National Gallery of Canada
The Roots of My Family
Represent family history visually by requiring your young artists to create family trees that express balance and symmetry. Pupils examine works of art, research their family histories, and put together large family tree posters.
Curated OER
Family History
Students discover their family history. In this genealogy lesson, students participate in a discussion about family history and why it is important. Students create a family tree and present the family tree to the class. Students write a...
Curated OER
"History of My Family"
Students explore world geography by participating in a family history project. In this U.S.S.R. lesson, students read assigned text regarding the Stalinist era of Russia and the intolerance that thrived there. Students answer a list of...
Curated OER
My Family: Past, Present,
Second graders explore the lives of actual people who make a difference in their everyday lives. They differentiate between events that happened long ago and events that happened yesterday by studying their family histories. The unit...
Curated OER
My Family - Bookmaking for Social Studies
Students create family histories. For this book making lesson, students take digital cameras home for the night and take family members' photographs. Students use the photographs and text they write about their families to create a...
Curated OER
"Me and My Family Tree"
Students explore genealogy by reading a family history book in class. In this family tree lesson, students read the story Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney and discuss their own family history. Students identify what the term...
Curated OER
Reading Questions: Alex Haley's "My Furthest Back Person: The African"
Based on Alex Haley's moving essay "My Furthest Back Person: The African," these 11 questions support comprehension and prepare readers for discussion of the text. Use this tool, and the essay, as a nonfiction addition to units on...
Novelinks
The Color of Water: Family History Assignment
To conclude their study of James McBride's The Color of Water, class members create their own memoir, focusing on a family member who help shape their life.
Curated OER
My Arkansas Family Tree
Here is a two-part lesson that introduces learners to genealogy by having them create family trees, and map the movements of their ancestors. While this resource is designed for kids who live in Arkansas, it certainly can be adapted for...
Curated OER
Family Traditions, Customs and Beliefs
Students discuss African childhood, explore family traditions, customs, and beliefs, examine African recipes, discuss differences or similarities in food preparation between the U.S. and Africa, and prepare a dish with adult supervision.
Curated OER
My Family Tree
Students create a family tree. In this ancestry activity, students research a country that one of their ancestors is from. Students interview a grandparent and map out a family tree.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan on Family History and Past Generations
Second graders listen to The Keeping Quilt and through class/small group discussion relate this story to beliefs, customs, and traditions of their own families. They make a class quilt based on these discussions.
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Willa Cather's My Ántonia
Willa Cather's My Antonia might seem like a hard sell for today's teen readers. Rather than dramatic plot twists, trysts, and terrors, the novel celebrates the pioneer spirit that lead immigrants to a small Nebraska town. The Signet...
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
I Search My Family Project
Students research their family's heritage. They follow a guide, document their family's history and put it together in report form.
Curated OER
English Renaissance History: The Tudor (and Stuart) Monarchy
My oh my, there sure is a lot of intrigue surrounding that Tudor family! With rich text and image-filled slides, you'll be able to discuss the Tudor Monarchy in great detail. The presentation starts with a brief introduction to King...
Curated OER
Quilting Our Diverse Classroom
Learners explore diversity and race by creating art. In this ethnic background lesson, students discuss their family history, where their relatives lived and how it affects their life today. Learners create pieces of a quilt representing...
Curated OER
My Own Cultural Traditions
Students complete a worksheet on personal traditions. In this cultural traditions activity, students discuss what a cultural tradition is and why they are important to the members of the culture. Students distinguish between cultural...
National WWII Museum
“My Dear Little Boys…” Interpreting a letter home from the war
Letters have long been prized by historians as primary sources for what they reveal not only about events but also about the emotional responses of the writers to these events. "My Dear Little Boys," a letter written by Leonard Isacks on...
Annenberg Foundation
Becoming Visible
The television and interstate highways both came of age in 1950s America. Scholars use film, text, and discussion to explore how these and other cultural icons shaped the literature of the time. Pupils also create a family history...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Al Capone Does My Shirts
It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes in the Family: A Case Study
Learners examine a case study of a woman with a family history of type 2 diabetes and create a "family health portrait" that assesses her risk of developing diabetes. They use the family health portrait to record the woman's family...
Curated OER
Creating Identity Posters
Students discover the identities of their classmates. In this tolerance lesson, students create individual posters showcasing their identity, history, and family background. Students examine the posters to get a better...
Curated OER
Through Their Eyes: Video Taping Oral History
Students identify the stereotypes they are faced with on a daily basis. In groups, they use this information to identify the ways stereotypes are portrayed in movies and television. They use a video camera to record oral histories of...