All for KIDZ
Building Relationships: The Orphan of Ellis Island
Family and friendship are two very important themes of the historical fiction novel The Orphan of Ellis Island by Elvira Woodruff. From video clips and writing prompts to reader's theater and family interviews, this resource...
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...
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...
Smithsonian Institution
Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon
How do barns serve as a window to a community's past? Here are a series of lessons on the symbolism and historical context of barns throughout American history. Topics include community-building, in-depth primary and secondary...
Curated OER
Young Author Books: I Am a Leaf on My Family Tree
Fourth graders create family tree books. They discuss culture and brainstorm interview questions for family members. They write stories, poems, and captions for family photos. They interview family members and assemble the interviews...
Curated OER
Once Upon a Time
High school pupils research online to complete a family tree and explore their ancestry. They view a sketch of a family tree, and brainstorm questions to ask their parents about their heritage. They also diagram their own family tree. In...
Curated OER
Record and Preserve Your Family Stories
Students research and create a presentation about their own culture and personal history. They interview family members to increase their awareness of family events and documents. They create a family tree at a web based resource.
Curated OER
What’s your Name?
Youngsters work to build empathy, cultural understanding, and a sense of self as they uncover the story behind their own names. They read the book, The Name Jar, discuss immigration and how it feels to be in a new place. Then, they...
Curated OER
Linguistic Diversity. Languages in Canada - Elementary
Create a language mosaic to reveal the linguistic diversity in your community. Pupils interview a person with a home language other than English and contribute to a bulletin board display representing the variety of languages spoken. The...
Curated OER
Creating an Oral History--Who Tells the Story?
Explore the difficulties in compiling an oral history with this lesson plan. Young researchers conduct interviews and consider how point of view changes various accounts of a single incidence, resulting in conflicting information. They...
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 Histories
One of a series of lessons from Ellis Island. In this lesson, students use research from a previous lesson to conduct oral history interviews of family members to learn about their cultural and ethnic heritage.
Curated OER
Exploring Folk Traditions and Folk Beliefs
Ninth graders work together to brainstorm an idea to focus on the similiarties and differences between various cultures. Individually, they interview family members using questions they created based on their topic. They use their...
Curated OER
Linguistic Diversity
Students complete a handout dealing with the languages spoken most frequently at home in Canada. They interview a person with a home language other than English or French. Students contribute to a bulletin board display representing...
Curated OER
Exploring Countries and Cultures
Fifth graders choose a country associated with a family member and research its location, government, language, economy, history, holidays, foods, sports, and famous people. They write to inform using this data and draw a map identifying...
Curated OER
Exploring Community Through Local History: Oral Stories, Landmarks and Traditions
High schoolers explore the history of their local community. In this local history lesson, students analyze primary documents to develop an understanding of the local culture and traditions of their local community.
Curated OER
Cinderella Around the World
Students listen to two versions of the Cinderella story, and compare and contrast them. They demonstrate the similarities and differences in the two stories on a Venn diagram.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide
If you set out to do your own primary research with a tradition-bearer in your community, this guide will be very valuable. Get information about how to get the best results, along with an extensive list of possible questions for the...