The Second Grader's Ancestry Project - Part 2

The second grader's ancestry project is complete.  The written report took her about three to four hours to complete.  It involved filling in a few questionnaires and interviewing a family member.  The kicker with the written report was that everything had to be written neat, with proper punctuation, and in complete sentences.  For a second grader, that can be a challenge over the course of eleven pages plus a few other pages that required marking locations on a map and coloring in the family tree.  At least this portion is adequately complete.  Hind sight is that this project is better handled by maybe a fourth or fifth grader.

As for the presentation poster, that turned out very nice.........

My second grader drew and colored the tree, cut everything out, colored the flags, and wrote all of the labels and names on this board.  It is a big help to have so many photos on hand.

The next step of this project is to continue practicing the presentation that she must complete in front of her class.  I must admit that I probably did not have to present in front of a group until I was in sixth grade.  Now, they start them in Kindergarten.  This will be my daughter's 8th presentation in elementary school.  I do think it is a good thing but it is hard for a shy kid.

In mid-March, the class with get together for an ancestry dinner with each student's parent in attendance and some food to share from their country of origin.  It should be a fun evening.

The Second Grader's Ancestry Project - Part 1

Last month my second grader came home talking about her ancestry report.  I knew of the project that her school does in second grade.  Many second graders all over the United States do something with their family tree as part of a social studies lesson.

Well, at my daughter's school, the project is pretty elaborate.  At first, I did express excitement about the assignment.  Then, I had to remind myself that this is her homework, her presentation, and must reflect that in the end product or it just does not work.  She must be vested in the project.  After all, she has to get up in front of her class and talk about her ancestors when I am not there.

One of the biggest challenges that I've found with this project is the plethora of information that I have.  I have family trees for my various lines, even for my husband, along with photos, source documents, letters, anecdotal information, and some other random type items.  It is almost too much information.  Again, it is not my project or assignment, yet I am the source for the information.

The parts of this project include drawing a real family tree, investigating the students given name, putting an "X" that marks the spot on map from which your ancestors originate, interviewing a living ancestor, and interviewing your own family about where they live and how they ended up in their current location.  Additionally, the student must put together a poster for their presentation.  They are welcome to bring a family artifact into to school.

The project culminates with an ancestor dinner on a given evening in March.  Each family attends the dinner with their child. Grandparents and relatives are welcome.  The families are to bring with them food from their country of origin.  Group photos will be taken of each family.  It's a bit of a potluck with set tables in the multi-purpose room of the school.  Yours truly will take the majority of the photos assisted by my husband.

It should be fun but first comes getting the almost eight year old to draw, write, create, memorize, and feel comfortable with her family history.  So far, she has a tree drawn................