Record and Preserve Your Family Stories

The history of the northern states' involvement in the slave trade is not widely known. This resource uses the PBS documentary, Traces of the Trade, and the nonfiction book, Children of the New England Slave Trade, to examine this aspect...

What is an oral history interview? What goes into the planning and what should be said? Why is it important that we know and learn from oral history? This is an excellent worksheet to support your young historians as they conduct...

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.

Bring U.S. history to your language arts class with this lesson. Middle schoolers complete an interview for an oral history project, and discuss the importance of oral histories - and how they embellish written accounts. They write...

What is your history? Scholars work with their own families to create a unique story of the courage and bravery of their ancestors. The third and final part of the series culminates in a creation of not just a family history, but a...

Here is a nicely designed lesson 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 community 100...

How well do you know stories told in your family? Could you recite them by heart? Middle schoolers study the importance of the oral tradition by telling a partner a story, having the partner recite it back, and then interviewing a family...

Would you stand up for your beliefs, no matter the cost? Scholars investigate their own families to uncover examples of how and when someone stood up for their ideals. Using video clips, interviews, and eulogies, they come to understand...

Kids of all ages discover their family histories through pictures. First, flip through the PowerPoint provided (or consider making one of your own). It should show pictures of your family and have clear, easy to understand sentences that...

Imagine the challenge of trying to trace your family genealogy if no records were kept of births and deaths. Where would you look for information? What types of documents could provide you with the information you seek? History...