Australian Curriculum links
Learning areas
History
Foundation
- Who the people in their family are, where they were born and raised and how they are related to each other (ACHHK001)
- The different structures of families and family groups today, and what they have in common (ACHHK002)
- How they, their family and friends commemorate past events that are important to them (ACHHK003)
Year 1
- Differences in family structures and roles today, and how these have changed or remained the same over time (ACHHK028)
Year 2
- The impact of changing technology on people's lives (at home and in the ways they worked, travelled, communicated, and played in the past) (ACHHK046)
English
Foundation
- Share feelings and thoughts about the events and characters in texts (ACELT1783)
Year 1
- Discuss characters and events in a range of literary texts and share personal responses to these texts, making connections with students' own experiences (ACELT1582)
- Respond to texts drawn from a range of cultures and experiences (ACELY1655)
Year 2
- Create short imaginative, informative and persuasive texts using growing knowledge of text structures and language features for familiar and some less familiar audiences, selecting print and multimodal elements appropriate to the audience and purpose (ACELY1671)
General capabilities
- Intercultural understanding
- Literacy
Cross-curriculum priorities
- Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia
Students view a range of images of families and discuss what family means to them and think about some similarities and differences among families.
Preparation
- printed copies of various images of families from around the world, for example from Peter Menzel's Material World, or the images contained in this activity
- print labels for the countries the images come from
- world map or globe
Select an image of a family that you can relate to or that interests you.
Think, pair, share
- Family is ...
- Family means to me …
- I like this photo because …
Discuss with your partner:
- Who are the people in this family?
- Where might this family live?
- Why do you think that?
- What are some things in the picture that are similar to your family?
- What are some things in the picture that are different from your family?
- When do you think this photo was taken? What clues did you use?
Match your image to a place label.
Locate the place on a world map or globe.
Write a sentence that explains what family means to you.
Students explore the people in families through texts and data collection. They expand on their understanding of the similarities and differences among families and develop their appreciation of these similarities and differences.
Preparation
- digital voice recorder, such as Evernote, iPad, etc
- maps of the world, Australia and the local region
- picturebooks about families such as Tom Tom by Rosemary Sullivan and Dee Huxley, available at Lemonade Springs; Children Just Like Me by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley, Allison by Allen Say; or Grandpa and Ah Gong by Morag Loh and Xiangyi Mo
- picturebooks about grandparents such as Our Grandparents: A Global Album by Maya Ajmera, Sheila Kinkade and Cynthia Pon; Our Granny by Margaret Wild; Grandpa and Thomas by Pamela Allen; or Grandmother by Jeannie Baker
- photos of family members brought in by the students
- access to the internet
Read Tom Tom by Rosemary Sullivan and Dee Huxley, available at Lemonade Springs.
Discuss:
- Who are the people in Tom Tom's family?
- How is this the same or different from your family?
- What do the people in Tom Tom's family do?
- How is this the same or different from your family?
These other picture storybooks about families may also be useful: Children Just Like Me by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley; Allison by Allen Say; and Grandpa and Ah Gong by Morag Loh and Xiangyi Mo.
List/draw the people in your family.
Collect and display data from your class members on the:
- number of people in their family
- who the family members are.
Discuss:
- What is the largest family?
- What is the smallest family?
- What can you observe about the members of the families in the display?
- Who has the main caring role in your family?
- Who has shared families?
- Whose family includes a pet/s?
Sort out the images of families from around the world from Activity 1. Some ideas for categories could be:
- number of people
- who the carers are
- families with animals/pets
- where the family lives (village, town, city, farm).
Bring in a photo of your family members to share with the class.
Draw a diagram to show how people in your family are linked.
Find out where people in your family (including grandparents) were born and attach photos or labels to these places on a world, Australian or regional map.
Discuss your findings.
Find out the jobs that these family members do or have done.
Create a class definition of the word 'family' for display in the classroom.
Read Our Grandparents: A Global Album by Maya Ajmera, Sheila Kinkade and Cynthia Pon.
Discuss:
- Who are the family members in the story?
- What special characteristics do they have?
- What interests you about this story?
- How is the family similar or different to your family?
Other picturebooks about grandparents may also be useful: Our Granny by Margaret Wild; Grandpa and Thomas by Pamela Allen; and Grandmother by Jeannie Baker.
Write a sentence about grandparents.
Share what the word 'family' means to you. Record your response orally using a digital device or create a Wordle about family.
Students examine the different roles carried out by family members around the world.
Preparation
- collection of images below that show the different jobs carried out by family members
- A Day in the Life of Lucy World Vision film clip
- access to the internet
Watch the A Day in the Life of Lucy film clip.
List/draw the jobs that Lucy did to help her family.
List/draw the jobs that Lucy's mother did to help her family.
Discuss what your mother/father does and the work that is shared.
Create a Venn diagram to show the similarities and differences between the jobs that your family does and Lucy's family does.
Choose an image from the collection of people working.
Describe what work is happening in the photo, why it is happening and who is doing it.
Complete the sentence: This family is …
Invite grandparents to visit the class to discuss the work they did when they were young.
Create a Then and Now T-chart about jobs that were done long ago and jobs that are done now.
Discuss the changes that have happened in your family and what might happen in your family in the future.
Students recognise the importance of family events and the ways in which these are celebrated. They describe personal and family events that have significance within their culture and cultures. Students honour the diversity within these celebrations and family backgrounds.
Preparation
- Collect items that are used in celebrations to create a mystery bag. Examples may include: invitations, candles, red lantern, mask or costume, present, photographs of celebrations.
- images shown in the body of this activity
- picturebooks about celebrations such as What Will You Be, Sara Mee? by Kate Aver Avraham; A New Year's Reunion by Yu Li Qiong; Grandad's Medals by Tracy Duncan; An African Christmas by Ifeoma Onyefulu; Come to the Party Collection (Chinese Festivals, Malay Muslim Festivals, Indian Hindu Festivals) by Suzanne Lauridsen
- Ramadan clip
- Celebrations! by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley
- access to the internet
Play a game such as pass the parcel with the bag of objects.
Share and discuss what you think the item may be used for or where you might see it.
Use questions such as:
- When do you think this item may be used?
- Why might this be important to someone?
- What does this picture tell us?
- Does your family have anything similar to this?
Read a book about celebrations such as What Will You Be, Sara Mee? by Kate Aver Avraham.
Other books about celebrations include: A New Year's Reunion by Yu Li Qiong, Grandad's Medals by Tracy Duncan, An African Christmas by Ifeoma Onyefulu, Come to the Party Collection (Chinese Festivals, Malay Muslim Festivals, Indian Hindu Festivals) by Suzanne Lauridsen.
Examine photos about celebrations and discuss what is happening.
Watch this Ramadan clip.
Brainstorm different types of celebrations that families have: examples are Easter, Ramadan, Anzac Day, birthdays, New Year's Eve, Christmas.
Choose a celebration that you would like to know more about.
Find out where this celebration happens and who celebrates this.
Create a box display of items or images about a particular celebration in your family.
Read Celebrations! by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley.
Role-play different celebrations in small groups.
Complete the sentences:
- A special time in our family was …
- We celebrated by …
- Our next family celebration is ...
Students draw together their learning about families to create a personal plan for the future with their reasoning.
Preparation
- When I Grow Up, I Will Win the Nobel Peace Prize by Isobel Pin
- What the World Wants by Kim Michelle Loft
Read When I Grow Up, I Will Win the Nobel Peace Prize by Isobel Pin.
Discuss questions about the future:
- What job might you do?
- Where might you live?
- What are some things you would like to do in the future?
Use a futures line to outline a possible and probable future.
Read What the World Wants by Kim Michelle Loft.
Create a T-chart about how the world is now and how you would like it to be.
Share your dreams and hopes for the future with a partner.
Write a promise for the future.
Create a short imaginative presentation using multimedia about your promise and its importance to share with the class.
