Family History Classroom
- For Your Classroom
- Project history
- Classroom Project Profiles For Your Classroom
We have a number of forms and resources available for teachers to use in their classroom to introduce the concepts of family history (genealogy) research and oral history. While extensive research into generations of the family tree is geared more for middle and high school students, elementary students can learn about their family and community through stories, photographs, objects and digging into the first few branches of their family tree. Before using any of the following materials or resources, we would like to talk with you and share ideas about what has worked well in the classroom, and what a visit to the East Tennessee History Center can do for your students. ETHS staff would like to help you in your endeavors to introduce the wonderful tool of "making history personal" into your classroom.
Contact Lisa Oakley at 865-215-8828 or .
Resources for the classroom
Use the forms* at right for students Grades 4 and up. (An instruction sheet for completing genealogy charts is included.) For middle school and high school students, the two most important items for you to introduce to your students are 1) The genealogy or pedigree chart (5 generation to begin), and
2) The family group sheets. *These forms can also be downloaded free from www.ancestry.com. Visit these family history links for classroom research use or more information:
www.ancestry.com (especially for social security index on dates in the 20th century)
www.rootsweb.com
www.familysearch.com
www.tngenweb.org (look up your county and its local genealogical/historical society and available online records)
www.usgenweb.org (for other states)
www.east-tennessee-history.org (East Tennessee Historical Society)
www.kbyu.org/ancestors (especially for a great teacher's guide)
Check back with us for future lesson plan and activity ideas.
Are you ready to be a Community History Classroom?
If you are interested in developing a 6 - 8 week unit study on family or community history, please contact Lisa Oakley at 865-215-8828 or . We can talk about what customized services ETHS can offer your class. (Recommended for grades 6 - 12). Click here for a general summary of what ETHS can offer the Community Family History Classroom, as well as the teacher/student commitment involved.
Back to Top Project History
During the 2000 - 2001 school year, ETHS staff and volunteers worked directly with four East Tennessee middle school teachers on a new pilot project, the "Community and Family History Classroom." Through a grant from the Benwood Foundation in Chattanooga, Tennessee, ETHS was able to assist teachers in the classroom and provide resources, which allowed the teachers to take their students on an exploration of their family and community history. The number of teachers served since 2000-2001 has increased greatly. Click here for a more detailed description of the 2000 - 2001 pilot Community and Family History Classroom project.
Back to Top Classroom Project Profiles
As a result of the pilot project, ETHS can now share the experience with other teachers around the region and help them in replicating the successes of these four teachers and their students: Rural Vale Elementary, Monroe County- Traci Freeman, Teacher (6th, 7th, 8th grades). Ms. Freeman's classes traced their family history back to the Civil War. Students prepared exhibits on their family's story, which featured photographs, documents, nine-generation charts and transcriptions of family stories. Each student was required to write a summary of his or her project to include with the exhibit. The project concluded with an exhibition night at school for parents and teachers. Click here for more information on the Rural Vale project.
Click here to read The Monroe County Advocate article. Benton Elementary, Polk County-Pam Thomas, Teacher (7th and 8th grades). Ms. Thomas 8th grade classes researched their family history and created books through using classroom computer software. The 7th grade classes concentrated on oral history. The students conducted oral interviews with residents who lived in Polk County during the Depression and World War II eras. After conducting the interviews and researching the county's history in their classroom, students scripted and went "on location" to film the story of Polk County's history. As Ms. Thomas says, "history can be informative and fun when lessons are made relevant to student life--it makes history not just a story to learn but an event internalized and brought to life."
Jacksboro Middle School, Campbell County - Sandra Johnson, Teacher (7th grade). Ms. Johnson's 7th grade students conduced oral interviews with World War II veterans. In order to prepare for the interviews, guest speakers visited the classroom. University of Tennessee faculty and World War II veterans shared the importance of oral history in documenting the World War II experience and modeled the interviewing process for students before they started their individual projects. After conducting the interviews, students transcribed their interviews and cataloged the collection for use of future classes.
Burchfield Elementary, Scott County- Kathy Burke, Teacher (7th and 8th grades). Ms. Burkes' students (7th and 8th grades) researched their family history and wrote books on their families, supplemented by documents, photographs, charts, and family stories. To introduce the project, ETHS provided a classroom "blitz" of five staff members who helped students begin their individual quests. After weeks of research in their classroom, utilizing books published by the Scott County Historical Society, Ms. Burkes students visited the East Tennessee History Center for a day of research in the McClung Historical Collection. The collection of family histories will be added to the library at Burchfield Elementary for use by future classes, as well as cataloged in the McClung Historical Collection.
Back to Top
Rural Vale Elementary
Rural Vale Elementary
Traci Freeman, 6 - 8 Grades
Multi-age, English/History Rural Vale is a K - 9 school with approximately 225 - 230 students. There are 13 teachers, which includes art, music, resource, and librarian. All grades will be multi-aged in 2001 - 2002 school year. Grades 6 - 8 have been doing this for six years. We’ve received special funds three of these years. Originally, we began this due to needing to separate three students. We’ve found out that this way challenges our students, and they help each other immensely. Students are almost always engaged in a project in one subject or another. Team teaching closely affords us the opportunity to tie our subject matter into the different projects. Background of Civil War Project: I volunteered at the beginning of the year in response to the county Instructional Supervisor’s request. World Geography was to be taught the first half of the year, so I had a lot of time to prepare. However, meetings with ETHS began in September, and their help continued along the way. For love of the Civil War, I chose to find out its significance in our remote area. I was blind at how to accomplish this. ETHS suggested genealogy. Field trips were discussed, dates arranged, along with guest speakers. I began early on discussing the project with students. However, my mind was still foggy as to HOW, WHAT, WHEN, AND WHERE this endeavor was to begin and end. Time Frame: In mid-February, booklets were distributed for students to begin gathering personal and family information and pictures. ETHS’ team visited several weeks later and divided the class into tables to work with students individually [there were five ETHS staff people working with the students]. They brought and bought resources for students to use. Students began clicking that very day. The fieldtrip to the McClung Historical Collection followed. Several other ETHS visits were made to help students finish their nine-generation charts, gather stories, etc. At least two days per week for almost two months were spent on the project. We began working in the Tennessee history textbook during February and alternated the two along with other very small projects. I continuously sent letters home to parents. Mid-May was due date. Procedure: Students kept all work in a folder. They had just completed a big countywide science fair project; therefore, each reused this board to display information from genealogical research. I gave an assignment sheet discussing exactly what the title would be, what was to be displayed, and how each would be graded. Four class days of 30 minutes each were allowed. All research should have been done already. Assessment: A rubrics was used in the following manner;
10 pts.—title;
25 pts.—personal and family forms;
25 pts.—five or nine generation chart,
25 pts.—stories,
15 pts.—summary. (Summary was to discuss student’s feelings before, during, and after project.) Problems Encountered: My ignorance of proper usage of different sources (students quickly helped me through this), lack of parent volunteers to make copies during days of research, lack of classroom computers to print documents found on the Internet, lack of time due to Terra Nova practice testing. Further Activities to be Continued: Mock trial for bushwhacker story discovered, charting of number of Confederate and Union veterans discovered, Civil War Memorial Wall, same project done for other American History events, culminating information into a book, National History Day project. Overall Evaluation: This was the easiest, most complicated and involved project I have ever been involved in. It was also the most meaningful to my students, fellow faculty and staff members, and community members. I had no idea where it was headed, because I have never done this before. I shared this with the students who helped develop the ideas. This gave them a sense of ownership of the project. Activities:
Tuesday, May 19, 2001—Family/Community Genealogy Night—all exhibit boards were set up in the gym and students stayed with their exhibit to answer questions. Refreshments were served and resource books were out for adults to use. Civil War heirlooms were displayed by students as well.
Thursday, May 21, 2001—students presented their projects and stories to the Monroe County School Board members at their monthly meeting. Stories: Many stories were discovered by students. The major discovery was that 27 of 84 students found out they had the same Civil War ancestor. Several also discovered they had bushwhackers in their family tree. Examples of Student Summaries: "I loved this project, and I hope to do something like this again. I really thought it was interesting to know about my ancestors. It was a lot of fun and I think other kids should learn about their ancestors." "I felt really bad when I started because I thought I would make a failing grade. But when I started doing the genealogy, it turned out to be pretty simple. This is a cool project too. I liked getting on the computer and looking for information about my ancestors. I could not find anything on the computer, but I turned to my mom, dad and my grandparents. It can teach you a lot about your ancestors and your past. I had a great time doing the project too."