About This Webinar
A Genealogical Approach to Teaching American History, from Re-Imagining Migration and AncestryClassroom
What can a ship manifest, an interrogation transcript, or a census record reveal about the American story? In this interactive webinar, educators will discover how to transform students into genealogical detectives who trace migration journeys through the primary documents families leave behind.
Developed through a collaboration between Re-Imagining Migration and AncestryClassroom, this session introduces a collection of six lessons spanning three centuries—from a 1659 indentured servant in colonial Virginia to a 1943 Great Migration musician in Chicago. Together, these stories illuminate a profound truth: migration isn't an exception to American history; it is American history.
Participants will explore how different types of migration—voluntary and forced, welcomed and excluded—reveal the ways race and power have shaped who could move, how they were treated, and whether they could truly belong. Through figures like Tyrus Wong (detained at Angel Island during Chinese Exclusion), Jane Bushyhead (removed on the Trail of Tears), and Gennaro Lombardi (processed through Ellis Island), students encounter the full complexity of American migration.
This session will model how to:
- Guide students in analyzing what primary sources reveal and conceal
- Address difficult histories—enslavement, exclusion, forced removal—with both honesty and care
- Honor diverse relationships to family knowledge, including communities whose records were systematically destroyed
- Connect individual stories to broader historical patterns
Educators will leave with practical strategies for implementing these lessons flexibly—whether teaching the full sequence or selecting individual stories that connect to curriculum requirements and community contexts.
Ideal for: Middle and high school social studies, history, and ELA teachers seeking document-based approaches that make migration personal and position students as active historical investigators.
Want more sessions to choose from? Check out all of the free, for-credit webinars in Share My Lesson's Summer of Learning 2026 series.
