Good Apple Magazine
Grades 2-5
Searching Your Own Backyard

This article will help you in gathering information about your immediate family (parents, brothers, and sisters), the people and places in your neighborhood, and family traditions and holidays. You will find lists of questions to help you with your research. There is also a sample family tree and suggestions for further research ideas.

Good Apple Magazine
Grades 2-5
Genealogy 101

The first step in genealogy is to find out about yourself. This magazine article will help students learn about themselves by answering a series of questions and finding documentation for their answers.

Challenge
What's in a Name?

Learn about the origin of your name. This activity could be part of a genealogy project or one by itself. Students will learn the history of "given" and "surnames" and the naming customs of different countries.

Good Apple Magazine
Grades 2-5
Let's Write an Autobiography

A wonderful way to start a genealogy project is for students to write their own autobiographies. By answering a number of questions they will learn who they are, where the came from, and interesting information about themselves and their families.

The Mailbox Magazine
Primary
Coat of Arms

Have each student create their own coat of arms. Divide symbol into sections with questions to be answered. Illustrate with markers and finish with colorful name banners.

Oasis Magazine
Grades 6-9
Oral History

Another way to learn about ones family is to do oral histories. Students will gain a better knowledge of their family than just creating a list of names and dates on paper. Hearing about their family's everyday lives can help students feel a kinship--a common bond--they many not have. The concept of the tape-recorded oral history is a recent development and an excellent way to create a record of family and their history to save for the future.

Copycat
K-3
Coming to America

Help children discover the immigration experience by sharing the dynamic stories that tell of the many people whose hope and dream was coming to America. Choose from a number of activities to stimulate students interest. Also, there is an additional list of resources for teachers including web sites.

Lollipops Magazine
Preschool/Early Childhood
My Family, Myself

Children learn about themselves and their families through activities such as family albums, story pictures, family portraits drawn by the children, button family tree, and others.

Children's Collection

Discovering Our Roots
Mine's and the Jenny Book

This source has two different entries. The first entry, Mine's, is about a young girl, 4th generation Japanese American, who learns about herself and family by writting in a diary. The second entry, The Jenny Book, is a good example of a family history written by a ten year old girl who is Japanese, Portuguese, and black. Her history includes many pictures and a family tree.

Search for the Shadowman by Joan Lowery Nixon

A teacher's assignment to explore family history led a 12 year old boy on a search that cleared the name of a black sheep in his ancestry. Andy's search included oral interviews, clues in old letters, the internet, library sources, and a cemetery. This book (149 pages) could be read for extra credit or as a class prior to or during an assignment on family history.

*Autograph Books

*Bibles

*Books (inscriptions)

*Certificates (job or schools)

*Diaries, Day Books, Journals

*Family Trees

*Photo Albums

*Important Papers (wills, titles, and deeds)

*Letters

*Newspaper Clippings

*Pictures (look at backs)

*School Papers (report cards-parent's signatures)

* Scrapbooks

*Trunks and Chests

*Yearbooks

*Health Records