Heritage Project Example Our project focuses on the personnel genealogy of the student.

The goal of the project is for the student to understand how their family heritage reflects American culture but also to understand the different cultures of the United States and world. Our objective is to create culturally aware students, who embrace diversity, and refute myths about their researched culture. The student is supposed to research their family genealogy and pick one culture, from their heritage, to research. We want the students to delve deeply into their chosen culture through the use of all subjects. For our example we have a student named John Doe, he chose to research the Irish side of his family. After talking to his grandparents, he learned his family moved to the US because of the Potato Famine in Ireland. He used the Potato Famine to pull in the subjects of science and history; the cause of the famine was a fungus that had spread from Mexico to Ireland. John also used the statistics of the famine to pull the subject of math into his project. He found the statistics of all who died in Ireland due to the famine but also the number of people who immigrated to the US due to the famine. We also wanted students to debunk a myth about their researched culture, like the myth that all Irish have red hair. John found the statistics of how many Irish have red hair and shared the results in his presentation. John also included literature within his project; he shared the Celtic legend of Tristan and Iseult. The legend has become an Arthurian Romance and John shared how far the legend had spread but also how long the legend had lasted. We wanted our students to have a use of technology within their presentation; John used a Prezi to present his findings to his class. Within his Prezi he had all of the statistics he had found, the cause of the famine, what life was like in Ireland during the famine, but also what life was like for an Irish immigrant in the US during the 19th century.

John Doe

John's father is of English decent John's mother is of German and Irish decent John chose to research his Irish heritage John went to his grandparents to learn about the Irish traditions passed down through his family John learned his family came to the US from Ireland in 1846 during the potato famine, because they were a family of farmers who's crops had died

Ireland & the Potato Famine

The Potato Famine happened in the summer of 1845 due to a fungus that had spread from Mexico to Ireland. The results were the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the migration of over 2 million Irish to places like the United States and Canada. John's family brought the Celtic legend of Tristan and Iseult with them to the US. John learned it was told as a bed time story and passed down through many generations of his family.

Presentation

John created a prezi that explained the effects of the Potato Famine on his family and Ireland, his family's oral tradition, and what obstacles Irish immigrants faced in 19th century America. John made sure to include photos, statistics, and his own family stories in his presentation. He wanted his presentation to show what everyday life was like for an Irish immigrant in America. John brought in records from Elis Island of his family's entrace into the United States to pass around to the entire class.