Faces of a Family
Lesson 5: What do families do together?
Unit Essential Questions: What does family mean? How are families alike and different?
Lesson Essential Questions: What do families do together?
Time Needed: 1 class period, about 60 minutes
NCSS Standards:
· IV. Individual Development & Identity: Social studies programs should include experiences that
provide for the study of individual development and identity, so that the learner can
o Describe the unique features of one’s nuclear and extended families
o Identify and describe ways family, groups, and community influence the individual’s daily
life and personal choices
o Work independently and cooperatively to accomplish goals
MMSD Standards:
· Grade 1: Behavioral Sciences
o Examine similarities and differences between family, community, and national traditions,
customs, celebrations
o Exhibit group membership traits by being trustworthy, responsible, respectful, and by
demonstrating accountability for actions, displaying self direction and showing pride
UW Teaching Standards:
· Standard 1: Incorporates understanding of human learning and development
· Standard 3: Demonstrates sophisticated curricular knowledge
· Standard 4: Demonstrates pedagogical knowledge in specific domains
· Standard 10: Employs varied instructional strategies
Materials:
· “You and Me Together: Moms, Dads, and Kids Around the World” by Barbara Kerley
· List of ideas created in previous lessons about what a family is
· Chart paper
· Markers
· Interview Worksheets
Objectives:
· Students will generate ideas of what families do together.
· Students will discuss different things that they do with their own families.
· Students will interview their peers to learn more about their families.
· Students will share information gathered from an interview.
Lesson Context:
This is the fifth lesson in a unit on families, what it means to be a family, and the similarities and differences between families. Students have already discussed what it means to be family, the different members of a family, why families are important and how families are alike and different. This lesson will focus on more similarities and differences between families, specifically focusing on what families do together.
Lesson Opening:
Students again review their list of what a family is. Ask if there are any additions or changes that need to be made. Tell students that they will be listening to a book about what families do together. What do you do with your families?
Procedure:
· Read-aloud “You and Me Together”
o “Sharing a joke”
§ Do you know any jokes? Does anyone have one that they would like to share?
o“Some shade”
§ Does anyone know what a trumpet sounds like? Let’s all make sounds like a trumpet.
o “a pet”
§ This person has a lamb for a pet. Do you have a pet? What kind of pet is it?
o “a ball”
§ What kind of games have you played with a ball? Turn and talk to your partner and then we will
share.
· This book was all about things that families do together. What were some of the ideas from the book that families do
together?
· Interviews
o One way you can learn more about someone or something is to do an interview. What is an interview? An
interview is when you ask someone questions to find out more information. We all are going to
be interviewing each other to learn more about what our families do together.
o Before you do an interview, it is important to prepare questions so that you know what you want to ask the
person you are interviewing. What are some questions you could ask someone if you wanted to know more
about what they do with their families? Record ideas on chart paper so that all students can see
them and refer to them during the next portion.
o These are great ideas. Now I want you to choose two questions from this list that you want to ask some
other people in this class. I want you to write them down in the first two spaces on this worksheet. Allow
students to get paper and write down two questions that they would like to ask their
classmates.
o Have students sit in two circles, one inside the other, with the inner circle facing the outer
circle. Tell students that they will be interviewing the student across from them. You should
write down their answers in the spaces on your worksheet. The first person’s answers go in the first and
second space in the first block and then the second person’s will go at the bottom. They should ask the
two questions and then write down the person’s name and a word or two to remember what
their answer was. Do this for two rounds.
Lesson Closure:
Come back together in a single circle. Go around the circle stopping at each child. The two people who interviewed that person will share out what they learned about that person and what they do with their families.
Assessment:
Students will again be assessed informally. First, students will be assessed during the first portion of the lesson when discussing what it means to be a family. Students will also be assessed on conducting interviews during the interview process and during the share out time.
Special Considerations:
To learn more about their own families, have students interview family members about what they like to do with the family and what family means to them. This will not only help broaden their idea of a family, it will help develop their literacy and interviewing skills.
Resources:
Kerley, B. (2005). You and me together: Moms, dads, and kids around the world. Washington, D.C.: National
Geographic
This picture book is a very easy read and a great book for discussing families with children. It specifically focuses on common things that families do together that can be found around the world. The pictures are vivid and striking and add to the overall message of the book. The book ends with a description of the origin of each of the pictures from the book.
Schniedewind, N. & Davidson, E. (2006). Open minds to equality: A sourcebook of learning activities to affirm
diversity and promote equity. Wisconsin: Rethinking Schools, Ltd.
This book is a great resource for anyone thinking about teaching equality and social justice in their classroom. It includes resources and activity ideas for topics such as creative cooperation, looking at new perspectives, discrimination, and the important fact that we can all make change happen. I will be using this book to guide some of the activities throughout this lesson. Specifically to this lesson, I have adapted the activity “Intriguing Interviews” to introduce my students to conducting interview as a way to gather information.
NCSS Standards:
· IV. Individual Development & Identity: Social studies programs should include experiences that
provide for the study of individual development and identity, so that the learner can
o Describe the unique features of one’s nuclear and extended families
o Identify and describe ways family, groups, and community influence the individual’s daily
life and personal choices
o Work independently and cooperatively to accomplish goals
MMSD Standards:
· Grade 1: Behavioral Sciences
o Examine similarities and differences between family, community, and national traditions,
customs, celebrations
o Exhibit group membership traits by being trustworthy, responsible, respectful, and by
demonstrating accountability for actions, displaying self direction and showing pride
UW Teaching Standards:
· Standard 1: Incorporates understanding of human learning and development
· Standard 3: Demonstrates sophisticated curricular knowledge
· Standard 4: Demonstrates pedagogical knowledge in specific domains
· Standard 10: Employs varied instructional strategies
Materials:
· “You and Me Together: Moms, Dads, and Kids Around the World” by Barbara Kerley
· List of ideas created in previous lessons about what a family is
· Chart paper
· Markers
· Interview Worksheets
Objectives:
· Students will generate ideas of what families do together.
· Students will discuss different things that they do with their own families.
· Students will interview their peers to learn more about their families.
· Students will share information gathered from an interview.
Lesson Context:
This is the fifth lesson in a unit on families, what it means to be a family, and the similarities and differences between families. Students have already discussed what it means to be family, the different members of a family, why families are important and how families are alike and different. This lesson will focus on more similarities and differences between families, specifically focusing on what families do together.
Lesson Opening:
Students again review their list of what a family is. Ask if there are any additions or changes that need to be made. Tell students that they will be listening to a book about what families do together. What do you do with your families?
Procedure:
· Read-aloud “You and Me Together”
o “Sharing a joke”
§ Do you know any jokes? Does anyone have one that they would like to share?
o“Some shade”
§ Does anyone know what a trumpet sounds like? Let’s all make sounds like a trumpet.
o “a pet”
§ This person has a lamb for a pet. Do you have a pet? What kind of pet is it?
o “a ball”
§ What kind of games have you played with a ball? Turn and talk to your partner and then we will
share.
· This book was all about things that families do together. What were some of the ideas from the book that families do
together?
· Interviews
o One way you can learn more about someone or something is to do an interview. What is an interview? An
interview is when you ask someone questions to find out more information. We all are going to
be interviewing each other to learn more about what our families do together.
o Before you do an interview, it is important to prepare questions so that you know what you want to ask the
person you are interviewing. What are some questions you could ask someone if you wanted to know more
about what they do with their families? Record ideas on chart paper so that all students can see
them and refer to them during the next portion.
o These are great ideas. Now I want you to choose two questions from this list that you want to ask some
other people in this class. I want you to write them down in the first two spaces on this worksheet. Allow
students to get paper and write down two questions that they would like to ask their
classmates.
o Have students sit in two circles, one inside the other, with the inner circle facing the outer
circle. Tell students that they will be interviewing the student across from them. You should
write down their answers in the spaces on your worksheet. The first person’s answers go in the first and
second space in the first block and then the second person’s will go at the bottom. They should ask the
two questions and then write down the person’s name and a word or two to remember what
their answer was. Do this for two rounds.
Lesson Closure:
Come back together in a single circle. Go around the circle stopping at each child. The two people who interviewed that person will share out what they learned about that person and what they do with their families.
Assessment:
Students will again be assessed informally. First, students will be assessed during the first portion of the lesson when discussing what it means to be a family. Students will also be assessed on conducting interviews during the interview process and during the share out time.
Special Considerations:
To learn more about their own families, have students interview family members about what they like to do with the family and what family means to them. This will not only help broaden their idea of a family, it will help develop their literacy and interviewing skills.
Resources:
Kerley, B. (2005). You and me together: Moms, dads, and kids around the world. Washington, D.C.: National
Geographic
This picture book is a very easy read and a great book for discussing families with children. It specifically focuses on common things that families do together that can be found around the world. The pictures are vivid and striking and add to the overall message of the book. The book ends with a description of the origin of each of the pictures from the book.
Schniedewind, N. & Davidson, E. (2006). Open minds to equality: A sourcebook of learning activities to affirm
diversity and promote equity. Wisconsin: Rethinking Schools, Ltd.
This book is a great resource for anyone thinking about teaching equality and social justice in their classroom. It includes resources and activity ideas for topics such as creative cooperation, looking at new perspectives, discrimination, and the important fact that we can all make change happen. I will be using this book to guide some of the activities throughout this lesson. Specifically to this lesson, I have adapted the activity “Intriguing Interviews” to introduce my students to conducting interview as a way to gather information.
