Curated OER
Family Structures
Students organize information about their family into a family record. In this research lesson, students collect information about their families and organize it chronologically.
Curated OER
Discovering My Family History
Students research their family trees. They research Internet sites, conduct interviews and, when possible, access primary sources to compile information about their family's history. Students present their findings in a family tree.
Curated OER
Family History
Eighth graders examine immigration patterns. In this family history lesson, 8th graders investigate their own family histories and then compare and contrast immigration patterns of their class to national immigration patterns between...
Curated OER
Dramatizing Your Story
Students write a script, planning and recording improvisations based on personal experience and heritage, imagination, literature and history.
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt...
Curated OER
Family History
Students research information about their family history, record the information and create some sort of family tree. Then they present it orally to the class.
Curated OER
Oral Genealogy
Learners research their family histories by conducing interviews with parents and grandparents. They put their histories into a chant or a chart/family tree and present it to their class.
Curated OER
Wilbur West, An Oral History
Third graders listen to the history of Wilbur West, a World War II veteren. They discuss how he is an important piece of history. They write a persuasive essay on the importance of Veteren's Day.
Curated OER
Family Food Favorites
Third graders conduct an interview and create a class cookbook. In this family heritage lesson, 3rd graders read Everybody Bakes Bread and discuss a dish or recipe that is a part of their family's heritage. Students interview family...
Curated OER
Learning from the Past: A New Approach
Young scholars research nonprofit organizations. As they research, they learn how those living in the colonial period formed community organizations to provide for the common good of their society. Each pupil chooses one organization to...
Curated OER
According to Tradition
Students analyze a historical document. They review oral histories as a tradition of storytelling in Native cultures and listen to an excerpt from The Life and Traditions of the Red Man. They write an episode or story that has been...
Curated OER
American Veterans: Past and Present
Research groups present an audio report on modern veteran issues in a radio show format.
Curated OER
Lesson: A Garden Party of My Own
Kids look at a beautiful work of art to practice grammar, make connections from life to art, and sketching. They identify all the parts of grammar they see in the image, discuss what they see and do on a picnic, and then draw an imaged...
Curated OER
Tracing Our Own Family Pilgrimages
The Pilgrims may have arrived in North America by way of the Mayflower, but chances are, your class members' ancestors came to the United States in another way. Guide them through an exploration of their own heritage, countries of...
Curated OER
Immigration and Migration Today and During the Great Depression
High schoolers conduct oral history interviews and research primary resources to explain changes in immigration and migration over time.
Curated OER
Virtual Ellis Island Museum Unit: Oral Histories
Young scholars conduct oral histories of family members to explore their cultural and ethnic heritage after developing a set of research questions.
Curated OER
Oral History: Interviewing Elders
Sixth graders examine oral history traditions. They interview family members about their childhoods and compare them to their own. Students use the collected information to make posters, letters, essays, or poems about their research.
Curated OER
Piece by Piece
Students study quilts. In this history/geometry quilt lesson plan, students discover the history behind quilt making and get a chance to make quilt blocks of their own. They work independently to make a quilt block out of construction...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
Curated OER
Elements of African Oral Literature
Ninth graders examine the importance of family history. In this Language Arts instructional activity, 9th graders read and discuss African oral literature with a focus on the roles of griots. Students compare /contrast the...
Curated OER
The Great Migration: An Oral History
Students research the factors which contributed to the great migration and write a well organized research paper using multiple sources. They incorporate quotations into their paper, both direct and paraphrased, in accordance with MLA...
Curated OER
Discovering Your Family
Learners research their family dynamics and create a project for the lesson plan. In this family dynamics lesson plan, students discuss the importance of family and create a family tree. Learners prepare essays on four of their...
Curated OER
Family traditions
Second graders discuss family traditions. For this family tradition lesson, 2nd graders identify traditions in their family that have been passed down and bring in 3 things to share that have to do with these traditions. They...
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Family and Traditions
Learners are introduced to the elements of African-American poetry. As a class, they are read different types of poems to discover there are different styles of poems and practice rhyming words. They share information on their family...