The Family Project 

 

In your study of American history, it makes sense for 7th  graders to study your own family history.  For that reason, 7th  grade students at SEJHS do a Family Project each year.  The most successful projects involve many family members. You will work with family members to fill out your Family Tree. You may also interview the oldest family member with whom you have contact.  This can be an interview about the family member’s life, his or her experience in the military, or both.  You may choose to write about your favorite family traditions.  You can also retell a family story from the past or create a new one to tell to future generations.  As you gather with your families over the holidays, ask family members to share stories and photographs with you.  You may choose five of your favorite photographs to do a photo essay.   One of our project “pieces” involves examining primary source documents.  Ask family members for copies of old documents (discharge papers, birth certificates, immigration papers, letters, diaries, land deeds, death certificates, etc) that you may study. 

 

Everyone must do the Family Tree.  It is worth 20 points

___X___  Family Tree                       20 points

You will need your family’s help in gathering as many names, dates, and places as possible.  You must decide as a family whether to include birth parents, stepparents, foster parents, etc.  I ask that you include at least one side of the family on the Family Tree.   Remember to print.  Use legal names, and only use maiden names for the women. 

 

_____  Interview                                            25 points

Interview the oldest family member with whom you have contact.  Make up 15 questions to ask, or use some of the questions provided.  Do not ask questions for which there may be “yes” or “no” answers.  Rather than asking, “Do you remember your first job?” say “Tell me about your first job.”  You may tape the responses or write the answers down taking care to write the answers in detail.  You should use the ten best responses to write your interview.   You will be given two different options in class for writing about these interviews.  We will learn to use a question/answer method, and a narrative method.

 

            Try to avoid asking questions for which you already know the answers.   Here are some questions you may ask:

1.      Tell me about where our ancestors came from.  When did they come to America?

2.      For whom were you named?  Tell me about your family name.

3.      Tell me about your childhood.  What did you do for fun? What was your favorite toy?

4.      Tell me about your schooling.  What and where was the first school you attended?  What was it like?

What was your favorite subject?  Who was your favorite teacher?

            5.  Tell me about other activities in which you were involved.

            6.  Tell me about the chores you had as a child.

            7.  Tell me about your first job.  What was your pay?

            8.  What are some of the other jobs you have had?

            9.  What are some of the slang words that were popular when you were my age?  What do they mean?

            10. What was your favorite movie? Movie star?

            11. When did you get your first television?  What shows did you enjoy watching?

            12. Tell me about your first car.

            13. Tell me about the hobbies you enjoy.

14. What was your favorite holiday as a child?  Do you have any favorite family traditions from that time?

            15. What was your favorite food when you were my age? 

            16.  I have heard people talk about the “good ol’ days.”  What does that mean?

            17.  Based on your experience, what advice can you give me about my life?

            18.  What historical event during your lifetime would you consider to be most important?

19.  If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?  What would you do the same?

            20.  Tell me about your favorite family possessions or heirlooms.  To whom did they belong?

 

 

You may also do a Military Interview.                                 20 points

Interview someone about his or her experiences in the military.  Try to find someone who served during WWII, the Korean conflict, or the war in Vietnam, but this is not necessary.  Remember not to ask questions for which there are “yes” or “no” answers.  You may use the Q and A style of reporting or you may write a narrative.  Ask more than 10 questions and report on the 10 most interesting responses.  You may ask questions of your own or choose some of those that follow:

1.      In which branch of the military did you serve?  How long did you serve?

2.      Why did you join the military?

3.      Tell me about where you were stationed during the service.

4.      What was your rank?  Explain what that means.

5.      Tell me about the jobs you had as a member of the military.

6.      If you were ever in a battle, tell me about it.  Where and when?  What was it like?

7.      Tell me what you remember about military service.

8.      What was the saddest thing that happened to you during your time in the service?

9.      At the time, what did you think you were fighting for?  Who was the enemy?

10.  How have your military experiences changed your life?

11.  Why should joining the military be something I should or should not consider?

12.  How has the military changed since you were in the service?

 

_____ Photo Essay                                         20 points

Using photocopies or pictures that have been scanned, include 5 favorite family photographs both old and recent to do a photo essay about your family.  Captions for the photographs will tell the relationship of the family member(s) to you, name(s), and other details about the photograph.

 

_____  Family Traditions                               10 points        

A tradition is a “long-established and generally accepted practice, a family custom.”  Describe two family traditions or customs that you and your family try to carry out each year.   Be sure to describe each in thoughtful detail.  Give particulars of the event.  If you traditionally go to Grandmother’s on Christmas Eve, who goes along?  Tell where you go, how long it takes you to get there, who else is there, what foods you traditionally have, and what you do there.

 

_____ Family Story                                        10 points

Ask about a favorite family story that has been retold throughout the generations about someone in your family.  Write as many of the details of this story as anyone in your family can tell you.  If you do not have an old story, have your parents or grandparents tell a story about something that happened to them when they were young, or they can tell a story about something you did as a child.  You can make it a family story by telling it to other family members and to your children in the future.  Your story must have a beginning, middle and an end.

 

_____  Two Primary Sources                         10 points

Collect some of your family’s primary source documents.  A primary source document is

defined as “an account, drawing, photograph, or other record of an event made at the time an event took place or an account made at a later time by someone who lived through the event.”   Some primary source documents you may have are diplomas, marriage licenses, baptismal records, letters, diaries, journals, scrapbooks, yearbooks, military discharge papers, and immigration papers.  Old documents are the most interesting.

           

_____  Events of the Day You Were Born                           10 points

            Research your birthdate.  Summarize at least five news events of the day.  Do not write about the headline, but write a summary.  One of the best places to research the day you were born is at the public library.  If you have an adult with you, you may use the microfilmed News-Herald in the genealogy section of the Litchfield Carnegie Library.  Even if you were not born in Litchfield, the News-Herald from a date closest to the date of your birth will give information about what was going on in the world that day.

 

_____  Historical Event                                             10 points

            Choose an important historical event from you grandparents’ lifetime (from before you were born) and research it using the Internet, at least 2 sources.  You may use any of the Internet sites and encyclopedias or other references in the media center.  You should write a minimum of one very detailed paragraph about the event.  Please include the source(s) you used for your research using proper bibliography form.  These can be noted at the bottom.  Include how you feel about what happened.

 

_____  A Child’s Life             10 points

            Question one of your grandparents or older family members about what his or her life was like as a child.  Compare your life today to the life of your grandmother, grandfather or other older relative.  What are the similarities?  What are the differences?

 

_____  “Birth” Day                            10 points

            Look at a copy of your birth certificate, your birth announcement, or a newspaper clipping announcing your birth.  Collect important data about your birth by talking to your mother, father, grandmother, or other relatives.  Write about your birth and the few days after it in a way you think will be interesting to others.  For those who are adopted, you may also do this project.  You will gather information about the day that you arrived at your new home.

 

_____Poem                 10 points

            Compose a poem about your family.  Be sure to include interesting facts such as hobbies, occupations, or accomplishments of your family members.  This should not be a poem about what families are in general.  This should be a poem specifically about the members of your family.