Introduction
Most primary course books include a unit on families, but they are usually very traditional, with a mum, dad, brother and sister. This lesson provides teachers and primary children with an opportunity to see different kinds of families that might better reflect their own experiences. In this lesson primary children do a series of simple and supported vocabulary and reading activities which lead to them writing about their own families. At the end of the lesson they draw pictures of their families and they make a classroom display of their texts and pictures.
Learning outcomes
All learners will:
- use family vocabulary
- identify key language in short descriptions of different families
- write simple sentences about your own family using 'I've got' and 'My family is...'
- some learners write sentences using present simple tense and other structures
Materials
Several options are presented for this lesson. Teachers can use just paper and pencils or crayons for drawing. They can also use any or a mix of the following:
- Lesson plan
- Presentation (PowerPoint or PDF)
- Descriptions of families (PDF)
- Images of families (PDF)
Procedure
Stage
10
Before the lesson
- Prepare the presentation if using. Alternatively, download and make copies of the description and image cards. Cut them into cards. See options for stage 2 of the lesson.
5
Warmer
- Introduce the topic by playing a guessing game. Draw a simple stick picture of a child on the board and label it ‘me’. If necessary, explain that this is a picture of you as a child.
- Draw a mum and dad (stick figures) next to the child and elicit the words by pointing and saying, ‘This is my …’. Learners hold up their hands to guess. When a learner guesses correctly, write ‘mum’ and ‘dad’.
- Add other stick figures to represent family members. Ask learners to guess the words and add the labels. If necessary, use flashcards or drawings to revise family words: mum, dad, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa, cousin and baby.
15
Descriptions of different families
- Before the lesson, read the family descriptions and check for any unknown vocabulary. Decide whether to pre-teach words or encourage learners to guess the meaning from the context. Then choose one of these options depending on the level of your learners and the resources you have available:
- Option 1 (no resources): Choose a family description to read aloud to the class. As you read, learners listen and draw the family. Set time limits for the drawing and encourage them to draw stick people. Learners can compare their drawings.
- Draw a stick figure representation of the family on the board for learners to check. Alternatively, you could display the corresponding image on the worksheet or slide of the presentation if you are able to.
- Repeat with one or two more families.
- Option 2 (using the presentation): Show one of the family descriptions e.g. Niko’s description on slide 2. Learners read the description and draw the family.,Set time limits for the drawing and encourage them to draw stick people. Learners can compare their drawings.
- Show the corresponding image on one of the slides e.g. slide 3 for learners to check. Note that each family description on the slides is followed by the corresponding image.
- Option 3 (using the description and image cards): Put learners into pairs. Hand out a set of cut-up description cards and a set of cut-up image cards to each pair. Explain that learners need to read the family descriptions and match each description with its corresponding picture. Monitor learners while they read and match. Help and guide where necessary.
- Elicit the answers with the whole class. One way of doing this is by reading out each text in turn and asking learners to hold up the correct picture each time.
Answer key: 1: Maya, 2: Anna, 3: Eric, 4: Niko, 5: Cecilia, 6: Jan - Option 4 (using the description cards): This option is more suitable for higher level learners. Put learners into pairs. Hand out cut-up description cards to each pair. You can choose just two or more. Learners take turns to read out one of the descriptions. The other listens and draws the family using stick figures.
- To check understanding, draw representations of the families on the board using stick figures, or if you can, display the corresponding image on the worksheet or slide of the presentation.
5
Follow-up
- Ask learners if any of the families in the pictures are the same as theirs. Ask ‘Is this like your family?’ Encourage learners to think about the components of each family and to find similarities and differences.
- Point out that all families have things that are the same and things that are different and that every family is special.
Note: You may prefer to use learners’ first language for this discussion. It may be a sensitive issue for some learners.
20
Extension and personalisation
- Give learners a piece of paper. Tell them to draw a picture of their own family, including themselves. If they like, they can draw and write about an imaginary family.
- When they are ready, tell them to write some sentences about their families. If necessary, before they write you could write some sentences about your family, and / or write some useful structures on the board, for example:
My family is big / small.
I’ve got ... / I haven’t got ...
His / her name is ...
There are ... people in my family.
... lives with us. - Walk around the room as learners draw and write about their families. Help with vocabulary where necessary e.g. stepfather, half-sister. Write any common words on the board. Encourage higher-level learners to write more sentences, for example about family members’ likes / dislikes or activities.
- Early finishers can colour their pictures.
- Make a classroom display with the learners’ pictures and texts. Add a heading: Our families
Downloads
File attachments
Lesson plan239.1 KB
Presentation (PowerPoint)3.27 MB
Presentation (PDF)386.12 KB
Descriptions of families173.85 KB
Images of families489.95 KB
Comments
Family's course - a simple plan but full of positive energy
In my mind, this course plan belongs to the part of 'Family Education', which can also be brought to classroom, public activities and much wide scenes. In the beautiful and curious eyes of our kids, some normal situations, good life conditions, different details and even strange things (from outside views)... from their parents and regarding with their family-structure can all be put into descriptive (interesting and innocent) languages and a great tolerability, by the reason that those were in their real lives.
When reading those words, as a teacher, I usually felt very touched. In this time, it's especially about: Maya's and Eric's descriptions and pictures... Their words even have expressed some new hopes in an all-inclusive and opened society-formation in the future that some adults and traditional thinking ways cannot totally & bravely accept. However, a harmony, but from their eyes, has been composed out from their real life details, such as a Sunday lunch or a piece of fantastic home-made cake... The reason is that, their innocent eyes have all reflected LOVE as a main theme. This point, in my mind, can be made of some deep considerations and self-reflexivity by ourselves (adults).
In addition, the structure of this course plan is very clear and operational - from outside demonstration (how to draw on board) to their inside self-expression (draw my own...), course's impression and motivation have absorbed and transformed as the self-observation and the personalized appreciation, from which the confidence and new hope of life can be constructed.
Therefore, I would like to support this 'small but full of positive energy' course plan!
I was looking for a lesson for my pre-k learners, especially the one wherein I get to show them all kinds of families. One of my students has two moms and I did not want her to feel excluded. This lesson serves the purpose and provides inclusive images and descriptions.