Exploring Our Roots

Partners examine the family tree of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, a Spanish admiral and explorer who founded St. Augustine, Florida, and answer several questions about the text using a worksheet. After they've explored the family tree,...

Work on using context clues in your social studies class. Pupils read a brief selection about the terrain in Senegal and define each of the underlined words in the space provided. They also list the context clues that helped them...

Everyone is an immigrant in their own way. Young scholars read historic documents to understand one woman's journey from Germany to the United States. The activity uses a mixture of text, discussion, and written prompts to help...

Students explore the rules of succession and how succession to the British throne works. Students arrange the royal family members in succession order. They explore the concept of lineage by constructing the British royal family tree.

Students analyze a work of art.  In this historical context lesson plan, students research the time period in which the art they observed was created.  Students consider differing opinions about a work of art. 

Students explore the decision-making in the context of a rugby club who have made rapid progress up the league structure. They construct a decision tree using the information given and calculate a final value to make quantitative...

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.

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...

Jackie Robinson was more than a baseball legend; he was an activist, too. An interesting resource explores Robinson's time in the military using primary sources. Scholars examine the racially inspired event that led to a court martial...

Here is a nicely designed instructional activity on ancestry and family history. In it, learners read an article entitled, "Where Were Your Ancestors in 1871?" Then, they make up a series of questions to profile their family and their...