Creating a Family Tree

Look at some examples of Jewish family trees, and have a discussion based on the questions below:

· Roza Kamhi’s Family Tree, Centropa

· Beno Ruso’s Family Tree, Centropa

· Ba’al Shem Tov’s Descendants

· Brumberg Family, Moscow, Russia

· Loeb-Oppenheimer Family

· Montefiore Family

· Heikl Family

· Dahan Family

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1. What is a family tree? Does your family have one?

2. How far back can you trace your ancestors?

3. What countries did your family come from?

4. Why might you want to have a family tree?

5. What do the roots of the tree symbolize? What do the branches symbolize? 

Introduce the students to online genealogy resources. Ask them to do an initial search for their family name or the name of their community (city, town, or country):

· Family History Resources

· Jewish Genealogy, Wikipedia

· Jewish Genealogy, Judaism 101

· 10 Great Resources for Jewish Genealogy, rootstech

· My Heritage, My heritage‍

· 10 Steps to Start Your Family Tree, family tree

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Let’s create a family tree! Start by filling out the information in Family Tree Preparation Sheet, with the help of a family member. Then design your family tree on paper or using an online app:

· Family echo

· Creately

· Canva.com

· SmartDraw

· Famberry

To summarize the activity, you can create a class exhibit and/or a large map where students can pin their countries of origin.