Family History

Teaching Family History, or "Genealogy" in schools can be tough. The basic worksheets and trees used in genealogical research are difficult to use in most assignments since families are no longer strictly defined as a two-parent household and a school's population can include single parents, adoptive families and same-sex households. Children with families that defy the traditional design of a family tree can have difficulty completing a narrowly-defined assignment. This presents a challenge to educators trying to incorporate genealogy into the curriculum. However, since schoolwork is intended to teach students skills, not become professional genealogists, teachers need to be aware of that there are still a lot of ways to expose students to genealogy, no matter what their family backgrounds. Creating a unit on Family History is a great way to get your students interested in their own background. Students can interview their family members to learn more about their own ancestors, and then share their new knowledge with the class.