Activities

 

The following activities are suggestions for use with students.  Most of them may be adapted to suit any age level.

 

Saskatchewan Heritage Resources Directory (SHRD)

Have your students locate and identify heritage resources in Saskatchewan.  This program has been placed on the Internet. See Saskatchewan Heritage Resources Directory (SHRD), on the SGS website, www.saskgenealogy.com, for more information.

 

Visit Libraries and Archives

Visit the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society Library, the Saskatchewan Archives Board in Regina or Saskatoon, and/or your local public library.

 

Have a Guest Speaker

Have a guest speaker come to visit your class to help teach students how to do their family history/genealogy, tell stories of “the olden days,” demonstrate how to complete forms, conduct interviews, preserve records, etc.  The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society can provide you with volunteers to come to your classroom.

 

Maps and Places of Origin

Map students’ origins on a world map using pins and string.  Then study/report/write about places of origin of student’s ancestors.

Draw a map and show/name the countries, as well as the communities students’ ancestors have lived and where they originated.

 

Art

Create a family tree.

 

Study Surnames

Find out about your surname – were did it come from?  How did you get your name?  Has your name changed over the generations and why?

 

Timelines

What was going on in the world when your grandparents were born?  When your parents were born?  When you were born?

Search the newspaper for the date you were born – what notable events happened that day, week, month, and/or year?

 

Geography

Track boundary changes in the country in which your ancestors originated.

 

Old Photos

Look at old photos – study fashions and try to date photos. 

 

Traditions

Write, draw, create and/or replicate in the classroom family holiday traditions.

 

Interviews

Interview an elderly family member or friend.  Have students discuss what they would like to know and prepare questions.  Use audio or video to record the interview.

Talk to an elderly person about what it was like when they were growing up.  Then compare the answers to how you would answer your own questions in terms of the present.

 

Transportation and Housing

How did your ancestors travel?  Consider different time periods.

Compare the homes and lives of Saskatchewan pioneers – use local history books for various areas of Saskatchewan – prairies, woodlands, northern Saskatchewan, etc.

 

Audio/Video Presentation

Prepare an audio/video presentation to present to other classes, on parents’ night, or to a seniors group in the community.

 

Study and Record Cemetery Headstones

The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society will provide a copy of the procedures for locating or recording cemeteries to teachers who are planning to have their students record a cemetery.  Remember to contact the SGS before recording a cemetery to ensure that it has not already been recorded and to obtain the recording forms.

 

Family Membership in the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society

Contact the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society for information on Family Membership. www.saskgenealogy.com/aboutsgs/Membership.htm

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