Materials to support a thematic unit on

Families

Family is central to an individual's life- especially for young children. What is "family"? Who makes up your family? What does a familiy do together? Every family is different and each person defines families in their own way. It could be people in the same home or all the people who help care for the student. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as “a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together."

A thematic unit on "Families" explores the diversity of family structures, roles, and traditions across cultures and communities. Students engage in activities that encourage them to share and compare their own family experiences, fostering empathy and understanding. The unit includes discussions on the importance of family relationships and how they contribute to personal and social development.

This unit is also valuable for the teacher to learn more about their students in the beginning of the year. Teachers can learn how many people are in their family, if they have pets, traditions and experiences. Taking the time to understand students families and backgrounds help teachers develop rapport and use prior knowledge and experience to teach new information.

Here are some activitis and materials to support this valuable unit.

Learning Objectives

Here are some generic learning objectives for a unti on families:

Identify and describe different types of families: Students will be able to recognize that families come in various forms and discuss the different family structures they know.
Express respect and appreciation for their own and others' families: Students will demonstrate respect for the diversity of family structures and express appreciation for their own family and the families of their peers.
Identify family traditions and cultural practices: Students will be able to share and describe a tradition or cultural practice from their family, recognizing that these practices vary between families.
Demonstrate understanding of how families care for and support each other: Students will discuss ways in which family members help, care for, and support each other in daily life.

Young students can mark their level of understanding on a 4 point scale.

Introduction

Introduce this unit with an aecdote about family. It can be a funny story or simple commentary about your own life. This story should be relatable to the students' level of learning. Lead from the anecdote to discussion - "has that ever happened in your family?" Then start to question - "What is a family?", leading to the topic of the unit, "families".

Using the K-W-L approach, students can name what they K- know about families to activate prior knowledge and W- what they want to know.

Vocabulary

Consider unit vocabulary. Display on chart or a word wall for reference during the unit. Make a scavenger hunt around the room for the picture cards or find matching words in books.

Who are the people in your family? Show picture card and talk about the different members of a family. Attach to headband or necklace and role play different people.

Simple book showing members of a family.

Play games to practice using new vocabulary and elicit discussion and a deeper understanding. The more you play with words, the more familiar they will become.

Play with just the words to practice reading common words used in stories and literature throughout the unit.

Literature

Check out more visuals and activites from LessonPix in these stories about families.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

Silly Wonderful You by Sherri Duskey Rinker

Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

Flower Garden by Eve Bunting

Here is a simple reptitve book about families by Iowa Schauer. Glue a piece of foil or small mirror on the last page.

Learn about families on these great videos:

Alphabet Knowledge

Make a Letter F and Color the picture.

Phonological Awareness and Reading

Practice reading unit vocabulary. Print these vocabulary words on 4x6 index cards.

Practice reading as you play a memory matching game and match the family words.

Count the Syllables

Match the onset and rime of the family words.

Writing

Describe your family.

What are some of your family traditions?

Place picture cards in a ziplock bag. Students can trace and write the word using dry-erase markers.

Write the family unit vocabulary words.

Math

Ask students to count the number of people in their family. Graph results.

Sort Silverware into a tray.

Science

What are baby diapers made of? Consider experiencets such as which type of diaper holds the most water? Dissect a diaper to see what's inside and add water.