Training Families

Overview

You can help families get started with their family history and make significant progress. It's a unique experience to watch the joy of family members discovering their ancestors and learning about their lives.

Setup

• Who—Identify families for training.
• Where—Decide where the training will be held: at a FamilySearch center, another public building, or in the family's home. Note : If you are training in the home, be sure to avoid one-on-one situations, and meet in a family living area.
• When—Arrange a schedule the family that fits their overall learning needs.
• Children—If there are younger children who can focus on activities, share the Children's Page in the Family History Guide with the parents so they can provide those activities later.
• Trackers—Have each person fill out Tracker sheets to pre-assess family history skills.
• Common ground—Find common topics first, then turn individuals loose on different parts of their tree or different tasks.
• Coaching—Check in with the learners as you go—give each one sufficient coaching.
• Mentors in the family—Find out what Choices the parents (or teens) are comfortable with, so they can mentor others in the family on those topics later on, using The Family History Guide.

After ...

• Follow up—Check up by email or social media to monitor ongoing progress. If the individual or family is Latter-day Saint, involve the Ward Temple and Family History Coordinator.
• Design a plan—Map out a strategy for ongoing learning with The Family History Guide. The Online Tracker can be very helpful in creating a learning plan.

Success

With successful family training, learners should:

• Understand the purposes and benefits of The Family History Guide.
• Know how to navigate the website and use its features.
• Confidently proceed with family history activities.