Topics: Genealogy; Research Methods; Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Suggested Grade Level: 5-12
Required Time: 45-60 minutes

Description:

Students learn how to research basic information about people who lived in the past through examining primary sources and research aids (indexes). Sources to be examined include: birth, marriage, and death records; Federal and State Census records; old newspapers; court records; plat books; cemetery records; and more. Students will learn the historic research process by piecing together bits of personal information extracted from a variety of sources regarding an otherwise unknown person from the past and weave that information together to produce a short "history" of that individual. Students will then be encouraged to research their own family history using the knowledge, sources, and methodologies learned in this program.

Goals:

Understand the types of resources available to the public for use in genealogy and researching individuals from the past.
Examine various public records to extract useful personal data for an individual living in the past.
Synthesize historical data to create a large picture of an event (such as a person's life)
Gain an appreciation for family history, and when possible, open a new avenue for communication with an older generation.
Acquire the knowledge of researching one's own family history to begin an engrossing lifelong project of research and exploration.

Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies related to the program:

SS.Inq1: Wisconsin students will construct meaningful questions that initiate an inquiry.
SS.Inq2: Wisconsin students will gather and evaluate sources.
SS.Inq3: Wisconsin students will develop claims using evidence to support reasoning.
SS.Inq4: Wisconsin students will communicate and critique conclusions.
SS.BH1: Wisconsin Students will examine individual cognition, perception, behavior, and identity.
SS.BH2: Wisconsin students will investigate and interpret interactions between individuals and groups.
SS.BH3: Wisconsin students will assess the role that human behavior and cultures play in the development of social endeavors.
SS.Geog1 Wisconsin students will use geographic tools and ways of thinking to analyze the world.
SS.Geog2: Wisconsin students will analyze human movement and population patterns.
SS.Geog3: Wisconsin students will examine the impacts of global interconnections and relationships.
SS.Geog4: Wisconsin students will evaluate the relationship between identity and place.
SS.Geog5: Wisconsin students will evaluate the relationship between humans and the environment.
SS.Hist1: Wisconsin students will use historical evidence for determining cause and effect.
SS.Hist2: Wisconsin students will analyze, recognize, and evaluate patterns of continuity and change over time and contextualization of historical events.
SS.Hist3: Wisconsin students will connect past events, people, and ideas to the present; use different perspectives to draw conclusions; and suggest current implications.
SS.Hist4: Wisconsin students will evaluate a variety of primary and secondary sources to interpret the historical context, intended audience, purpose, and/or author’s point of view.