THS German 3 Students Complete German Roots Project
By Phil Lewis
January 12, 2007
THS German III Students Complete German Roots Project
Students in the German III class at Teutopolis High School recently completed a “Back to Your German Roots” project. It is in cooperation with Bad Laer, Germany’s regional project by the same title. Each student completed a family tree and answered nine questions about their German ancestors. Herr Lewis provided web sites, copies of articles found on the internet, and other pertinent material to answer the following questions about their ancestors: (1) Why did your ancestors leave Germany? (2) From what class in society were they? (3) How did their new beginning start in Effingham County? What difficulties did they experience? How did they conquer these difficulties? (4) Describe the daily life of your ancestors after coming to Effingham County during the period 1850-1900. (5) How did life change over time? (6) What did your ancestors bring with them from Germany in terms of customs, beliefs, celebrations, religion, etc.? (7) How was life in the early times and how is it now in Teutopolis and Effingham County? and (8) What role does the modern mass media have in today’s culture on German customs still alive in Teutopolis and Effingham County? Students received their graded projects back in file folders to keep for future reference. Copies of the projects will be sent to Bad Laer to add to the database of emigrants from Germany who left for America during the last half of the nineteenth century. Bad Laer is a regional depository for such information. Herr Lewis will keep a copy of this exciting project for future reference.
