Table of Contents

OAH Magazine of History
Volume 15, No 4
Summer 2001

Copyright ©
Organization of American Historians

Family History:An ERIC/ChESS Sample

Laura A. Pinhey

The listings below are drawn from the ERIC database and include both teaching materials and general background information on the topic. The key to obtaining the full text of the materials cited below is the unique ERIC number assigned to each item in the database. Journal articles, denoted by “EJ” numbers (for example, EJ549890) can be copied at most academic libraries, borrowed through interlibrary loan, or purchased from article reprint services such as UnCover, UMI, and ISI. Research reports, conference papers, and other materials besides journal articles are denoted by “ED” numbers (for example, ED398110); paper or microfiche copies of most of these documents can be purchased from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS), 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110, Springfield, VA 22153-2852; (800) 443-3742; (703) 440-1400; <edrs@inet.ed.gov>; <http://edrs.com>; or copied from an ERIC microfiche collection, available at many libraries.

ERIC/ChESS welcomes requests for general information or sample database searches on topics within the social studies, social sciences, and music and art education. Contact ERIC/ChESS by telephone at (800) 266-3815 or (812) 855-3838, or by e-mail at <ericso@indiana.edu>.

Barbour, Alton. “Where Do American Family Names Come From?” Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council of Teachers of English, Denver, CO, 18-23 November 1999. ED435995. This document presents a brief overview of the history and origins of mainly European family names from the twelfth century forward and is envisioned as a one-class-period session for secondary or college English teachers and those interested in semantics. Sections included are the history of naming, reasons for naming, guidelines for name origins, and special cases. The piece contains four references, a worksheet for matching names and origins, and a key to the worksheet.

McLellan, Francis R. Strengthening Adolescent Identity Formation through Development and Presentation of Family Literary Documents. Ed.D. Practicum, Nova University, 1993. EDRS Price: MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. ED362901. This article describes a practicum designed to supplement the study of literary classics by adding a component to strengthen adolescent identity formation. Students generate and present family literary documents, including varieties of familial cultural artifacts. Using lessons published by experienced teachers in professional journals, students draw maps of points of family interest; write autobiographies, self-reports, and journal essays; invent coats of arms; create histories and scenarios of important family events; compile family trees; and write and publish essays in defense or in celebration of larger group/familial memberships. Four color charts of data and nine student-developed coats of arms are appended.

Ryant, Carl. “Oral History and the Family: A Tool for the Documentation and Interpretation of Family History.” Teaching History: A Journal of Methods 15 (Fall 1990): 51-56. EJ429246. Ryant discusses the role of oral history in the documentation and interpretation of family history and gives information for constructing and managing information in interviews. Oral history, Ryant stresses, permits analysis of materials in terms of shared concepts. The article emphasizes ways family histories can be used in research projects and classroom teaching.

Wilhelm, Laurn. “Back to the Past: A Guide to Juvenile Genealogy.” School Library Journal 37 (August 1991): 100-1. EJ433213. This discussion of genealogy focuses on material available for young people. The author discusses social influences on the renewed interest in genealogy, describes the maintenance of personal journals or diaries in elementary and secondary schools, considers the use of new technology, and provides a list of resources.

Wood, Linda P. “‘What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?’ An Oral History of Rhode Island Women during World War II.” Social Education 58 (February 1994): 92-93. EJ485622. Wood contends that oral history is a unique way to learn about past events and experiences. She describes an oral history project that resulted in the publication of twenty-six stories of Rhode Island women during World War II. Wood also discusses the stories and their impact on the students who conducted the oral history interviews.

Aaron, Larry. “Using Genealogy to Teach History.” OAH Magazine of History 6 (Winter 1992): 5-7. EJ453641. Aaron suggests genealogy as a way of increasing student interest in history. He recommends an “A, E, I, O, U” approach to genealogy that calls upon students to ask questions, examine documents, interview family members, organize information, and utilize local resources. He also proposes parent-child genealogical study sessions, field trips, and show-and-tell activities.

Adomanis, James F. “Using Genealogy and Family History to Teach Immigration History.” OAH Magazine of History 4 (Spring 1990): 52-55. EJ424994. Adomanis presents three exercises on immigration history that employ census materials available from the National Archives and field trips to cemeteries, historical societies, and libraries. He advocates primary sources as teaching resources for family history studies. The article includes three documents for classroom use and outlines preparatory steps for making genealogical charts.

Carter, John Marshall. “‘Grandma Book’: Writing to Discover Your Past. Classroom Teacher’s Idea Notebook.” Social Education 59 (February 1995): 92-94. EJ500346. This article describes a nine-week project in which students solicit written or oral remembrances of family, local, and national history. This activity helps students see themselves as part of the historical process. It also integrates history and writing in a way that is meaningful for students.

Davis, Jean M. “Writing a Biography with Your Students.” Writing Notebook: Visions for Learning 11 (January-February 1994): 30-32, 46. EJ477375. This article describes the experiences of a writing teacher as she completed a biography writing assignment along with her students. The author notes that teachers can gain insights into and an understanding of the writings they assign by doing this assignment along with their students. She notes that many students, even reluctant writers, produced memorable biographies of relatives or family friends.

Hickey, M. Gail. “Bloomers, Bell Bottoms, and Hula Hoops: Artifact Collections Aid Children’s Historical Interpretation.” Social Education 61 (September 1997): 293-99. EJ554679. The author reviews a series of teaching activities that revolve around family photographs, letters, and artifacts; outlines how these items can be used to teach recommended National Council for the Social Studies strands; and provides classroom examples. Hickey also discusses developing a unit of study and includes a form for a family artifact report.

Mitchell, Diana. “Tapping into Family Stories and Themes to Heighten End-of-Year Engagement.” English Journal 87 (April 1998): 65-69. EJ570083. Mitchell sketches several projects and assignments that focus on the family and suggests some contexts that can be used to give them structure. She suggests that this is an appealing way to end the school year, offering strong material to keep students involved.

Morrow, Carolyn. “Picking Up the Pieces of the Past.” Social Studies Texan 6 (Fall 1990): 44-45. EJ420709. “The Family Heritage Booklet,” a student-compiled family history social studies project designed for Texas seventh graders, engages students in writing their autobiographies. This article includes objectives, materials, and procedures and contains a letter to parents seeking their knowledge on family history. Morrow states that the project boosts student self-esteem and promotes understanding.

Pederson, Patricia Velde. “The Four-Generation Project: An Inclusive Activity for the Social Studies Classroom.” Social Studies 89 (July-August 1998): 158-60. EJ572621. The author describes an alternative to traditional genealogy assignments in order to bring this type of project into line with the increasing trend of blended families (those with step-parents or step-siblings). She posits that this project allows students from all family backgrounds to gain valuable historical information in a meaningful and nonthreatening context.

Phillips, Ellen Haygood. “Storytelling: The Link from the Past to the Future.” Gifted Child Today Magazine 19 (November-December 1996): 30-35. EJ539229. A teacher describes her use of oral family history and storytelling to develop students’ language skills. She also offers guidelines for obtaining oral histories, developing a specific story, teaching acting techniques, and preparing for performance.

Reissman, Rose. “Great Aunt Sophie’s American Journey: Using Modern Technology to Celebrate Our Ordinary Heroes.” Learning and Leading with Technology 25 (May 1998): 28-30. EJ574040. The author describes how one teacher taught her students to celebrate their elder relatives and other ordinary heroes by creating trading cards giving each ordinary hero’s vital statistics and then sharing them with each other.

Schiller, Laura. “Coming to America: Community from Diversity (Teacher’s Notebook).” Language Arts 73 (January 1996): 46-51. EJ524264. This article describes a year-long thematic study unit in a middle-school classroom called “Coming to America,” in which the children and their families celebrated their diversity by investigating their heritage and immigration to the United States, producing a multilingual collection of stories about family and immigration. The unit demonstrated how considerable learning and a strong sense of community emerged.

Singer, Alan J. “Oral History and Active Learning.” Social Science Record 31 (Fall 1994): 4-20. EJ505724. The author contends that oral history is a way to involve students in thinking about and understanding history and the contemporary world. The article includes a family history chart, recommendations for creating an oral history questionnaire, sample interview questions, and four student oral history writing models.

Webb, Kurt. “Family Origin Story Manual.” Writing Notebook: Visions for Learning 11 (January-February 1994): 27-29. EJ477374. Webb describes a class project in which students write a detailed story of their family heritage and how they came to live in the United States. He notes that students also paint murals telling the story of their family and present their story and mural on videotape. Webb presents four such stories and murals as examples.

Wolfman, Ira. Do People Grow on Family Trees? Genealogy for Kids & Other Beginners. Teacher’s Guide and Student Handbook. New York: Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, 1991. Document Not Available from EDRS. Available from: Workman Publishing Company, Inc., 708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003. ISBN: 1-56305-270-9. ED404241. These books present objective-based, action learning strategies that involve students in the following: simulation situations that lead to problem solving and other higher-level thinking skills, research and data collecting projects, design and utilization of charts and diagrams, reading and writing in content area, cooperative learning group activities, and group discussions and debates. Techniques for research and study are pedigree charts, family group sheets, reading relationship charts, and the study of historical immigration movements. Information on how to research family genealogies by examining the family Bible, handling photographs, tape recording interviews, and saving the facts of one’s own life are also covered. The teacher’s guide provides the classroom teacher with thought-provoking discussion topics, questions, and curriculum-enhancing activities for grades 4-8. Each chapter presents objectives and classroom discussion examples along with sample activities.

Laura A. Pinhey is the coordinator of user services and products for the ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education (ERIC/ChESS) at Indiana University in Bloomington. She holds a Bachelor of Science in English from the University of Southern Indiana and a Master of Library Science from Indiana University.