This lesson asks students to interview their parents or other relatives about what it was like where they grew up. Students will then use outline maps to create "genealogical atlases" that illustrate the places of their ancestry and the activities their relatives and ancestors did in these places.

Geography, social studies, history, genealogy

Standard 17: "How to apply geography to interpret the past"

Three to four hours (not including interviews)

• Blank Xpeditions outline maps of the world, one for each student
• Drawing materials

Students will

• write interview questions to ask their parents or other relatives about the places where they grew up and where their ancestors came from;
• label maps with the places where their relatives and ancestors came from; and
• draw pictures on the maps showing the activities their relatives and ancestors did in these places.

Ask students if they know where their ancestors came from. List the countries that students mention on the board.

Help students develop interview questions that they can ask their parents or other relatives to find out where family members have lived, where their ancestors came from, and what it was like in the place where their relatives grew up (even if it was the same place where students live today). Possible questions include:

• Where did you grow up? How has that place changed?
• What were the best and the worst things about the place you grew up?
• Why did your parents live in this place? Had they come from somewhere else, or did they grow up in this place, too?

Give students a few days to conduce the interviews, and ask them to bring their results into class.

Have students share their interview results with the class. Each student should take about three minutes to summarize what he or she has discovered.

Have students create "genealogical atlases" that illustrate the place where their family members and ancestors came from. They should follow these steps:

Have students label blank world outline maps to show the places where their family members and ancestors have lived. They should use one color to show the places where their immediate family has lived and another color to show the places where their ancestors came from.

Have students highlight or color the places on the map that were mentioned in the interview and, on separate pieces of paper, write the name of the person who lived in each place and the things that this person said about this place. They should also draw pictures of the activities that their relative did in this place.

Allow students to take their atlases home to share with their parents and other relatives. To expand upon the work they have done for this classroom activity, they can work with their parents on the Geo-Generations activity. [Note: You might want to print and copy this activity so students can take it home.]

Have students pretend that they can interview their great-great grandparents. Have them write five interview questions they would ask and then write the responses they might expect to receive. The questions and responses should relate to the interviewees' experiences in the places where they grew up.

Family Tree Maker
National Geographic: Xpeditions Activity—Geo-Generations