Family History: An ERIC/ChESS Sample

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest and oldest education information system in the world. The ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Sci ence Education (ERIC/ChESS) is one of sixteen subject-oriented clearinghouses that compose the ERIC system. The heart of this system, the ERIC database of education-related literature, con tains nearly one million citations with abstracts, drawn from a variety of disciplines. Citations to journal articles, teaching and curriculum guides, bibliographies, research reports, and confer ence papers are included. The ERIC database is available free in many large public and university libraries and on the Internet. The listings below are drawn from the ERIC database and include both teaching materials and general background infor mation on the topic. The key to obtaining the full text of the materials cited below is the unique ERIC number assigned to each item in the database. Journal articles, denoted by "EJ" numbers (for example, EJ549890) can be copied at most academic librar ies, borrowed through interlibrary loan, or purchased from article reprint services such as UnCover, UMI, and ISI. Research reports, conference papers, and other materials besides journal articles are denoted by "ED" numbers (for example, ED398110); paper or microfiche copies of most of these documents can be purchased from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS), 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110, Springfield, VA 22153 2852; (800) 443-3742; (703) 440-1400; ; ; or copied from an ERIC microfiche collec tion, available at many libraries. ERIC/ChESS welcomes requests for general information or sample database searches on topics within the social studies, social sciences, and music and art education. Contact ERIC/ ChESS by telephone at (800) 266-3815 or (812) 855-3838, or by e-mail at . Background Materials Barbour, Alton. "Where Do American Family Names Come From?" Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Na tional Council of Teachers of English, Denver, CO, 18-23 November 1999. ED435995. This document presents a brief overview of the history and origins of mainly European family names from the twelfth century forward and is envisioned as a one-class-period session for secondary or college English teachers and those interested in semantics. Sections included are the history of naming, reasons for naming, guidelines for name origins, and special cases. The piece contains four references, a worksheet for matching names and origins, and a key to the worksheet. McLellan, Francis R. Strengthening Adolescent Identity Forma tion through Development and Presentation of Family Literary Docu ments. Ed.D. Practicum, Nova University, 1993. EDRS Price: MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. ED362901. This article describes a practicum designed to supplement the study of literary classics by adding a component to strengthen adolescent identity forma tion. Students generate and present family literary documents, including varieties of familial cultural artifacts. Using lessons published by experienced teachers in professional journals, stu dents draw maps of points of family interest; write autobiographies, self-reports, and journal essays; invent coats of arms; create histories and scenarios of important family events; compile family trees; and write and publish essays in defense or in celebration of larger group/ familial memberships. Four color charts of data and nine student developed coats of arms are appended. Ryant, Carl. "Oral History and the Family: A Tool for the Documentation and Interpretation of Family History." Teaching History: Ajournai of Methods 15 (Fall 1990): 51-56. EJ429246. Ryant discusses the role of oral history in the documentation and interpretation of family history and gives information for con structing and managing information in interviews. Oral history,