Exploring Our Roots
Submitted by:Sandy Bahan
School or Affiliation: Norman Central Middle/High School, Norman, OK
Endorsed by: These lesson plans are the result of the work of the teachers who have
attended the Columbia Education Center's Summer Workshop. CEC is a consortium of teacher
from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural,
western, United States, and particularly the quality of math and science Education. CEC
uses Big Sky Telegraph as the hub of their telecommunications network that allows the
participating teachers to stay in contact with their trainers and peers that they have met
at the Workshops.
Date: May 1994
Description:
How many of us have a Thomas Jefferson, a Queen Elizabeth, or a Sacajawea in our
family's past that we were never aware of? Imagine the deep emotion of finding your great-
grandfather's baptism record in an old rural church, after months of searching and much
frustration. Or consider the feelings experienced when you see your
great-great-grandmother's name on a passenger log of ships bringing immigrants to America
in the 1830's.
Each of these experiences binds us to our history and to the history of our nation.
Sometimes the more personal the moment the more meaningful it becomes when inserted into
the larger history of an area, a state, or a country. Answers to the historical why's,
who's and when's can be seen in the personal histories of families. As students of history
share their family stories there is an awareness created of how interconnected many of us
are, and of how the history of a nation and of its people is reflected in their stories.
Family trees are not only excellent opportunities for students to learn their personal
histories and to use some of the investigative tools of the historian. Family trees can
also be valuable resources in teaching mini-history lessons in the classroom and for
helping students to make broader generalizations about the history of their community,
their state and their country.
Grade Level: Appropriate for grades 7-12.
Goal:
The purpose of this package is to provide sample lessons that incorporate personal
family trees into the larger context of community, state, and national histories.
Objectives: Students will be able to:
- Locate on a map of the appropriate continents the country(ies), and where possible the
region or city, from which their family originated before coming to the United States.
- Describe in oral presentation their family's history leading to their settlement in
their present community and state.
- Locate on a map of the United States those primary states and communities in which their
families settled upon first arriving in the United States and major family moves since
that arrival.
- Using appropriate information, identify the primary time frames in which families
settled in a particular state or community.
- Using appropriate information, identify the primary social and economic forces that
motivated settlement of a particular state or community.
- Identify local, state, and national organizations (a minimum of one resource for each)
that are available to help persons interested in developing a more complete family
history.
Materials:
Mormon Family History Library
- Genealogical Department
- Dept P
- 35 N. West Temple St.
- Salt Lake City, UT 84150-0001
- The National Genealogical Society
- Education Division
- 4527 Seventeenth St. North
- Arlington, VA 22207-2399
- The National Archives
- Reference Service Branch
- Washington, DC 20408-0001
Procedure:
- Each student should bring to class as complete a family history as possible which
includes the following information: Name (maiden), date of birth, place of birth, year in
which earliest known family member came to the United States, purpose of immigration, year
earliest known family member relocated into current community and state, reason for
relocation, and any major relocations by previous generation within the U.S. and the
reasons for these relocations. (Keep in mind some students will have more complete
histories than others. Timing for these assignments is critical. Best results come if made
during family times, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter when there are increased
opportunities for contact with grandparents and other family "elders".)
- Have students "interview" one of their grandparents, greatgrandparents, aunts,
or uncles, or if none of these are possible, one of their parents. Their purpose in the
interview should be to obtain an oral history of that family member's family with
particular attention to the information noted in #1, above. The interviewer should also
ask if there were any "colorful" or perhaps famous people in the family's past.
Sometimes these talks open up communication lines never before explored within the family.
Often students learn about famous and infamous people in their family's past. These are
the stories students love to tell when sharing their family history with their classmates,
and it's often these stories that light a fire under the student and make them
"want" to continue with and be more thorough in assignment #1.
- Have each student give an oral presentation of their family tree. It helps if the
teacher goes first, thus establishing a more non-threatening situation. It is important to
stress that this is a sharing time, not just an assignment for a grade. Some students will
be reluctant to give an oral presentation. Don't pressure them. Often they will "come
around" as their classmates participate. Always start with volunteers and then select
randomly when the volunteers are finished.
- Some students will want to know how they can learn more about their families. Have them
write letters to the organizations listed under resources. If you live in metropolitan
centers with access to large university or research libraries or to federal repositories
encourage them to visit these and use their materials.
Tying it All Together:
This particular exercise can be used at several points in the school year. The family
tree could be an introductory exercise in a unit on American immigration, showing where
most immigrants came from, and the primary immigration periods in American history. It can
also be an exercise in state history showing when and by whom the state or the immediate
region was settled. The family tree can be used as part of an exercise in doing oral
history.
Regardless of when the exercise is incorporated into the classroom, the students will
benefit in many ways. Not only will they have an opportunity to personalize their nation's
history, but they will often find commonalities among their classmates that allow a
greater appreciation of others. I am constantly surprised at how discussion of family
histories becomes a sharing time between students who don't always have that much contact.
And almost every year some of us in the class learn we share ancestors, birthplaces, or
that we have people in our past of whom we can be proud.
Perhaps the most telling moment comes each year when a student, in studying the history
of their state, or in studying a particular event in American history, says "Now I
know why my grandfather came to -------. I never realized that. I didn't understand what
he was talking about." Or when someone says, "My grandmother had so much fun
showing me her Bible. She talked to me more than she ever has. It was great..."
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