Many youngsters are curious about their heritage. They know their parents; if they are lucky, they are living with both of them. If they are very lucky, they know--maybe even live with--one or more grandparents. But the average elementary school boy or girl (in the fourth through sixth grades, say) only knows about living relatives. This book will help them learn more, to dig more deeply, to understand how to do the research necessary to create a simple family tree. It will give them both the tool and the appetite to learn more about their roots, to uncover the stories and events that make them and their families unique.
Roots for Kids is based on a twelve week course the author developed for her fourth grade class. Each chapter is based on a forty-five minute classroom session. While the book is suitable for adoption by teachers seeking to supplement their middle school social studies curriculum with material on family history, its principal use will be by an with individual young people. The books is written at a level appropriate to its audience. The author moves slowly and carefully, as she takes young readers through an introduction to genealogy, to discussions of their families and their parents' families ... learning how to ask questions (oral history) ... researching local, state, and national records ... using libraries and historical societies ... and much more. (Note: some of the records referred to relate to the US in particular).
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Preface
1. An Introduction to Genealogy
2. You and Your Family
3. Your Parent’s Families
4. Asking Questions: Genealogy as Oral History
5. Putting it All Together
6. Local Records: Vital Records
7. Local Records: Land and Will Records
8. A Visit to the Town or County Clerk’s Office
9. State Records
10. National Records
11. Other Records: Libraries and Historical Societies
12. Taking a Field Trip: Continuing the Search
Appendix 1: Blank Forms
Appendix 2: Census Forms
Appendix 3: Sources for Genealogical Forms and Supplies
Appendix 4: Suggested Teacher’s Supplementary Class Material
Bibliography
Index
