Ancestors: Teacher's Guide

FOR THE TEACHER

Family history can be used to teach or enhance lessons in a variety of subjects, including language arts, history, writing, health science, computer science, geography, art and social studies.

OBJECTIVES

The Ancestors Teacher's Guide was written to be used online by students or downloaded and distributed to a class by a teacher. It is a series of lessons that coordinates with the Ancestors episodes, including activities that teach the main of ideas the program. Each lesson includes suggested assignments and vocabulary words. Of special note is the research process introduced in Lesson 203 -- a research process that has skill-building value even outside the arena of family history.

As you read the lessons, you will note that they are written to the student. Please feel free to adapt them as needed.

FAMILY: A CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC

In recent years, much has been said about the changing dynamic of the modern-day family. Indeed, the very definition of the word "family" has been debated. While many students go home to traditional two-parent households, an ever-growing number of them do not.

Students from single-parent households may prefer to use the pedigree chart that diagrams only one side of the family. You may prefer to turn what would otherwise be a family activity into a community activities by involving a local senior citizen's center. For instance, instead of conducting oral history interviews with family members, (as suggested for lessons pertaining to Episode 202) some students, or your entire class, may opt to interview residents at a local senior citizen's center. The interviews could be transcribed and bound into a local history book (thereby creating a compiled record, which fits into lessons for Episode 203).

Amidst debates on the condition and definition of "family" in recent years, the hobby of genealogy has experienced explosive growth. Perhaps this is due, in part, to the healing and empowering effect that has been felt by thousands of people who have begun a search for roots. We trust educators to be sensitive to the individual situations of their students as we recommend family history as a unique and enriching context for learning.

Enjoy.

KBYU Television and Wisteria Pictures, Inc.