Lesson Plan
Introducing Our Families
Children will delight in sharing and learning about their family members!
By
Early Childhood Today Editorial Staff
- Grades: PreK–K
Materials:
poster board or designated bulletin board area
chart paper
drawing materials including paper, markers, crayons, glue sticks, and scissors
books about relatives including Brothers and Sisters by Ellen B. Senisi (Scholastic Inc.), My Aunt Came Back by Pat Cummings (HarperCollins, 1998), and The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant (Simon & Schuster, 1998)
Developing Skills:
social awareness
language
ACTIVITY
Reading About Relatives. Collect several books about relatives to introduce the concept to your class. After each reading, engage children in a book talk.? Encourage them to describe what the book was about and to recall the sequences of the book. Ask questions that will help them make connections between the story and their own lives.
Who Are Our Relatives? At the top of a sheet of chart paper, write the question, Who are our relatives?? Remind children that moms, dads, brothers, and sisters are our relatives because they are our family. Next, help them think of the names of other family members such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Record their responses on chart paper.
My Favorite Relative. Read a book that highlights a childs special relationship with a family member, such as When Aunt Lena Did the Rhumba by Eileen Kurtis-Kleinman (Hyperion, 1999). Engage children in a discussion about their favorite relatives. Record their responses on chart paper. Provide children with the suggested art materials and ask them to create a drawing about their favorite relative.
Remember: Some children have not yet developed their language skills enough to be able to describe their family members. Talk with parents beforehand to get the names of some relatives that are close to their child.
TAKE-HOME ACTIVITY
Family Banner. Send home a sheet of brown paper and invite each family to work together to create a family banner. Explain that the banner should depict something about their family. Tell them that they can include drawings, photographs, stickers, and pictures from magazines; write their names; or just decorate it with designs or collage materials. Invite each child to share his fam-ily banner with the class. Find an area in the room or hallway to display them.
Curriculum Connection: LANGUAGE/ART
We Are Family. Engage children in a discussion and create a language experience chart about what it means to be in a school family.? How are they like a family? Record their responses. Then trace each childs body on a large sheet of brown paper and cut it out. Provide children with art materials including fabric, yarn, markers, or tempera paints to create full-size body portraits. Display them all together, joining hands, and include their language experience chart.
poster board or designated bulletin board area
chart paper
drawing materials including paper, markers, crayons, glue sticks, and scissors
books about relatives including Brothers and Sisters by Ellen B. Senisi (Scholastic Inc.), My Aunt Came Back by Pat Cummings (HarperCollins, 1998), and The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant (Simon & Schuster, 1998)
Developing Skills:
social awareness
language
ACTIVITY
Reading About Relatives. Collect several books about relatives to introduce the concept to your class. After each reading, engage children in a book talk.? Encourage them to describe what the book was about and to recall the sequences of the book. Ask questions that will help them make connections between the story and their own lives.
Who Are Our Relatives? At the top of a sheet of chart paper, write the question, Who are our relatives?? Remind children that moms, dads, brothers, and sisters are our relatives because they are our family. Next, help them think of the names of other family members such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Record their responses on chart paper.
My Favorite Relative. Read a book that highlights a childs special relationship with a family member, such as When Aunt Lena Did the Rhumba by Eileen Kurtis-Kleinman (Hyperion, 1999). Engage children in a discussion about their favorite relatives. Record their responses on chart paper. Provide children with the suggested art materials and ask them to create a drawing about their favorite relative.
Remember: Some children have not yet developed their language skills enough to be able to describe their family members. Talk with parents beforehand to get the names of some relatives that are close to their child.
TAKE-HOME ACTIVITY
Family Banner. Send home a sheet of brown paper and invite each family to work together to create a family banner. Explain that the banner should depict something about their family. Tell them that they can include drawings, photographs, stickers, and pictures from magazines; write their names; or just decorate it with designs or collage materials. Invite each child to share his fam-ily banner with the class. Find an area in the room or hallway to display them.
Curriculum Connection: LANGUAGE/ART
We Are Family. Engage children in a discussion and create a language experience chart about what it means to be in a school family.? How are they like a family? Record their responses. Then trace each childs body on a large sheet of brown paper and cut it out. Provide children with art materials including fabric, yarn, markers, or tempera paints to create full-size body portraits. Display them all together, joining hands, and include their language experience chart.
- Subjects:Family Life, Social Studies through Literature
