Shaking the Family Tree

A WebQuest for 5th-6th Grade Social Studies

Introduction:

Do you like jigsaw puzzles? The really fun jigsaw puzzles are those with a lot of pieces. Each piece is linked together to make a big picture. When you open the box. all the puzzle pieces are shaken up in a big pile. You don't think you can ever fit them all together. The fun comes from taking all the pieces in the pile and putting them together to form a nice, neat picture.

A family tree is like a big jigsaw puzzle with many puzzle pieces. Like making a picture from a puzzle, you have to search for puzzle pieces to make your family tree. It takes time and patience, but making a family tree can be just as much fun as putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

The Tasks:

Everyone is part of a family. You will learn how to write your family tree, as well as learning more about your family.

learn what is meant by genealogy and that genealogy and family tree are the same thing,
understand what is a surname,
write a story about an interesting relative,
start making a list of your parents, sisters and brothers, and other family members and their dates of birth,
research and write a family tree on a past president or the current president, and
learn about a famous genealogist.

The Process:

Researching your family tree can be fun. You will learn lots of new and interesting things about your family. Some of these things may surprise you. Now get your notebook ready, ask lots of questions, and begin your search. Remember you will be asked to print out several of your tasks for a family tree scrapbook.

1. A family tree is not just a lot of names and dates. Writing A Family History describes how to begin searching for your family members. In addition to this link, What is Genealogy gives very good instructions on how to begin collecting data for your family tree. It tells you what, how, and where to start to do your research.
You can test your knowledge of genealogy with this puzzle, Genealogy Interactive 8x8 Crossword Puzzle.
2. Everybody has a surname. Check at Surname Queries to learn a lot of information about your surname.
3. Write a story about an Interesting Family Member. Ask lots of questions to gather information. A good list to use when asking good questions is Interview Questions. Interview this person or someone who knew this person if he/she is deceased. Don't be surprised if you run across some interesting things! Be sure to print it so you can put it into a family tree scrapbook.
4. Now you know what a family tree is. Get your notebook ready and begin your research. When you have finished recording names, dates of birth, dates of death on you, your parents, your grandparents, and your great grandparents go to and record your information for the future. Print a copy of My Family Tree and record your findings. This sheet also needs to go into your scrapbook.
5. Famous people have family trees too, even U.S. Presidents. U.S Presidential Ancestor Tables show the ancestors of our past presidents or current president. Choose a president and record his family tree on First Family Tree Sheet. Print a copy for your scrapbook.
6. Some people make genealogy their profession. Read about Alex Haley, a famous genealogist from Tennessee, who traced his ancestors to Africa. Learn how Haley used his research to write a best selling novel about his family.

The Evaluation

You will be graded on how well you did your work as you researched your family tree. If you did all the work in the exemplary column, you will receive an A. All work completed in the accomplished column will receive a B. A C will be given if you complete the work in the developing column. If you fail to do any of the work in a column, an F will be given. So your grade depends on how many tasks you completed and whether you did a good job on each task.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Define genealogy	Does not know what the word genealogy means	Can give the definition of genealogy	Completes most of the crossword puzzle on genealogy	Completes all of the crossword puzzle on genealogy.
Research and learn what is a surname	Does not know the meaning of the word surname	Know the definition of the word surname	Begins a search for own surname	Submits surname so others can research your information
Write a story about an interesting relative	Does not write a story	Writes a short paragraph listing 2 interesting facts	Writes a creative story listing at least 3 interesting facts	Writes a creative story listing 5 or more interesting facts
Completes a family tree through great grandparents	Does not compile a family tree	Begins compiling a family tree with parents' names	Compiles a family tree including grandparents	Compiles a family tree including great grandparents
Researches and compiles a family tree on a former U.S. President or the current U.S. President	Does not do a family tree on either a former or the current president	Does a little research on a former or the current president	Does research on a former or the current president through parents	Completes research on a former or the current president through grandparents
Learn about Alex Haley	Does not know who Alex Haley is	Knows the name of Haley's book	Knows what prize Haley won for his book	Knows 5 different facts about Haley's life

Conclusion:

Although you have completed your tasks in this webquest, your work on your family tree is never finished. You can always include aunts, uncles, cousins, or your great-great-great-great grandpa. Family trees are always changing. Babies are born into a family, and people die. Whether you continue your search now or come back to it at a later date, you have already begin the process of putting together many of the puzzle pieces that make up your family tree. Good luck in your future research and HAPPY SHAKING.

Credits & References:

I would like to thank Genealogy Today and Genealogy for Kids for the information and pictures. I would like to thank Dr. Bruce Lewis and Stan Holland for the countless times they corrected my mistakes. I would also like to thank my partner Shanda Lewis for showing me how to turn the computer on. Last but not least, I would like to thank Shirley Wallace, my fellow teacher friend for listening to me, and assuring me that this course would be finished soon.

Teacher Advice:

This webquest is designed for use in the 5th-6th grades. It can be used as a social studies activity that involves interaction with other family members. Language arts skills can also be addressed in the writing activity. The teacher can also use this activity for 7th-8th graders social studies. In addition, a different aspect of this webquest is that it involves interaction with family members. Students must use communication skills in order to complete Task 3.

Students need to be aware of how genealogy is related to history prior to beginning this assignment. An introductory lesson may be to study the immigration of people to America. Students can list reasons why people came to the United States. They may relate stories of whether they've moved from other parts of the country, or whether their families have lived in a particular area of the country for a number of years.

This webquest can be done in 2 or 3 class periods, with outside assignments to gather the needed information for Tasks Three and Four. One lesson should be introducing the students to the concepts of genealogy, family tree, and surnames. The teacher needs to make sure the students understand the outside assignment. Outside assignments involve interviewing family members for needed information to assemble a family tree. The 2nd and 3rd class periods can be used to write the story in Task 3 and complete the other assigned tasks.

The students should compile a scrapbook for their assignments that are printed out. Stress to the students that it is important that they keep this book for future reference.

Created by Anita Ross for EDU 506 @ FHU School of Education by Dr. Bruce Lewis on December 11, 2001.