Discovering My Family History

DISCOVERING MY FAMILY HISTORY

I. This is the first in a group of lessons used with this theme. It is designed to encourage the students to discover their family history, gather information and then present their family to the class using a final project. The internet sites selected offer a variety of suggestions for projects including family trees, family interviews, or an in depth study of an ancestor in a particular point of time.

II. Grade 4-6

III. Objectives

A. To gain a greater understanding and an appreciation for each other in the classroom and in the community

B. To learn about ones family and how it makes up ones personal history and in turn the community’s history.

C. To use learned research skills to gather and organize information about ones history

D. To create a project which will enable the children to share their family history with the class.

IV. Standards

A. NJCCS 6.3 –2 Analyze varying viewpoints of individuals and groups at turning points throughout history

B. NJCCS 6.4 – 1 Compare and contrast similarities and differences in daily life over time

C. NJCCS 6.5 – 1 Identify common elements found in different cultures

D. NJCCS 6.5 – 3 Describe the customs of people from different geographic, cultural, racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds.

E. NETS 3 Using technology to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity

F. NETS 5 Using Technology research tools

V. Resources – see attached list of websites

VI. Materials – The children will use the websites to first decide how and what kind of information they would like to gather and secondly they will use other websites to guide them in their research.

VII. The final project, a family tree or other approved project, will be graded using a rubric (attached).

VIII. There are many additional activities that will be added to this theme throughout the year.

Discovering My Family History - Webliography

THE INTERNET AND WEBBING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

This site lists the advantages of using the internet for genealogical research. It also has links to types of data resources available and how to communicate with sites.

www.pe.net/~lucindaw/internet/internet.htm

THE ULTIMATE FAMILY TREE

This site is great fun. This site has detailed family histories of all sorts of famous folks, including Laura Ingalls Wilder, Jesse James, and George Washington, just click on “famous folk finder.” Software advertised is not necessary.

http://www.uftree.com/

DECIFERING OLD HANDWRITING

Have you found and old document and had trouble reading it? This site, an online tutorial, will help you understand these old records better. Includes help with deciphering marks, numbers and a try at deciphering some old letters. Many other useful links offered for research.

http://www.firstct.com/fv/oldhand.html

GENEOLOGY EXCHANGE

Free resources for tracing your family with additional links.

http://www.genexchange.com/

AT HOME IN THE HEARTLAND ONLINE (ILLINOIS STATE MUSEUM)

An exhibit on family life in Illinois from 1700-present. The children can meet real people and share in their decision making. Includes timelines, maps, artifacts and side by side cross cultural views of two characters at the same historical period.

www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/athome/welcome.htm

BRAE’S GENEALOGY FOR KIDS

Written by a children’s librarian, Barbara Henry MLS searched the net for “kid friendly” web pages. Her site encourages family involvement for the search of ancestors and wonderful tips to get started.

http://www.Member.aol.com/braehenry/kidswel.html

A GENEALOGY QUEST

A simple quest, with a lesson on creating a three-generation family tree. It also includes many sites to help find “missing ancestors”. An excellent site to start off the teaching unit.

www.ultranet.com/~olmckey/quest.htm

US GENWEB – KIDS

This site has printable forms for gathering and presenting genealogical information. This is a great site for the younger student.

www.rootsweb.com/~usgwkidz/link/howto.html

ORAL HISTORY OUTLINE

An oral history outline for conducting an oral history interview with a family member.

Riceinfo.rice.edu:1170/00Projects/History/Oralhistory/oralhistory

HOW TO DO TOMBSTONE RUBBINGS

Click on “how to do tombstone rubbings”. An excellent page on steps to do rubbings of family tombstones.

http://www.firstct.com/fv/oldhand.html

FOR TEACHERS

ANCESTORS

Online teacher’s guide and lessons to be used online. Includes activities and vocabulary.

www.pbs.org/kbyu/ancestors/teachersguide

GENEALOGY

This site is part of the History/Social Studies Website for K – 12 teachers. Includes links to several hundred genealogical sources to find ancestors all over the U.S.

www.execpc.com/~dboals/geneo.html

FAMILY TREES OFFER MANY LESSON IDEAS

From Teachnet.com, lessons and ideas for creating family trees.

www.teachnet.com/lesson/misc/familytrees04199.html

Every attempt was made to keep these websites updated and accurate.

Project Rubric

	Excellent 4	Very Good 3	Good 2	Fair 1
Used websites to select a project and gather information	Many sites recorded in log	Some sites recorded in log	A few sites recorded in log	No record of sites visited
Selected project/teacher approval	Yes			No
Managed time wisely	All the time	Sometimes	A few times	Hardly ever
Completed a project	Complete d task with details	Almost met task with details	Almost met task with few details	Didn’t meet task
Presented project to class	Easily understood by all	Some questions to clarify	Many questions to clarify	Very confusing
Presentation was neat & organized	Neat & organized	Some items need organization	Many items disorganized & messy	Messy & disorganized

Total points ___________points

The students use a Web Journal when we use the internet. They record where they have visited and tell about what they have learned. I use this journal to monitor their progress and offer suggestions for the next internet visit.