We Are Family
Relationships and Culture Unit
5 Days
Created by: Kallie Newman
Presented to:
Dr. Stacia Emerson
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
EDU 4610: Environmental Processes and Assessments
Social Studies and Language Arts Unit
WE ARE FAMILY
TOPIC: Relationships and Culture (family)
PRE-UNIT ASSESSMENT: Oral questioning
GOALS OF UNIT: In this unit, students learn that there are different kinds of families and no one structure is better than another. They discover that all types of families love and care for each other. They will also develop an understanding that a strong relationship, such as our class, can by identified as a family as well.
CONCEPTS OF UNIT:
· fine motor skills
· creativity
· self-awareness
· color recognition
· classification
· sorting
· language development
· print awareness
· observation
· reasoning
· critical thinking
· recording data
- social skills
- reading comprehension.
· punctuation awareness
· capitalization awareness
· phonics
BOOKS TO SUPPORT UNIT:
· “Black is brown is tan” by Arnold Adoff
· “Animal Families” by Lorrie Mack
· “ABC: A Family Alphabet Book” by Bobbie Combs
· “Who’s in a Family?” by Robert Skutch
· “Me and My Family Tree” by Paul Showers
· “The Relatives Came” by Cynthia Rylant
· “Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?” Eric Carle
· “The Family Book” by Todd Parr
· “I Go with My Family to Grandma’s” by Riki Levinson
· “Grandpa Green” by Lane Smith
RESOURCES AND MATERIALS NEEDED FOR CHILDREN:
· My Family, Your Family Venn diagram sheets
· Clear tape
· Apple cut-outs
· Tree pieces
· Construction paper
· Writing utensils
· Relative vocabulary lists
· Interview questionnaire
· Short story of a family without rules
Centers
Students will have free choice of centers. They will have a key with their name on it; each center will have a certain number of hooks for keys to go on. If the hooks are full, students go to the next center.
Art Center:
· The goals of the art center are fine motor skills, creativity, self-awareness, and color recognition.
· Students will create paper bag family puppets. The puppets will be made to look like each member of their family. These can be used for dramatic play or a puppet center.
· The goals of the math center are classification, sorting, and fine motor skills.
· Children cut out pictures of people and families from magazines, and glue them on paper divided into two sections: “children” and “parents”. They decide which category to glue the people cut-outs.
· This can be extended with more categories such as: “moms”, “dads”, “grandmothers”, etc.
· The goals of the writing center are creativity, language development, and print awareness.
· Students will create cards for a member(s) of their family. They will need to include at least 3 complete sentence statements, along with illustrations. Example given will be World’s Greatest ___ and thank you ___ for ___.
· The goals of the science center are observation, reasoning, critical thinking, and recording data.
· After reading “Me and My Family Tree”, students will look in mirrors to observe their own features. They will think about what their parents look like and determine what traits they got from their mom and what traits they got from their dad. (or grandparents if needed)
- The goals of the poetry center are social skills, language development, and reading comprehension.
- Students will read and retell the story “Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?” by Eric Carle. Masks of each animal in the book will be provided so children can have multiple roles to choose from and act out.
Editing Center:
· The goals of the sorting center are punctuation awareness, capitalization awareness, and phonics.
· The students will copy sentences from the book “Black is brown is tan” by Arnold Adoff onto notebook paper. They will then determine where correct capitalization and punctuation should go to make the sentences accurate.
Day 1
Title: Similar and Different Families – Our Family Quilt
Social Studies TEKS (first grade):
· 11A) identify similarities and differences among people such as kinship, laws, and religion.
· 11B) identify similarities and differences among people such as music, clothing, and food.
English Language Arts and Reading TEKS (first grade):
· 21A) form upper- and lower-case letters legibly in text, using the basic conventions of print (left-to-right and top-to-bottom progression), including spacing between words and sentences.
· 21B) recognize and use basic capitalization.
· 21C) recognize and use punctuation marks at the end of declarative, exclamatory, and interrogative sentences.
Objectives:
· After reading “Who’s in a Family?” by Robert Skutch, students will draw an illustration of their own family and write at least 2 characteristics about them on the back in complete sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation.
· After completing their family illustrations and discussing similarities and differences, students will find a partner and compare pictures to accurately fill out the My Family, Your Family Venn diagram.
Materials:
· “Who’s in a Family?” by Robert Shaw
· Colored construction paper
· Writing utensils
· My Family, Your Family Venn diagram sheets
· Clear tape
Procedures:
· I will begin the lesson with saying: “I have a brother. Does anyone else have a brother? Who has a sister instead of a brother? Who has neither? All families are similar and different.”
· I will read “Who’s in a Family?” by Robert Shaw. I will discuss with students that families are similar and different in various ways like the book described.
· I will then pass out construction paper to each student and give them the instructions to draw an illustration of their family.
· When they are done, they are to write 2 complete sentences with correct punctuation and capitalization that describe their family on the back.
· If they are finished before everyone else, they will create another sentence.
· When everyone is done with their sentences, I will pass out the My Family, Your Family Venn diagram.
· I will give the instructions that they are to find a partner and compare/contrast their own family to someone else’s, recording facts on the Venn diagram sheet.
· When students are done, I will ask for multiple examples.
· I will tell students that I am going to make a quilt (explaining that a quilt is different material sewn into one piece) to represent how we are a family too in the classroom even though we are all different.
· I will close the lesson by asking them, “So what did we learn today?”
· I will tape the pictures together and hang the “quilt” on the wall next to our bulletin board.
Assessment, Reflection, and Revision:
· Assessment of students learning: Students will have successfully completed the lesson with appropriate understanding if they accurately identified at least 2 characteristics about their family in complete sentences and accurately completed the My Family, Your Family Venn diagram.
· Reflective thoughts about lesson: Did my students understand the concept? Were they able to identify characteristics in complete sentences? Did they understand similarities and differences between families? What worked and what didn’t?
· Suggestions for revision if used again: Possible solutions for what didn’t work.
Remediation/Extension Activities:
· I will challenge students to get another My Family, Your Family sheet and go to the “quilt” hanging on the wall to find another picture to compare to their own.
Day 2
Title: My Family Tree
Social Studies TEKS:
· 3A) distinguish among past, present, and future.
· 3B) use vocabulary related to time and chronology, including before, after, next, first, last, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
English Language Arts and Reading TEKS:
· 21A) form upper- and lower-case letters legibly in text, using the basic conventions of print (left-to-right and top-to-bottom progression), including spacing between words and sentences.
· 21B) recognize and use basic capitalization.
· 21C) recognize and use punctuation marks at the end of declarative, exclamatory, and interrogative sentences.
· 22C) spell high frequency words with from a commonly used list
Objectives:
· After reading the book “Me and My Family Tree” by Paul Showers, students will create their own family trees going back at least 3 generations, identifying where their ancestors go using correct terminology such as before, after, next.
· After completing their family trees, students will create a name key using complete sentences and high frequency words to describe the names they listed.
Materials:
· “Me and My Family Tree” by Paul Showers
· Apple cut-outs
· Tree pieces
· Construction paper
· Writing utensils
· Relative vocabulary lists
Procedures:
· I will begin the lesson with asking students if they had ever heard of a family tree.
· After various answers, I will read the book “Me and My Family Tree” by Paul Showers.
· We will focus on the idea of building up from ourselves and how each generation is represented on the “tree”.
· I will introduce new vocabulary such as aunt, uncle, cousin, and ancestor.
· I will then model how we are going to make our own family trees and where certain family members go.
· Apple cut-outs will be handed out and I will instruct them to write names of their moms, dads, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.
· Students will be allowed to write “Nana”, for example, if they do not know real names. They are also allowed to make more than one, if they wish, if divorce/remarriage is involved.
· When they have written their names on the apple cut-outs, they will be told to place them on the correct level of the family tree.
· Students end the activity with creating a name key using complete sentences and reviewed vocabulary to explain the names they wrote on their family tree. For example, “Nancy is my aunt.”
· I will close the lesson by asking them, “So what did we learn today?”
Assessment, Reflection, and Revision:
· Assessment of students learning: Students will have successfully completed the lesson with appropriate understanding if they construct an accurate family tree going back at least 3 generations and if their name key had complete sentences with accurate vocabulary.
· Reflective thoughts about lesson: Did my students understand the concept? Were they able to make the family tree and answer questions about it? Did their name keys have complete sentences? What worked and what didn’t?
· Suggestions for revision if used again: Possible solutions for what didn’t work.
Remediation/Extension Activities:
· I will challenge students to get more information from their parents about their family tree and add more generations.
Day 3
Title: Interview a Relative
Social Studies TEKS:
· 3A) distinguish among past, present, and future.
· 15A) describe and explain the importance of various beliefs, customs, language, and traditions of families.
· 17A) obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid oral sources such as conversations, interviews, and music.
English Language Arts and Reading TEKS:
· 24A) gather evidence from available sources (natural and personal) as well as from interviews with experts.
· 24C) record basic information in simple visual formats (e.g. notes, charts, picture graphs, diagrams).
Objectives:
· After reading the story “Grandpa Green” by Lane Smith, students will interview a grandparent or, if not available, an older relative and complete a questionnaire.
· After the interview, students will present information found with a created visual that clearly depicts that information.
Materials:
· “Grandpa Green” by Lane Smith
· Interview questionnaire
· Construction paper (for visuals)
Procedures:
· I will begin the lesson with asking if the students have ever heard their grandparents or older people in their family tell stories about when they grew up.
· After a few answers, I will read “Grandpa Green” by Lane Smith. I will ask students if they knew anyone that sounded like Grandpa Green.
· After we have talked about the time and lives of people of that generation, we will go over the interview questions. Students are to take these home and complete them.
· After they interview their relative of choice, they will create a visual (drawing, poster) depicting information they got.
· They will have until the end of the unit to complete both the interview and visual and then they will present.
· I will close the lesson by asking them: what they learned from their interview, if they thought what they found sounded the same as today, etc.
Assessment, Reflection, and Revision:
· Assessment of students learning: Students will have successfully completed the lesson with appropriate understanding if they accurately interviewed an older relative, created a visual to show what they found, and presented it to the class, as well as understand the past is different than the present.
· Reflective thoughts about lesson: Did my students understand the concept? Were they able to understand the past is different than now from the interviews? What worked and what didn’t?
· Suggestions for revision if used again: Possible solutions for what didn’t work.
Remediation/Extension Activities:
· I will challenge students to interview another relative and report what they learn.
Day 4
Title: Importance of Rules
Social Studies TEKS:
· 8A) identify purposes for having rules.
· 8B) identify rules that provide order, security, and safety in the home and school.
English Language Arts and Reading TEKS:
· 20B) speak in complete sentences with correct subject-verb agreement.
· 28) students speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions of language.
Objectives:
· After listening to a story of a family without rules, each student will contribute orally to a class list of rules the family should incorporate.
· After completing a class list of rules and responsibilities, students will accurately role play an assigned rule/responsibility from the list with a partner.
Materials:
· Short story of a family without rules.
Procedures:
· I will begin the lesson by asking students what some rules they have in the classroom.
· After various responses, I will ask, “What do you think it would be like without rules?” and say, “Now we will hear about a family that does have any rules.”
· I will read the short story, and after I’ll ask if it seemed as fun as it sounded.
· I will ask students brainstorm what rules would have been helpful for the family to have.
· After everyone has contributed to the class list on the board, I will tell students to form pairs.
· Students will then be assigned a rule or responsibility and given time to rehearse how they will act it out.
· Each group will then role play for the class appropriate rules and responsibilities families practice.
· After all presentations, I will ask students what the important of rules? Wouldn’t it be more fun without them? And let them respond.
· I will close the lesson by asking them, “So what did we learn today?”
Assessment, Reflection, and Revision:
· Assessment of students learning: Students will have successfully completed the lesson with appropriate understanding if they participated in creating the class list of rules and responsibilities, as well as accurately role played their assigned rule.
· Reflective thoughts about lesson: Did my students understand the concept? Were they able to list important family rules and understand why they are important? Did they work well together? What worked and what didn’t?
· Suggestions for revision if used again: Possible solutions for what didn’t work.
Remediation/Extension Activities:
I will challenge students to continue role playing rules and responsibilities that are found in the school and how they might be similar or different.
Day 5
Title: Going for a Visit
Social Studies TEKS:
· 12A) describe and explain the importance of family customs and traditions.
· 12B) compare family customs and traditions.
English Language Arts and Reading TEKS:
· 18A) write brief stories that include a beginning, middle, and end.
· 19A) write brief compositions about topics of interest to the student.
Objectives:
· After reading the stories “The Relatives Came” by Cynthia Rylant and “I Go with My Family to Grandma’s” by Riki Levinson, students will write a description about a family trip they have taken or a family tradition with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Materials:
· “The Relatives Came” by Cynthia Rylant
· “I Go with My Family to Grandma’s” by Riki Levinson
· Paper
· Writing utensils
Procedures:
· I will begin the lesson with reading “The Relatives Came” by Cynthia Rylant and “I Go with My Family to Grandma’s” by Riki Levinson.
· I will ask students if their families have traveled like the families in the books.
· They will then be told to write a description of a time they have traveled with their family or of a tradition they have, which has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
· When students are done writing, they will share what they wrote.
· I will close the lesson by asking them what the similarities and differences were between each family’s travels and traditions.
Assessment, Reflection, and Revision:
· Assessment of students learning: Students will have successfully completed the lesson with appropriate understanding if they accurately wrote a description of a trip or tradition of their family.
· Reflective thoughts about lesson: Did my students understand the concept?
· Suggestions for revision if used again: Possible solutions for what didn’t work.
Remediation/Extension Activities:
· I will challenge students to create a narrative with a fictional character visiting.
Bibliography
Branley, F. (1975). Light and Darkness. Toronto: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited.
Carle, E. (1990). Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me. New York City: Scholastic, Inc.
Carle, E. (1997). Little Cloud. New York City: Scholastic, Inc.
Dayrell, E. (1991). Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky. New York City: Scholastic, Inc.
de Paola, T. (1975). The Cloud Book. New York City: Holiday House.
Gibbons, G. (1997). The Moon Book. New York City: Holiday House.
Muirden, J. (1998). Seeing Stars. Cambridge: Candlewick Press.
Myla Goldberg, M. (2007). Catching the Moon. New York City: Arthur A. Levine Books.
Showers, P. (1975). The Bird and the Stars. Garden City: Doubleday & Company.
Wildsmith, B. (1978). What the Moon Saw. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Book: Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins
