Family History: Interviewing EldersActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning works well for family history because children connect with concrete conversations rather than abstract facts. Interviewing elders builds empathy and understanding through direct interaction, making stories memorable and personal.
Learning Objectives
- 1Design interview questions to gather specific details about past family traditions.
- 2Explain how oral histories from elders contribute to understanding personal and community heritage.
- 3Compare and contrast a family tradition from the past with a current family tradition.
- 4Classify types of information that can be learned from interviewing elders about their experiences.
Want a complete lesson plan with these objectives? Generate a Mission →
Pairs Practice: Mock Elder Interviews
Provide question cards with prompts like 'What traditions did your family have when you were young?' Pairs take turns as interviewer and elder, switching roles after 5 minutes. Each notes one key story learned. Follow with a 10-minute class share on effective questions.
Prepare & details
Design questions to learn about a family's past traditions.
Facilitation Tip: During Pairs Practice, model a mock interview with a colleague first to demonstrate tone, pacing, and open-ended question phrasing.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Small Groups: Question Brainstorm and Refine
In small groups, students brainstorm 5-7 questions about family traditions and changes. Groups refine them for clarity, then contribute to a class question poster. Test questions on a partner before home use.
Prepare & details
Explain how interviewing elders helps us understand history.
Facilitation Tip: When students brainstorm questions in small groups, circulate and ask guiding questions like, ‘How will this question help you learn about a tradition?’
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Whole Class: Family Story Share Circle
Students bring one artifact or drawing from their interview. Sit in a circle; each shares a 1-minute story from their elder. Class asks one follow-up question per share to practice active listening.
Prepare & details
Assess the value of personal stories in preserving heritage.
Facilitation Tip: In the Family Story Share Circle, sit in a circle with students and model attentive listening by nodding and asking follow-up questions after each story.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Individual: Interview Preparation Journal
Students create a personal journal page with 3-4 chosen questions, space for notes, and a drawing prompt for the elder's story. Review journals before interviews to personalize and organize thoughts.
Prepare & details
Design questions to learn about a family's past traditions.
Facilitation Tip: Have students keep an Interview Preparation Journal so they practice writing questions and reflect on refining them before the real interview.
Setup: Open space or rearranged desks for scenario staging
Materials: Character cards with backstory and goals, Scenario briefing sheet
Teaching This Topic
Experienced teachers know to start with role-play to reduce anxiety and build confidence. They emphasize open-ended questions over yes/no queries, as these yield richer stories. Teachers should avoid rushing feedback, letting students discover better questions through practice and reflection.
What to Expect
Students will listen carefully, ask thoughtful open-ended questions, and share meaningful stories from their interviews. They will recognize how individual experiences shape family and community history.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Pairs Practice, watch for students assuming traditions are universal across cultures.
What to Teach Instead
Use the mock interview debrief to highlight diversity, asking pairs to share a tradition from their partner’s ‘elder’ that surprised them, then discuss how families adapt traditions based on their heritage.
Common MisconceptionDuring Pairs Practice, watch for students dismissing elders’ stories as unimportant.
What to Teach Instead
Guide students to notice details in their partner’s story, such as how a small event reveals larger community changes, and facilitate a reflection on the value of oral history.
Common MisconceptionDuring Pairs Practice, watch for students using closed-ended questions in their mock interviews.
What to Teach Instead
After the activity, review the questions asked and ask students to rewrite vague questions like, ‘Did you like school?’ into open-ended ones like, ‘What was your favorite part of school as a child?’
Assessment Ideas
After Pairs Practice, facilitate a Family Story Share Circle. Ask, ‘What was one surprising thing you learned from your partner? How did asking specific questions help you understand their elder’s story better?’
During Small Groups, provide students with a graphic organizer titled ‘Past and Present Traditions.’ Ask them to fill in one example from their partner’s elder story and one from their own family’s current practices.
After Interview Preparation Journal, have students write on an exit card one question they would ask an elder about their childhood and one sentence explaining why that question is important for understanding history.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Students who finish early can research one family tradition online and compare it to their elder’s story, noting similarities or differences.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters for struggling students, such as, ‘Tell me about a time when you…’ or ‘How did your family celebrate…?’
- Deeper exploration: Invite students to interview someone outside their family, like a neighbor or community member, to broaden their understanding of heritage.
Key Vocabulary
| Oral History | Stories and information passed down through speaking, rather than writing. It helps us learn about the past from people's memories. |
| Tradition | A belief, custom, or way of doing something that has been passed down from one generation to another within a family or community. |
| Ancestor | A person from whom one is descended, such as a grandparent or great-grandparent. They are part of your family's past. |
| Heritage | The traditions, culture, and history that are passed down from your family and ancestors. It is what makes your family unique. |
Suggested Methodologies
Planning templates for Social Studies
5E Model
The 5E Model structures lessons through five phases (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), guiding students from curiosity to deep understanding through inquiry-based learning.
Unit PlannerThematic Unit
Organize a multi-week unit around a central theme or essential question that cuts across topics, texts, and disciplines, helping students see connections and build deeper understanding.
RubricSingle-Point Rubric
Build a single-point rubric that defines only the "meets standard" level, leaving space for teachers to document what exceeded and what fell short. Simple to create, easy for students to understand.
More in Heritage and Identity: Changing Family and Community Traditions
Family Traditions: Then & Now
Children compare traditions from long ago with traditions practised today, discovering that some traditions stay the same while others change.
3 methodologies
Cultural Exchange: New Traditions in Canada
Children learn that as new people arrive in Canada, they bring new traditions that enrich the country's culture and create new celebrations.
3 methodologies
The Importance of Traditions
Children reflect on why traditions are important to families and how they help people feel connected across generations.
3 methodologies
Indigenous Oral Traditions & Knowledge
Students learn about the importance of oral storytelling and traditional knowledge in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit families.
3 methodologies
Creating a Family Tradition
Students work collaboratively to design a new family or classroom tradition, considering its purpose and how it will be celebrated.
3 methodologies
Ready to teach Family History: Interviewing Elders?
Generate a full mission with everything you need
Generate a Mission