The Social Studies Project: Genealogy in the Classroom
SUBJECT: American History
UNIT: Personal History Project
PERIODS: ALL
DATE: ANY
GENERAL GOAL: Students will research their personal history and the last five
generations of their family tree. They will identify the members of each generation, and
their vital information. This will result in better researching skills through a very
personal experience. They will be able to make personal connections to history through
this project, which can be reinforced throughout the year. Students can relate major
historical events throughout the year to family members lived through them or may have
lived in proximity to them as well.
SUGGESTIONS OF USE IN THE CLASSROOM: This is a great tool to get a class
back when they are losing their attention by asking who remembers what family
members may have been near or alive at the time of the civil war, for example. This
could even be used as a bell ringer for students to research at the beginning of class. If the
topic is the Reconstruction Era, the teacher could ask the students to look through their
notes ad identify family members who were alive at the time. This is to be worked on
primarily as homework. The days of the activities can be scheduled in, as the teacher
would like. For example, day one could be n a Monday, and day two could be done at
the end of the week on Friday. The form is decided on the needs of the class and the
teacher. The time needed for the family story and genealogy research can be decided
according to time restraints of the school and the class, it can take a few weeks or and
entire quarter, depending on the environment and the level of detail the instructor wants
from the students. Point values are the instructor’s discretion, but the grading should
include participation in the peer review. A grading rubric is supplied as an example.
CONCEPTS: Genealogy, Pedigree Chart, Family Chart, Census Report, Obituary,
Family History, Family Artifacts, Vital Records, Death Certificate, Birth Certificate,
Surname, Citation, MLA, APA, PowerPoint.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
1. Students write a paragraph on their surname.
2. Students write an autobiography of at least two pages.
3. Students write a good/interesting family story of at least one page.
4. Students research the last five generations of their family tree.
5. Students create a PowerPoint presentation with the research findings.
6. Students will be practice writing and peer editing skills.
7. Students will demonstrate proper research methods and proper documentation of
research materials.
8. Students will provide a thorough and professional presentation of findings.
MATERIALS: Pedigree chart, Family chart, Notebooks/Binders, Access to PowerPoint
and Internet, Examples of citations and notations, Box of random family artifacts,
samples of obituaries and census reports, peer review rubrics.
ACTIVITIES:
DAY ONE:
1. “To know where you are going, you have to know where you have been”
The class will discuss the purpose of this statement in an open forum.
2. Students will be encouraged to share what they know about their family
name. Students will be shown an example of how to find the generally
accepted source of a family name, and shown how to do an internet search
for this information. They must come in the next day with a paragraph
detailing the results of the search to discuss briefly at the beginning of class.
3. The students will then be given the requirements of the first part of the
project, the autobiography and answer questions.
3. Time permitting the teacher can show previous students’ examples, or
personal examples, to show what the final product should look like.
DAY TWO
1. Students will get into groups of three or four and peer review the
autobiography. They should be given a rubric that asks specific questions
about the grammar, flow, and content of the paper.
2. Each student is given three rubrics to attach to their paper, which all must
be filled out in class by other students or the teacher. A proper peer review
should take the entire class period the first time. This allows for leaning of
the roles involved. Later peer review sessions should take less time because
groups and roles are established at that point. The final drafts will be due by
the next class meeting.
3. Students are given the instructions for the family story paper.
DAY THREE
1. Students will repeat the peer review process with the family story paper.
After several rounds with established groups, this process should go much
faster by now. The rest of the time is spent on explaining the Genealogy
project.
2. Students receive the instructions for the genealogy project.
3. Teacher opens a box of unknown artifacts and asks the students to
discover the most they can from the contents. This box should contain
pictures, letters, newspaper clippings, census reports, and any other
interesting items that belong to one family. These can be reproductions or
originals, at the teacher’s discretion.
4. Students will work together to uncover the hidden story of the family
within the box and present their findings at the end of class. They need to
identify family relationships and specific events.
5. During this time, the teacher explains how to utilize the items in the box.
These short lessons should include the use of newspaper articles/ obituaries;
reading and understanding census reports; identifying people in pictures; use
of primary sources; and so on.
6. Questions answered at the end of class.
DAY FOUR
1. Students will turn in their genealogy research.
2. Students will be given the requirements for the PowerPoint presentations
that will incorporate all previous assignments. Answer questions as needed
and allow students to see examples of the PowerPoint.
DAY FIVE-SIX
1. Presentations.
EVALUATION: Students will prepare a three to five minute PowerPoint presentation on
their research findings. The presentation must include the following:
PowerPoint presentation
Intro slide
Pedigree chart
Family story, thumbnail sketch
Autobiography, thumbnail sketch
Family name history
At least five minutes in length
Sources cited in MLA or APA
All written and presented materials will be graded on content as well as form (grammar).
FAMILY NAME
Write one paragraph that discusses the history of your name according to the
discussed, free internet sources. You must include the possible countries of origin of
your surname, alternate spellings, and any family tree websites that you found after a
simple Google search. You must also define what a surname is, and reasons why it is
important. Be prepared to discuss your findings at the beginning of class. Grammar and
spelling are graded for this assignment.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The first part of the genealogy project is to write at least two pages that describes
who you are as an individual. This should include the basic information of your parents
and birth as well as your education to date. Beyond that, you need to include at least
enough information that will fill the page requirement. This will need to be written as a
rough draft and ready to be peer reviewed by the end of the week. During peer review,
you will assess other papers for content, grammar, flow, and so on. Be warned; do not
blow off the review process. Your grade on the assignment will be determined not only
by your writing but also by your comments on others’ work as well. So please take this
seriously. The final draft will be due on Monday. Be sure to include a cover page in the
proper MLA/APA format. Keep in mind this will be shared with other students, so do
not include personal information you do not wish to share.
FAMILY STORY
You will need to ask your family members who have the most interesting family
story and then interview that person. If they are no longer alive, then a direct descendant
will suffice, or recognized sources such as newspaper articles, personal journals, and/or
family bibles. You are encouraged to record this meeting so you can review and write at
least one page that relates the important points of the story, and at least one paragraph
that will reflect on what this means to you. This will follow the same form as the
previous paper with a peer review day to edit the papers. Please include quotes from the
interview and use the proper citation of the reference. Be sure to include a cover page in
the proper MLA/APA format. Keep in mind that this will be shared with other students
in class, so make sure this is an appropriate story that will not be too personal for you to
feel comfortable in sharing.
THE GENEALOGY PROJECT
Now that you have done some background research on your family and yourself,
it is now time to research you family for the last five generations. You must include the
following information for each family in your ancestry:
Birth
Birth Place
Death
YOU MUST CITE YOUR SOURCES!
Burial Place
Marriage
Education
MISSING INFO MUST BE ANNOTATED!
Occupation
Children’s names
Some of this information may not be found, or may be too difficult to find in the time
frame for this assignment. Simply make a note of where you looked, and an explanation
why you did not find anything. Points will not be lost if you provide good information in
this regard. I will give you copies of the charts and reports, which you can use in your
research. These reports will be turned in two weeks, along with notes and sources.
Using the family charts and the pedigree chart, research your family. When you turn this
information in, please do not turn in any personal artifacts from your research. But you
must cite this source accordingly in the reference section.
POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS
Students will now present their findings to the class and show off their technology
skills. The more creativity the better when it comes to the presentations. The only
requirements are as follows:
PowerPoint includes
Style, form, and professionalism in
Intro slide
presenting will be assessed as well.
Pedigree chart
Family story, thumbnail sketch
Autobiography, thumbnail sketch
Family name history
Three to five minutes in length
Cite your sources in MLA or APA format.
Beyond the minimums you can add in anything you would like, so do your best! Please
supply a print out of your slides at the time of presentation.
Family Charts
===============================================================
Name__________________________
Education_____________________
Birth Date______________________
Religion______________________
Birth Place _____________________
Occupation____________________
Death__________________________
Spouse_______________________
Death Place_____________________
Children______________________
Marriage _______________________
_____________________________
===============================================================
Name__________________________
Education_____________________
Birth Date______________________
Religion______________________
Birth Place _____________________
Occupation____________________
Death__________________________
Spouse_______________________
Death Place_____________________
Children______________________
Marriage _______________________
_____________________________
===============================================================
Name__________________________
Education_____________________
Birth Date______________________
Religion______________________
Birth Place _____________________
Occupation____________________
Death__________________________
Spouse_______________________
Death Place_____________________
Children______________________
Marriage _______________________
_____________________________
===============================================================
Peer Review Rubric: Family Name
Does the paragraph contain the country of origin and alternate spellings of his/her
surname?
Does it define the word surname and give at least one reason why it is important?
Are their any spelling errors?
Are their any errors in grammar?
Are their any awkward phrases or poorly worded sentences?
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Peer Review Rubric: Autobiography
Does it list their parents’ information (names, birth info., education, occupations)?
Does the paper detail their personal information (full name, birth info., education,
occupation)?
Does the paper meet the page requirement?
Are their any spelling errors?
Are their any errors in grammar?
Are their any awkward phrases or poorly worded sentences?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peer Review Rubric: Family Story
Does the story make sense; is it told in a logical format?
Does the author reflect about the events and consider what it means to them?
Are the sources cited?
Are their any spelling errors?
Are their any errors in grammar?
Are their any awkward phrases or poorly worded sentences?
GRADING RUBRIC (suggested)
Assignment
Point Value
Family Name
20
Peer Review
15 (5 pts. for three reviews)
Autobiography
40
Peer Review
15
Family Story
30
Peer Review
15
Research
325 (1 pt. for each piece of data plus 15 pts. for citations)
Presentation
100 (10 pts. per slide and 30 for style/comp./prof.)
_____________________________
Total Points
560