Functional Skills English Reading Assessment Level 2 Learner name Learner registration number Learner signature Centre Assessment date NOCN USE ONLY Question Mark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Instructions to learners Check that you have the correct paper. Please complete the information above. You do not need to use complete sentences for the reading assessment. Use black or blue ink. Do not use a pencil. You may use a dictionary. There are 8 questions in this assessment. You must answer all the questions. Total marks available: 34 You have one hour to finish the assessment. ER L2 Sample Paper EE - Ancestry Page 1 of 12
Page intentionally left blank L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry Page 2 of 12
Tracing My Family Many people are interested in tracing their family trees these days. The popularity of TV programmes such as Who Do You Think You Are? seems to have inspired many people to find out more about their own origins. The chances are that many of us are related to somebody famous, or even infamous! You and your friends decide to have a bit of fun and find out as much as you can about your ancestors and decide to start by researching your surnames/family names. You find the following documents. Read them and answer the questions. L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry Page 3 of 12
Document One - You begin by researching on a genealogy website and you find the following document. How to Trace the Origin of Your Surname With a few exceptions, hereditary surnames, the last names passed down through the males of a family, didn't exist until about 1000 years ago. During the Middle Ages, as families got bigger and villages got a bit more crowded, individual names became inadequate to distinguish friends and neighbours from one another. Surnames derived from the mother or father s name Last names derived from a father's name, were widely used in forming surnames, especially in the Scandinavian countries. Such names were formed by adding a prefix or suffix denoting either "son of" or "daughter of for e.g. names ending in "son" or prefixed "Mac," Fitz," "O," and "ap." These descriptive surnames are thought to have originally evolved as nicknames during the Middle Ages when men created nicknames or pet names for their neighbours and friends based on personality or physical appearance. Place Names or Local Names One of the most common ways to differentiate one man from his neighbour was to describe him in terms of his geographic surroundings or location (similar to describing a friend as the "one who lives down the street"). If a person or family moved from one place to another, they were often identified by the place they came from. If they lived near a stream, cliff, forest or hill, this might be used to describe them e.g. Churchill. Some last names can still be traced back to their exact place of origin, such as a particular city or county. Compass directions were another common geographic identification (e.g. EASTMAN, WESTWOOD). Descriptive Names (Nicknames) Another class of surnames, those derived from a physical or other human characteristic, make up an estimated 10% of all surname or family names. These descriptive surnames are thought to have originally evolved as nicknames when men created nicknames or pet names for their neighbours and friends based on personality or physical appearance. Thus, Michael the strong became Michael STRONG and black-haired Peter became Peter BLACK. Sources for such nicknames included: an unusual size or shape of the body, bald heads, facial hair, physical deformities, distinctive facial features, skin or hair colouring and even emotional disposition. Occupational Names The last class of surnames to develop reflect the occupation or status of the first bearer. These occupational last names, derived from the speciality crafts and trades of the medieval period, are fairly self-explanatory. A MILLER was essential for grinding flour from grain, a WAINWRIGHT was a wagon builder, and BISHOP was in the employ of a Bishop. Different surnames often developed from the same occupation based on the language of the country of origin (MÜLLER, for example, is German for Miller). L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry Page 4 of 12
Document Two You also come across this article in a local newspaper: Are you related to someone famous? 1. Start with what you know This may seem like a simple step, but you'd be surprised at how many people overlook this important advice. Starting with what you know is easy and fun. The next time you talk to a family member (parent, grandparent, Uncle Bob, etc.) ask if they know of any famous family connections. You may find out there's an old family legend that your family is related to Lady Godiva, Abraham Lincoln, Dracula, or other famous and interesting figures from history. You may also learn that you are related to a current-day celebrity. Ask where your family came from as this helps direct your searching. If a part of your family heritage comes from Russia, England, South America, etc., searching for connections in those places may turn up some fun facts and famous ancestor links you may not have thought of at first. 2. Research your family tree The number one mistake that people make in searching for famous relatives is that they don't put enough effort into researching their own family tree. By researching your own family tree, you will be able, in a later step, to connect with the large databases out there that hold genealogy records for famous people. Write down birth dates, names, marriage dates and so on. 3. Make use of the major genealogy databases Once you've written what you know about your own tree, it's time to greatly expand that knowledge by connecting with the largest genealogy databases on the web. Some of the websites are free resources for searching family tree information. Start entering information for your deceased ancestors into the site's search box to see if you have any family tree connections to further your research. 4. Find common ancestor matches through famous people s family tree records There are a host of databases out there that you can search to find famous relatives. Try those which list genealogies and family trees for many famous celebrities and historical figures. Search the sites for common ancestors (your oldest relatives in your tree). Unfortunately, some sites don t do auto-linking, so you'll be searching by hand in some of these resources. 5. Put it all together If you find a match, download or print out the information to share with your family. The key is researching your own family tree back far enough so that your chances of sharing a common ancestor with someone famous increase. L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry Page 5 of 12
Please answer the following questions about the documents. You do not need to use full sentences. Question 1 Why would Document One be useful to someone trying to find out about their family? (1 mark) Question 2 To simplify the information from Document One, fill in the blanks in the table to the four main categories that surnames derive from. The first one has been done for you. (6 marks) Category Example of name Explanation of name Occupational Miller Someone who grinds flour Eastman Son or daughter of Descriptive Names L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry V2 Page 6 of 12
Question 3 What do you think is the main purpose of Document Two? Quote from the text to support your answer. (2 marks) Question 4 How would you describe the attitudes and points of view of the writers of both documents? Explain the differences or similarities between the two texts. (4 marks) L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry V2 Page 7 of 12
Document Three One of the most valuable resources you can make use of when researching your family tree is the Online Census. The following article sums up various ways of using the online census records in order to aid your search. Read the document and answer the questions. Getting more from an Online Census In 1871, John Reynard was a 41 year old tailor living in Southwark, an area of London located south of the River Thames. According to the census, his family included children from two marriages. One child was a Reynard and the others had the surname Pellatt or Pellett. Surprisingly, the one child with the Reynard surname was not the youngest. Wife Jane was likely married to a Mr. Pellatt previously, a fact that can be determined from earlier censuses and civil records. Everyone in the household is listed as being born in London. Any census report prompts more questions and some, like this one, introduce new puzzles to be solved, which makes it vitally important to follow the members of a family through successive censuses. Facts in the Census The details set out on a page of census returns are similar in all census years, with the exception of 1841. They give the details of the people in the household. You can also find details of the registration district and sub-district, parish, parliamentary district, and the National Archives reference number. Later census records (1891 and 1901) have additional columns detailing houses and employment. Putting Results to Work The Reynard family census listings illustrate how collected census information can be put to work. Based on the ages of the children, it is possible to estimate the time when Jane was married to Mr. Pellatt and it may be possible to figure out why Ellen Reynard is a year older than Edwin Pellatt in 1871. John was born before the start of civil registration, so his age and birthplace lead to church records, and his inconsistent replies mean two locations may have to be searched. Pitfalls to Watch for The Reynard family illustrates several traps in census work, particularly in online research. Research based on information from the census can go astray. Ages and birthplaces are not always consistently expressed to the collector of the census information and occupations change over time. Spouses change, too, so you must remain alert for clues about a woman's maiden name. Searching the Database In order to manipulate the search tool at Ancestry.com most efficiently, be sure to work with each return and each country or island separately. For example, search England only in the 1871 census. You can search for a full name, a surname only, or a first name only. Using the simple search feature, the additional specifying factors are all related to place of residence - county, parish, or district. Browsing the Census Returns Name searching is usually the search method of choice, but there are reasons for simply browsing the returns. If you know the street name or can pinpoint a part of a parish, read through the description of each district with a map close by. L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry V2 Page 8 of 12
Question 5 In order to work out the best methods of research you need to list the most useful tips from these three documents. You can then share them with friends who are also doing research. Use the boxes below to make a list of four steps you consider to be most useful, and give a reason why. Research methods/steps Why? (8 marks) L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry V2 Page 9 of 12
Question 6 To help you think about what information you would need/want to have about your family ancestry, you design a table to capture key information from the online census. To test it, you summarise the information you found in Document Three from the 1871 census about John Reynard. (6 marks) Questions Answers Where did he live? What family did he have? Marital status? Occupation? Where was he born? Question 7 Researching your family tree is not a simple task. Identify four of the main points from the documents that show the difficulties you may face. (4 marks) Point One Point Two Point Three Point Four L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry V2 Page 10 of 12
Question 8 All three documents are designed to help you to find different things when researching your family tree and ancestry. The three documents do, however, make similar points. Identify three points that are repeated in another document. Tick in the appropriate columns to identify in which documents the points appear. Point Made In Doc One? In Doc Two? In Doc Three? (3 marks) L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry V2 Page 11 of 12
NOCN The Quadrant, Parkway Business Centre 99 Parkway Avenue Sheffield S9 4WG E-mail:nocn@nocn.org.uk Tel: 0114 2270500 Fax: 0114 2270501 L2 ER Paper EE Ancestry V2 Page 12 of 12