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 pieces....
Scholastic
Smart Quotes Mini-Lesson
Prepare for an interview project with a set of worksheets about asking questions and quoting people. After completing a grammar exercise about quotation marks, kids write out the questions they want to ask their interviewee, and record...
Curated OER
We Are Family
Students participate in a class discussion about their family structures. Students also discuss the family diversity of their peers and others in the world. They investigate family habits, family history, values and traditions their...
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...
Curated OER
Record and Preserve Your Family Stories
Young scholars 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
Origins and Identity
Students examine how to research their family backgrounds. They conduct interviews with various family members, create a family tree, and present their family tree to the class.
Curated OER
Celebrate Family Story Month
Creative lesson and activity ideas that record family stories and memories.
Curated OER
WANTS VS. NEEDS
Students gain an appreciation for wants and needs by analyzing poems, researching spending choices on the internet, interviewing family members, and create power point slides.
EduGAINs
Migration—Push and Pull Factors
What causes people to move from one place, one city, or one country to another? Using the provided migration questionnaire, learners interview family members about the factors that cause them to be pushed from an area or pulled to an area.
Curated OER
Presentation of Our Family
Although there is no real lesson plan included here, you could easily recycle the idea! Get kids using vocabulary related to family, age, feelings, and nationality. Start by teaching basic vocabulary words and phrases (you'll need to...
All for KIDZ
The Orphan of Ellis Island
Everyone comes from somewhere. An interdisciplinary lesson on Elvira Woodruff's The Orphan of Ellis Island includes discussion starter and writing prompts for the novel, as well as a graphic organizer to help learners begin their own...
Curated OER
Family Heritage Cookbook
Students compare favorite family recipes. In this cultural diversity lesson, students interview family members and record favorite recipes. Students examine cultural diversity through favorite foods.
Curated OER
Family Foodways
Discover, document and share the knowledge of family food and ways special occasions are treated. Your class will explore the context in which food traditions are created and adapted in their families and communities. Each student also...
Elizabeth Murray Project
The Education of Women in Colonial America
What educational opportunities were available to women during the colonial era in American history? How did the opportunities available to women differ from those for men? To answer this question, class members examine a series of...
Curated OER
Great American Families
Fifth graders wrote essays, interviewed family members, took photos of their activities, and tape recorded narration to accompany the photos.
Smithsonian Institution
New American Roles
America has dealt with its fair share of hardships in contemporary history. The resource discusses the events of the Gulf War, September 11th, the Afghanistan War, and The Iraq War. Scholars click on artifacts to learn more information,...
Curated OER
Autobiography and Interviews
Students prepare for a visit to a retirement home using a personal time-line. In this personal time-line lesson, students ask their family members for help in making the time-line. They write an autobiography that will be used in a...
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
Record Your Own Family Folklore
Fifth graders interview family members in order to record family history in the form of a pioneer story, and also interview a member of the faculty in class. They practice note-taking during an interview, re-reading and editing an...
Curated OER
The African-American Family in Crisis
Students create a definition for family that is applicable to the African American. The make a collage made up of family pictures and present it to the class giving a brief explanation of the family members present in the collage....
Curated OER
Learning Timeline Lesson Plan
Students investigate their personal milestones by interviewing family members and reading family records. They use chronological order to chart their own development. Finally, they illustrate their timeline using art supplies such as...
Curated OER
Background for The Outsiders: the 1960s
As background for a reading of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, groups rotate through four stations (video, music, website, information) to gather information on the 1960s. In addition, they interview family members about the 1960s and...
Curated OER
Water Has Many Uses
Students discover numerous uses of water. In this water usage lesson, students interview family members and discover unknown ways water is used in our daily lives. Numerous resources are provided.
Curated OER
Graphing Family Reading Habits
Second graders collect data from their families about their reading habits and graph them. In this graphing family reading habits lesson, 2nd graders interview family members about their reading habits. They then use a graphing computer...