Tracing Our Family's History
Introduction
Tracing our family history can be fun and interesting. Using maps and globes can help us locate our "roots." Many different cultures make up the United States. This lesson discusses family history and the mixing of different cultures.
Shared Book Literature Source
How My Parents Learned to Eat, Ina R. Friedman.
A child tells of a happy resolution of a slight problem stemming from diverse cultures within a family.
Other Materials Needed
Discovery Globe
World Discovery Map
United States Discovery Map
Map Markers
"Post-it" notes
Suggested Lesson
As a pre-reading exercise ask the children if they know where their parents and/or grandparents "came from." List the places mentioned on the chalkboard or chart paper. Locate the places mentioned on the Discovery World Map and Globe, and United States Discovery Map.
Brainstorm with the students about how their parent/grandparents are alike and different. Emphasize such cultural traits as religion, language, and favorite types of food.
In a shared book experience, read the book to the children. Discuss how people from different countries with very different cultures can overcome obstacles and live in harmony.
On the World Discovery Map, show the students where the characters in the book lived. For homework, ask the students to find out from their parents where each of them lived when they met. When they return with the information, put a "Post-it" (with the child's name on it) and the place where the parents met. Then put the Post-its where the family lives now. Use colored string or roving to connect the Post-its or pins. Examine the map to find out how many families have moved from the area where they met. Discuss why people move.
Graph the information. Who met farthest from their current home? Who met in the place where they still live? Emphasize that all people move from place to place. Sometimes people move great distances. Other people may move only within the town in which they were born. Movement of people, products, and ideas is a constant theme of geography.