the family tree and therefore will not be returned so copies are best.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at _____________________.
Sincerely,
Your name here
