Week 3: September 14 - September 18
- Daisy Ross
- Sep 14, 2020
- 8 min read
Updated: Sep 22, 2020
Where is your family from?
Many people who live in the United States and U.K. came to the country from somewhere else. Africans were brought to both countries over 400 years ago. They were taken from their lands and enslaved in the West. Africans brought their rice farming skills, knowledge of seasons, medicine, creativity, physical strength, and Mathematical genius to build the colonies of England and later the new country, United States. This is the only way these countries can have so many great inventions and modern amenities we see today. Methods of farming in Africa were different from farming in Europe. Africans introduced European colonists to their native ways of planting, harvesting and eating crops like rice. Those from Africa's west coast were accustomed to using intricate irrigation techniques to cultivate rice. There they built complicated systems of levees, ditches, floodgates and drains to regulate the amount of water on rice paddies, and they transported this technology with them to South Carolina in the late 1600s. In addition, they brought new crops such as okra, blackeyed peas and lima beans.
Africans brought with them a rich musical tradition that held deep spiritual meaning. Our ancestors frequently generated their rhythms while they labored in plantation fields, a tradition that originated in Africa. Music from Africa consisted of a mix of singing, hollering, and call and response. Clapping and movement were also heavily integrated into the African rhythm. The slave influence on American music has lived on for centuries beyond slavery. Popular genres like ragtime, jazz, gospel and blues can all claim roots in the customs that slaves brought from Africa.
In the 1720s, Africans from west Africa brought with them spiritual traditions as well. These Africans believed that our families consisted of a Supreme God, spirits (good and bad), ancestors, our parents and blood relatives, as well as extended family. Our ancestors knew that the visible and invisible world are intertwined. African religious practices and belief systems made enslavers afraid and they eventually created a book called the Slave Bible to teach altered versions biblical scripture and to reinterpret the ancient Holy Book to fit the needs of the plantation owner and the institution of slavery. Africans recognized some parts of the stories of the Slave Bible and these stories helped them to remember parts of their traditions, faith systems and customs. They valued these altered stories and told them to their children to try and help them know the old way.
When people bring their families to a new country, is it important to keep the traditions of the old? Is it more important to adopt the customs and cultures of the new nation? Why or why not?
This video shares some information about DNA and how we are genetically connected with our ancestors and people who live today. This video may offer a product or service however, FWS does not endorse any product and is not advocating for you to buy any product from the companies represented. The video is for informational purposes only.
Monday, September 14, 2020
Session A:
Traditions
Our ancestors brought many customs and traditions with them but many of them were forcibly forgotten. The enslavers and colonizers thought that if Africans knew their culture, it would be easier for them to rebel.
We have brought with us many customs that have been handed down over generations despite the efforts of our captors to keep them from us. The ability of our ancestors to hold on to parts of our culture and traditions shows the resilience and creativity they had and that we too have.
In this video, we can see how many of the words and phrases in African American vernacular (dialects) have an African root.
Create a presentation about a family tradition. What do you do in this tradition and where does this tradition come from?
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Session A:
You Get That From Your Baba
How do you say Mama, Daddy, younger sibling, older sibling? Do you have a special name you call your family members? In many families, we use the word 'Big Mama' for our Mother's Mama or our Grandmother's Mama. In Yoruba, people often use the word iya-iya where Africans of the Americas use Big Mama. Here is a list of some other family relation words in Yoruba:
Have you ever noticed that your eyes look like your Daddy's eyes or your smile is just like your Mama's? Sometimes we hear the phrases, "You're your Daddy's mini me." and "If you ain't your Mama's child!"
These statements are referencing inherited traits. Traits are your physical characteristics, like your hair or eye color. Every living thing has traits that make it unique. Most traits are passed down from parents, however, they can also come from your grandparents or even your great-grandparents,Generation Genius, 2020. Inherited traits can relate to a the way you look or even the way you behave. The structures in our bodies, like our voice box and the way our throat, mouths, and teeth are formed can be near replicas of our parents. This will make our voices sound the same.
Inherited traits can come over generations as well. We don't always look like our parents. sometimes, we look like our grandparents, great grandparents, or other ancestors.
What about learned traits or environmentally influenced traits? Can you tell what traits you have inherited or learned over time.
Above is a picture of a child and her her grandpa. Do you think she has inherited any traits from him?
Sometimes traits we get are learned or influenced by our environment. Sometimes something happens when babies are inside their mother's womb that can influence how they look or think when they are born. Sometimes people become outspoken because they are the youngest sibling in a big family and want to be heard among the other children of the household.
Create a chart to compare your inherited traits with those you've learned. Who did you inherit these traits from? How did your environment influence your learned traits? Please share here or in our Family World School Facebook group.
Wenesday, September 16, 2020
Session A:
Punnet Square
Let's discover Punnet Squares. Punnet squares are special charts named for a man whose name was Reginald C. Punnett. Punnet created a chart that simplified how we present information related to how traits are passed on from a parent to its offspring. The diagram is used by biologists to help them determine the probability of an offspring to have a particular genotype.
offspring- the child or direct descendant of someone or something
probability- a measurement of how likely something is to happen
genotype- a complete set of heritable genes that help encode the traits that will be expressed and how they'll be expressed in an offspring.
Now that you've learned about different traits, in our last lesson, you should know that some traits are dominant while others are recessive. A trait that is dominant doesn't necessarily mean it is better. It means that this trait is closer to the original and not a mutation of some original gene. Recessive traits are the opposite. They are usually mutations of original genes and they are expressed more rarely than dominant traits.
If you imagine your Mama and Daddy are both calling your name from different rooms in the house. If Daddy's voice is booming loud and he is shouting your name "----, COME HERE!" and at the same time your Mama is whispering your name, "----, Come Here!" who do you think you will hear and where will you go? In this example, your Dad's command is like a gene. His loud voice is what makes it dominant. Your Mother's voice is also a gene and her soft whisper is what makes it recessive. How you respond is like the way dominant and recessive genes are expressed in the body. Most likely, you will hear your Dad and respond to him. However, in some off chance, you happen to be near your Mother's room, you may hear her first and respond to her. This is like a recessive gene that shows up and gives your brown skin cousin his gray colored eyes.
In humans, brown or blackish hair, skin and eyes are considered dominant traits over yellow hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. In flowers, red petals are dominant traits over white ones.
Define these vocabulary words and use them in the assignment: inherit, allele, dominant, recessive and use them to present your project.
Product: Students will create a Punnet Square with the characters in the presentation and present.
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Session A:
Family Tree
Have you ever seen your family tree? A family tree is not something that you plant and grow from in your family garden. It is instead a record of your family members and your ancestors as far back as anyone can remember or beyond. Your family tree connects you to history and reminds you of the amazing things your family members have accomplished, lived through, or created. This record is called a tree because it often resembles a tree as it branches out to hundreds of ancestors before you.
Create a family tree that goes back as far as you can go. What was something important going on during that time? What year were your grandparents born? Your parents? Do you know any family stories about that ancestor’s life? Write about it on this Assignments page or on the Family World School Facebook page. If you'd like, please share your family tree with the class.
You could use this family tree or create your own.
How many generations could you go back and did you learn anything interesting about your family's history?
Friday, September 18, 2020
Session A:
Fantastic Friday
What have you learned about this week? What was the best part of your week so far? What was the most challenging thing that happened today? Today, let's have some fun. Ask your grandparent or any other relative who is older than you what was a popular dance when they were a child. Try to do the dance and teach your family member a popular dance that children are doing today. Now that you've learned a new dance, ask your grandparents what was their favorite dance song when they were younger. Share your favorite song as well. Now that you have some music playing and are already up dancing, why not see how long you and your elder can dance before you absolutely MUST stop!
One good thing about Friday is that you and your family can take time for reflection and meditation. Meditation is like conscious sleep. Sleep is like unconscious meditation. When we meditate it gives us a chance to be still and just listen. We don't try to think about any particular thing and as thoughts enter, we don't bother really studying each thought. We just let the thoughts come and go.
Some people think meditation is a good time to listen for The Most High; others listen to their inner selves. When you meditate, listen to your breath. As you breath, listen to the air as it moves from inside your body and out of your mouth or nose.
Reflection is when we think about the good things and the bad things that happened. We think about how we can do better next time. We appreciate all the special people we have in our family, what they've taught us and their love for us. When you are ready to be still, sit and reflect on some of these things. Who loves you? Do you know? I bet your Mom and Dad loves you more than you can comprehend. What about your grandparents? What have you learned from them?
Happy Friday and may tomorrow be a peaceful day of rest for you and your family!
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