Curated OER
Language Arts, African Americans, Oral Tradition and the Blues
When slavery took Africans from their land, they were separated from the rich musical and oral traditions native to each country and region. While working as slaves, Africans found they had two places where they could use these musical...
Curated OER
Portrait of a Place, Portrait of a Family
Students act out stories based on lives of famous people from Harlem. In this memoirs lesson, students compare the life of the people in Harlem in 1930 to the people of today. Students explore how "home" is different for different...
Curated OER
How to incorporate local history into your Arkansas History class
Fifth graders explore their local history through research and then providing reenactments about the history.
Curated OER
Family Structures
Students organize information about their family into a family record. In this research lesson, students collect information about their families and organize it chronologically.
Curated OER
Discovering My Family History
Pupils research their family trees. They research Internet sites, conduct interviews and, when possible, access primary sources to compile information about their family's history. Students present their findings in a family tree.
Curated OER
Family History
Eighth graders examine immigration patterns. In this family history lesson, 8th graders investigate their own family histories and then compare and contrast immigration patterns of their class to national immigration patterns between...
Curated OER
Dramatizing Your Story
Students write a script, planning and recording improvisations based on personal experience and heritage, imagination, literature and history.
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt pieces....
Curated OER
Family History
Students research information about their family history, record the information and create some sort of family tree. Then they present it orally to the class.
Curated OER
Oral Genealogy
Students research their family histories by conducing interviews with parents and grandparents. They put their histories into a chant or a chart/family tree and present it to their class.
Curated OER
Wilbur West, An Oral History
Third graders listen to the history of Wilbur West, a World War II veteren. They discuss how he is an important piece of history. They write a persuasive essay on the importance of Veteren's Day.
Curated OER
Family Food Favorites
Third graders conduct an interview and create a class cookbook. In this family heritage lesson, 3rd graders read Everybody Bakes Bread and discuss a dish or recipe that is a part of their family's heritage. Students interview family...
Curated OER
Learning from the Past: A New Approach
Young scholars research nonprofit organizations. As they research, they learn how those living in the colonial period formed community organizations to provide for the common good of their society. Each pupil chooses one organization to...
Curated OER
According to Tradition
Young scholars analyze a historical document. They review oral histories as a tradition of storytelling in Native cultures and listen to an excerpt from The Life and Traditions of the Red Man. They write an episode or story that has been...
Curated OER
American Veterans: Past and Present
Research groups present an audio report on modern veteran issues in a radio show format.
Curated OER
Lesson: A Garden Party of My Own
Kids look at a beautiful work of art to practice grammar, make connections from life to art, and sketching. They identify all the parts of grammar they see in the image, discuss what they see and do on a picnic, and then draw an imaged...
Curated OER
Tracing Our Own Family Pilgrimages
The Pilgrims may have arrived in North America by way of the Mayflower, but chances are, your class members' ancestors came to the United States in another way. Guide them through an exploration of their own heritage, countries of...
Curated OER
Immigration and Migration Today and During the Great Depression
High schoolers conduct oral history interviews and research primary resources to explain changes in immigration and migration over time.
Curated OER
Virtual Ellis Island Museum Unit: Oral Histories
Students conduct oral histories of family members to explore their cultural and ethnic heritage after developing a set of research questions.
Curated OER
Oral History: Interviewing Elders
Sixth graders examine oral history traditions. They interview family members about their childhoods and compare them to their own. Students use the collected information to make posters, letters, essays, or poems about their research.
Curated OER
Piece by Piece
Students study quilts. In this history/geometry quilt instructional activity, students discover the history behind quilt making and get a chance to make quilt blocks of their own. They work independently to make a quilt block out of...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
Curated OER
Elements of African Oral Literature
Ninth graders examine the importance of family history. For this Language Arts lesson, 9th graders read and discuss African oral literature with a focus on the roles of griots. Students compare /contrast the elements of African oral...
Curated OER
The Great Migration: An Oral History
Learners research the factors which contributed to the great migration and write a well organized research paper using multiple sources. They incorporate quotations into their paper, both direct and paraphrased, in accordance with MLA...