Curated OER
Where Were Your Ancestors in 1871?
Here is a nicely designed lesson plan on ancestry and family history. In it, learners read an article entitled, "Where Were Your Ancestors in 1871?" Then, they make up a series of questions to profile their family and their community 100...
Curated OER
My Arkansas Family Tree
Here is a two-part lesson that introduces learners to genealogy by having them create family trees, and map the movements of their ancestors. While this resource is designed for kids who live in Arkansas, it certainly can be adapted for...
Curated OER
Coming to America
Through this set of three lessons about Ellis Island, class members will learn about why immigrants came to the United States, find out about the difficulties that went along with coming to America, become familiar with the immigration...
Curated OER
Family Tree Community Project
Fifth graders answer questions such as: Where does my family come from? What was it like for my ancestors to grow up as America developed? What differences in society were present then? What was similar to today? students conduct...
Curated OER
Friday and Friends: A Prospectus of the Mexican Family through Children's Literature
Students use literature to examine how the structure of families in Mexico has changed over time. In groups, they examine how their life now relates to their ancestors and the Spanish conquest of the area. As a class, they are read...
Curated OER
Frank Sadorus Collection: Photographic Family Tree Activity
Students collect and place photographs of their parents, grandparents, etc., in a family tree-like chart or positioned by generation. They find out more about the occupations and lives of their ancestors.
Curated OER
The Family Tree
Students make a family tree. In this family lesson, students brainstorm what the word family means, interview their family members and grandparents, create a family tree, list their family's favorite foods and write an essay describing...
Curated OER
Kindred -- A Book About Families
Students research specific events that occured in their family or community. They interview a member of their family to discuss historical events. They focus on the impact of the event on the family.
Curated OER
Around the World in 180 Days
Where did I come from? How did I come to be in this classroom? Using curriculum from Kidspiration, class members research the homelands of their ancestors, as well as the journeys that began from many parts of the world and ended with...
Curated OER
"Whose (Is)land is This?": topics in Immigration and The Tempest
Class members compare the ways the subject of immigration is treated in The Tempest, Act I, scene ii, Act II, scene i and Act III, scene ii with patterns in American history. After tracing their own family’s journey, a series of...
PBS
Family History: On Your Honor
What is your history? Scholars work with their own families to create a unique story of the courage and bravery of their ancestors. The third and final part of the series culminates in a creation of not just a family history, but a...
Curated OER
Family Fables, Facts, and Other True Stories
Learners conduct an interview about their family with their parents and/or grandparents. They write a story based on interview facts and create a presentation for the class.
Northeast Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency
Who Were the Tired, the Poor, the Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free?
Elvira Woodruff's The Orphan of Ellis Island: A Time Travel Adventure is the core text in a interdisciplinary unit study of immigration at the turn of the century.
Curated OER
Learning to Interview
Second graders watch simulated interview between the teacher and a student before they interview a classmate using the form provided. Next, they complete two interviews of family members at home. They focus on the concepts of ancestors...
BW Walch
Unexpected Family History
The history of the northern states' involvement in the slave trade is not widely known. This resource uses the PBS documentary, Traces of the Trade, and the nonfiction book, Children of the New England Slave Trade, to examine this aspect...
Curated OER
Oregon Trail Diary
Young scholars write a diary. In this writing and creativity lesson, students pretend they are moving west and keep a diary about their adventures. Young scholars study real-life scenarios about families who made the trip out west before...
Curated OER
A Family History
Students investigate their family history through pictures and writing. In this family history lesson, students research family, culture, food, music, religion, and clothing. Students gather pictures of their family and events. Students...
Curated OER
Family History
Students create photographic family histories. In this technology skills lesson, students create family trees with digital photographs that they take of the family members.
Curated OER
Discovering Why I Am Who I Am
Students analyze their family history and traditions. In this family history lesson, students identify family members to research and interview their family about the people. Students write their family histories and traditions. Students...
Curated OER
Back to the Farm
Read up on farming and ranching and connect this information to your learners' lives. After reading, send class members home to fill out a family tree and trace their family history, focusing on farming and ranching backgrounds. Once...
Curated OER
Question What You Read
Readers test their reading comprehension after reading a nonfiction text about Paleo Indians. (This text is in Alabama: It's History and Geography, but other texts can be used.) After reading the nonfiction article as a class, they...
Curated OER
Living in a Community
Students understand the differences in communities by reading "City Mouse, Country Mouse" by Isabelle Chantellard. In this types of communities lesson plan, students find that although communities are different, one is not better than...
Curated OER
KWANZAA
Students study about Kwanzaa, an African-American celebration established in 1966 by Dr. Maulana, and also participate in some traditional activities.
Curated OER
Australia
Students discover and write stories from the past. In this lesson on Australia, students conduct interviews of family or friends to discover stories and legends from the past. Students then create a brochure for Australia.