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TEACHER'S CHOICE:
FAMILY FUN ACTIVITY
Draw Your Family Portrait

This is the full version of the activity lesson plan from Window to the Past: The Roedde House Curriculum by Kathryn Reeder and Vickie Jensen.

(Go to on-line activity) - (Go to lesson plan index)

Materials Needed:

Drawing paper or journal

Pens/crayons or scissors and glue if figures are cut from magazines

Objectives:

To understand that "family" has many meanings

To develop vocabulary: (nuclear/immediate, family, greater/extended family, generation, siblings, and paternal/maternal)

Activity description:

As teacher, model this activity by drawing your own family on a large paper, or put up a picture of your family, which you have already completed. Talk about various members, as you draw them. You may wish to include pets. You can also explain whether you chose to picture your immediate family circle, if you have a partner and/or children, or your parents and siblings. You might even talk about the family you wish you had - one fewer sibling or whatever!

Then have students draw or diagram their families on paper. At this age their idea of family generally includes their parents, brothers and sisters (introduce the term "sibling") and perhaps any other relatives that live in the same house. How might this change as they get older? Let students know that there is no right or wrong way to detail one's family.

Students can then present their families to the class, either talking about various family members or telling an anecdote about their family. Encourage them to get beyond a basic recitation of "I have one brother" to "I have one brother who thinks he's the boss" or "I have one brother who is much older than I, so he's gone most of the time."

Option: After hearing class members describe their families, students may write up their family description, presenting information that is more than that which is given in the picture. These family portraits - in pictures and words -- may be the beginning of a family book for each student or may be posted in the class.

Then brainstorm with students about how a family changes:

Birth

Adoption

Death

Marriage

Divorce

Initially write all ideas on the board and then examine them more closely, posing questions such as these:

If there is a divorce, does the mom stop being mom if she leaves? Or does the dad stop being dad?
Look at the difference between biological and social roles of parents.
Does marriage mean that you give up one family to become another?
What part of family changes when a family member goes away to work or go to school?
What does it mean when someone says, "My friends are my real family".
How does culture influence your idea of what family should and shouldn't do?
What ideas about family do TV shows movies or books present? Is this picture accurate when compared with your family?

The class should begin to see that their discussion of family includes social roles and physical aspects. As a group, develop working definitions of:

Nuclear or immediate family
Greater or extended family
Siblings
Generation (30 years)
Ancestors
Paternal /material side of the family genealogy or ancestry

Also check to see that there is a common understanding of relationships such as:

Adoption
Stepmothers/fathers and stepbrothers/sisters half brothers/sisters

Optional:

What do students feel are a parent's basic responsibilities to a child?

Physical care such as food, clothing, shelter.

Emotional care such as love, support, encouragement of learning?

Education - providing a good role model.

Financial

How do we learn these responsibilities? What models are there?

Who besides the biological parent provide most or all this care? (Friends? Teachers? Other family members?)

What happens when these needs are not met adequately?