Project Focus: use discussions with family members and research on general Southern history as a foundation of information to bring to the State Library to use in their databases of last names and family history

So, I’ve begun my “webbing.”  Because, if I were teaching this, I might have my students display their research, and because it helps me, I’ve attached an organizational web.  AASL standard 1.1.7 states that students need to “Make sense of information gathered from diverse sources by identifying misconceptions, main and supporting ideas, conflicting information, and point of view or bias.”  I think this is a helpful way to start organizing one’s initial information gathering.

I plan to complete more online research, but up to this point, I located information through discussions with family.  I interviewed my dad, and a family member had given him many old records because the family member thought my father more responsible.  J  So, my dad has a couple boxes of information that we paged through.  I used an online family tree creator, old funeral pamphlets, pictures with dates, and my father’s memories.

My search strategy thus far was to start with my father.  He is the primary connection I have because I don’t know a lot of his family around the country.  Fortunately, he has a lot of information.  I decided that I would base my continued searches on the foundational information he offered me.  Leslie Preddy encourages teachers to “intentionally allow students the opportunity to finalize and strategize research questions” (242 Blue Book).  Thus far, my questions seem like they’re working for me.  I have found out more about my last name; I am starting to research Arkansas history; I plan to go to the State Library.  My last question to begin researching is how slaves created their last names.

I have already acquired some primary sources through pictures, birth and death records, and interviews.  Next I will connect this information to secondary sources like effective, educational websites, online encyclopedias etc.  By combining primary and secondary sources, I should be able to create a well-rounded presentation based both on personal anecdotes and factual information.

Click on the link below and then click again when the next page opens:

Research Chart as of 9-8