All Activities
History

My Family Story

Overview

Children share stories they have heard from older family members about the past.

Learning Objective
Children understand that families have histories and that older relatives remember a different past.

Resources needed

  • None (homework: ask a family member one question the night before)

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Ask: did you ask a family member about the past? What did they tell you?
  2. 2 Each child shares one thing they learned.
  3. 3 Ask: was life different when your grandparent was young?
  4. 4 Discuss: what things were the same? What was different?
  5. 5 Introduce the word 'generation' — your grandparent, parent, and you are three generations.
  6. 6 Ask: what will you tell your children about today?
  7. 7 Draw a simple three-circle diagram: grandparent, parent, me.

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Focus on one specific question: what did people eat? How did they travel?
  • Children draw a picture of a story a relative told them.
  • Create a class book of family stories.
More information

Teach: generation, grandparent, relative, memory, story, past. Emphasise that all families have history — even very recent stories count.

Children without family contacts can share a community story or a story told by a neighbour or teacher.

Can children identify at least one way life was different in their grandparent's time? Do they understand that the person they spoke to lived through that past?

No materials needed. The family and community are the living archive. This works entirely through oral sharing.

Children think history is only about kings and famous people. Family history shows that everyone has a history worth telling.

Oral history is one of the oldest and most important historical methods. Starting with family stories makes history personal and immediately relevant.

Activity details
Early Years Easy 20 minutes no prep Whole Class, Small Group Indoor & Outdoor
Topics
Family History Oral History Generations