Materials:

• books about families, such as Families by Ann Morris (HarperCollins, 2000) and Loving by Ann Morris (Scholastic Inc.)
• chart paper
• large sheets of drawing paper or craft paper
• construction paper
• child safety scissors
• glue sticks
• markers and crayons

Objective: Children will develop language, creative thinking, and social awareness by creating banners about their families.

ACTIVITY

1. Read a book that highlights the concept of families. Engage the class in a book talk to discuss how the stories reminded them of their own families. Were the families in the story similar to the children's families? How were the story families the same or different? Did certain characters in the story remind children of particular family members?

2. Write the heading My Family Is Special on top of a sheet of chart paper. Then, ask the class to think of all of the special things about their families. Record their comments. Review the chart with the class. What are the similarities between their responses? How do they differ? Create another chart with the children to summarize what they learned from the discussion.

3. Invite children to each create a banner about their families. Each banner can include the child's first and last name and four drawings that depict special things about his family, such as favorite activities, celebrations, foods, travel adventures, things the family does together, or even family pets. Provide the suggested materials in the art center and invite a few children to work at a time.

4. Plan a special event for the children to share their family banners. Play music and encourage them to march around the classroom with their banners. Then invite children to describe their banners to their classmates. Display the banners in the classroom or hallway for everyone to enjoy. Invite family members to view the banners, as well.

Curriculum Connection: LANGUAGE

The Names for Family Members. Ask children to think of all of the words that they use to describe family members (brother, aunt, mother, or grandfather) and record their comments on chart paper. How many different words did they list for the different family members? Invite the class to share their observations about the words. How are they similar or different?