Overview:
This lesson asks students to interview their parents or other relatives about what it was like where they grew up. Students will then use outline maps to create “genealogical atlases” that illustrate the places of their ancestry and the activities their relatives and ancestors did in these places.

Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, social studies, history, genealogy

Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 17: “How to apply geography to interpret the past”

Time: Three to four hours (not including interviews)
Materials Required: Blank Xpeditions outline maps of the world, one for each student, along with Drawing materials

Objectives:
Students will write interview questions to ask their parents or other relatives about the places where they grew up and where their ancestors came from; label maps with the places where their relatives and ancestors came from; and draw pictures on the maps showing the activities their relatives and ancestors did in these places.

Dr. Brooks Blevins, professor of Ozarks studies at Missouri State University, will be guest speaker at a meeting of the Lawrence County Historical Society at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 19, in Mt. Vernon.

Blevins will focus on the Ozarks region, what it means to be an Ozarker and how Lawrence County fits into the broader scope of Ozarks studies.

Brooks Blevins is the Endowed Associate Professor of Ozarks Studies at Missouri State University. A native of Izard County, Arkansas, Blevins earned the B.A. at Lyon College and the M.A. and Ph.D. in American history at Auburn University. He has authored and edited four books, including Hill Folks: A History of Arkansas Ozarkers and Their Image (University of North Carolina Press, 2002).

The meeting will be held at Jones Memorial, 11110 Lawrence 1137 (adjoining the west side of Mt. Vernon Golf Course). The public is invited.

The historical society’s museum will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. that day. Admission is free.