GenealogyJacquie Honeycutt and Kristen Troxell

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history.  

• Genealogy and family history can make learning fun and interesting by providing students of all ages with the personal connection which is missing from so many classroom assignments.

• Seen through a grandparent's eyes, events like World War II and the invention of the automobile take on the immediacy of real life.

• This teaches students that history is not a series of isolated events from the pages of a textbook, but rather a collection of individual choices and memories that still influences their lives today.  

• The hands-on learning that a family history project brings to the classroom can help motivate students to learn, as well as encourage retention of the covered material.

• Family history can be used to teach not only history, but also language arts, writing, math, geography, and even science.

• Family history projects can also be used to teach and encourage communication, information-gathering, research, computer, analysis, and evaluation skills.

• It is also an excellent method for encouraging the acceptance of individual differences.  

You don't have to be a professional genealogist to incorporate family history into your classroom curriculum. Here are some tips for using family history in the classroom:

•Familiarize yourself with some of the basic tenants of family history research.

•Browse through family tree lesson plan links for creative applications of family history in the classroom

•Be ready with alternative projects to meet the needs of all of your students

Application and Ideas

Family Flag Day

Procedural Steps for Family Flag Day

1. Begin by building anticipation by hanging different flags around the room from all different countries.

Select five major countries flags to hang around the room.

When selecting these countries, pick the most common countries students would be familiar with as well as making a connection by using the teachers genealogy in those five selected countries, so that students will know more about their teachers background.

2. Ask students to get out the information they previously gathered from their interviews that were assigned several days before.

3. Have students share the information they gathered with the class and create a graph showing connections within the classroom.

4. Introduce the word “genealogy,” to students.

5. Introduce and explain activity to students. The students will create a flag using the information they have found by interviewing their family members.

6. The students pick one country that one of their ancestors was from, and they will create a flag using the information they found and some major facts to go along with their flag.

7. Then hang the student made flags around the room for display.

There may be instances where a child or family may not want to research their own family's history and this can be easily addressed by encouraging those students to research the family history of a person close to them such as a best friend or special neighbor, thus enabling them to participate fully in the activities.

To differentiate instruction students can be alloweded to use the computer to find more information on their family history.

RubricCATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Use of Class Time Used time well during each class period. Focused on getting the project done. Never distracted others.

Used time well during each class period. Usually focused on getting the project done and never distracted others.

Used some of the time well during each class period. There was some focus on getting the project done but occasionally distracted others.

Did not use class time to focus on the project OR often distracted others.

Notetaking The interviewer took occasional notes during the interview, but usally maintained focus on the person rather than the notes. Notes were added to immediately after the interview so facts were not lost.

The interviewer took occasional notes during the interview, but usally maintained focus on the person rather than the notes. No additional notes were taken.

The interviewer took notes during the interview, but did so in a way that interrupted the \"flow\" of the interview. Additional notes may, or may not, have been taken.

The interviewer took no notes during or after the interview.

Focus on Task Consistently stays focused on the task and what needs to be done. Very self-directed.

Focuses on the task and what needs to be done most of the time. Other group members can count on this person.

Focuses on the task and what needs to be done some of the time. Other group members must sometimes nag, prod, and remind to keep this person on-task.

Rarely focuses on the task and what needs to be done. Lets others do the work.

Knowledge Gained Student can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster.

Student can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster.

Student can accurately answer about 75% of questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster.

Student appears to have insufficient knowledge about the facts or processes used in the poster.

Graphics - Relevance All graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.

All graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.

All graphics relate to the topic. Most borrowed graphics have a source citation.

Graphics do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source citation.

Content - Accuracy At least 7 accurate facts are displayed on the poster.5-6 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. 3-4 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. Less than 3 accurate facts are displayed on the poster.

References and Resources

Rubistar:http://www.rubistar.com Genealogy Education:http://genealogyeducation.wordpress.com/2006/06/16/teaching-genealogy-in-schools/Teaching Kids Genealogy:http://www.howtofindyourroots.com/teachingaboutrootsFamily History in the Classroom:http://www.genealogy.com/74_taylor.htmlTennessee Genealogy Projecthttp://tngenweb.org/