Grade by Grade
A. Heritage and Identity · Changing Family and Community Traditions

Ancestors and Heritage: Where Our Families Come From

A3 A2About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can explain what ancestors are.
  • I can explain what heritage is and give examples.
  • I can read and make a simple family tree.
  • I can use a map or globe to show places my family or ancestors come from.

Words to know

ancestor
A family member who lived long before you, like your great-grandparents and the people before them.
heritage
The traditions, language, stories, beliefs, foods and special things that are passed down to us from our family and ancestors.
generation
All the people in a family who are about the same age. You and your cousins are one generation; your parents and aunts and uncles are another.
family tree
A chart that shows the people in a family and how they are connected, generation by generation.
immigrant
A person who moves from one country to live in another country.
globe
A round model of the Earth that shows countries, oceans and continents.

Zoe's question

Zoe's class is talking about traditions. Zoe asks her dad, "Why does Lola (Grandma) make pancit noodles on every birthday?"

Dad says, "Because Lola's mother made them, and her mother made them too, back in the Philippines. Long noodles are a wish for a long life. It's part of our heritage."

Zoe wonders: Who were those people long ago? Where did they live?

A large platter of pancit noodles with chicken, carrots, cabbage and green onions, with lemon wedges around the edge.
Pancit is a noodle dish from the Philippines, like the one Zoe's Lola makes. The long noodles are a wish for a long life. AI-generated image

Ancestors

Your ancestors are the people in your family who lived long before you: your great-grandparents, your great-great-grandparents, and so on, back and back in time.

You may never have met your ancestors, but they are part of your story. Many of the traditions your family has today were passed down from them.

Heritage

Your heritage is everything passed down to you from your family and ancestors:

  • traditions and celebrations
  • languages
  • stories
  • foods and recipes
  • beliefs
  • special objects, like a quilt, a ring or a photo album

Heritage helps you know who you are and where your family comes from.

LolaLolo NanaGrandad DadMom Zoe
Zoe's family tree. Zoe is at the bottom. Above her are her parents, Dad and Mom. At the top are her four grandparents: Lola and Lolo (Dad's parents) and Nana and Grandad (Mom's parents). Each row is a generation.
PersonWhere they were bornA tradition they passed down
Lola and Lolo (Dad's parents)the Philippinespancit noodles on birthdays
DadToronto, Ontariosinging karaoke at family parties
Nana (Mom's mom)Scotlandshortbread cookies at New Year's
Grandad (Mom's dad)Halifax, Nova Scotiareading the newspaper comics together on Sundays
MomHalifax, Nova Scotiaa family hike on the first warm day of spring
ZoeOttawa, Ontario?
Zoe's family heritage chart

Where do Canadian families come from?

  • First Nations, Métis and Inuit families' ancestors have lived on this land for thousands of years. This land is their homeland.
  • Many other families have ancestors who came to Canada from other countries as immigrants. Some came a few months ago. Some came more than a hundred years ago.
  • Many families have heritage from more than one place, like Zoe!

On a map or globe, you can put a sticker or a pin on each place your family or ancestors come from.

CanadaTorontoOttawaHalifaxScotland(Nana)the Philippines(Lola and Lolo)not a real map, not to scale
The places in Zoe's family story. Her heritage comes from the Philippines, Scotland and Canada.

Not everyone knows

Some people don't know much about their ancestors. Maybe they were adopted, or their family's records were lost, or their family's history was not written down. That's okay. Your heritage also includes the traditions your family has now, and the ones you will pass on.

Riddle time

What did the map say to the sticker?

"Stick with me, and we'll go places!"

Worked example

Example: Let's read Zoe's family tree

Use Zoe's family tree and chart. Answer: Who are Zoe's grandparents? Which places should Zoe mark on a map?

  1. Start at the bottom: Zoe. Go up one row: her parents, Dad and Mom.
  2. Go up one more row: her grandparents, Lola, Lolo, Nana and Grandad.
  3. Look at the chart for places: the Philippines, Toronto, Scotland, Halifax and Ottawa.
  4. On a map, Zoe would mark the Philippines, Scotland and, in Canada, Toronto, Halifax and Ottawa.

Zoe's heritage comes from the Philippines, Scotland and Canada. Her family tree shows three generations: Zoe, her parents and her grandparents.

Worked example

Example: Is it heritage?

Which of these are part of Zoe's heritage?

  1. Lola's pancit noodle recipe
  2. Nana's shortbread at New Year's
  3. A new video game Zoe got last week
  4. The Tagalog words Lolo teaches her
  1. Ask: Was it passed down from family or ancestors?
  2. 1. The recipe came from Lola's mother. Heritage.
  3. 2. Nana learned it from her family in Scotland. Heritage.
  4. 3. A new video game was bought last week. It wasn't passed down. Not heritage.
  5. 4. Tagalog is Lolo's language from the Philippines, passed down to Zoe. Heritage.

1, 2 and 4 are heritage.

Hands-on activity

My family tree

You need: paper, crayons, and photos if you have them (or draw faces). A globe, a world map or a map app.

  1. Draw a tree trunk. Write your name at the bottom.
  2. On the branches above you, write the names of your parents or the grown-ups who raise you. Above them, add grandparents if you know them. You can include anyone who is family to you.
  3. Ask a grown-up: "Where were they born? What tradition did they pass down?" Draw it on a leaf beside their name.
  4. Find each place on a globe or map. Put a small sticker or point to it.

Talk about it: "What is one part of our heritage that I want to pass on one day?"

Your turn

1

What is an ancestor?

2

What is heritage? Give one example.

3

In Zoe's family tree, who is in the row above Zoe?

4

Who are Dad's parents?

5

Why does Zoe's family eat long noodles on birthdays?

6

Whose ancestors have lived on this land for thousands of years?

7

What could you use to show where your ancestors came from?

More practice: warm-up

1

Is your great-grandma one of your ancestors?

2

What is a person who moves to live in a new country called?

3

Name one kind of thing that can be part of your heritage.

4

In a family tree, where are the oldest people usually?

5

True or false: Some people don't know where their ancestors came from, and that's okay.

More practice: on your own

1

Zoe's Nana came from Scotland. Zoe's Mom was born in Halifax. Which of them is an immigrant to Canada? Explain.

2

How many generations are in Zoe's family tree? Name them.

3

Is a toy you got for your birthday last week part of your heritage? Why or why not?

4

Why might one family have heritage from many places?

5

How does knowing your heritage help you?

Challenge

1

Zoe's row in the chart has a "?". What tradition might Zoe pass on one day? Make one up.

2

Your great-great-grandparents are your ancestors. Are you going to be someone's ancestor one day? Explain.

3

Kai's family has lived in the same First Nation for many generations. Kai's friend Rosa's family moved from Colombia last year. How is their heritage alike and different?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Your ancestors are...

2.

Which is part of your heritage?

3.

A family tree shows...

4.

An immigrant is a person who...

5.

Whose ancestors have lived in what is now Canada for thousands of years?

6.

What could you use to show where your family comes from?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Ancestors are family members from long ago; heritage is what is passed down from them (language, traditions, stories, foods, beliefs, objects). Family trees and maps help children see where their family comes from. Using maps to show where ancestors come from is part of the Grade 2 inquiry skills.

How to help at home: share family names, birthplaces and a story or two. Find places on a globe or map app together. Let your child hold a family object as you tell its story.

Please be sensitive: family trees can be hard for children who are adopted, in foster care, in blended or separated families, or whose family history is unknown or painful. Let your child include anyone they consider family, and emphasize that heritage includes the traditions the family has now. Some Black Canadian families, refugee families and First Nations, Métis and Inuit families may have histories where records were lost or taken; focus on what your family chooses to share.

Common difficulties: mixing up ancestor with any older person (an ancestor is a relative from earlier generations), and thinking heritage means only objects (it also means language, stories and beliefs).