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Instructors: Pamela McDonald and Hannah Ragonese

Title/Topic: Family changes across time and cultures

Grade Level & Subject: First and Second grade combined classroom; Social Studies

Name and Location of School: Naubuc Elementary- Glastonbury, CT

Description of Students: Students come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and ability
levels. None of the students are ELL. One second grade student has behavioral and
academic supports. She has a para for math and literature but may need extra
assistance/scaffolding throughout the Social Studies unit. One first grade student has
behavioral accommodations and has a full-time para with him in the classroom. He
occasionally is pulled out of lessons. Two other first grade students are in the process of being
tested to receive extra supports, as they both have behavioral and academic limitations.

Curricular Context: First Grade and Second Grade students have previously learned about
their immediate surroundings (their immediate families and community). They have also
learned about the needs and wants of others around them. They have learned about how to
respect each other and how to follow community rules and societal expectations.

Standards/Frameworks:
HIST 1.1 - Compare life in the past to life in the present
HIST 1.8/2.10 - Generate possible reasons for an event or development in the past
HIST 2.2 - Compare life in the past to life today
HIST 2.3 - individuals and groups who have shaped a significant historical change
Inquiry Frameworks
INQ K-2.1 - Explain why the compelling question is important to the student
INQ K-2.2 - Identify disciplinary ideas associated with a compelling question
INQ K-2.3 - Identify facts and concepts associated with a supporting question
INQ K-2.10 - Construct an argument with reasons
INQ K-2.11 - Construct explanations using correct sequence and relevant information

Compelling Question:
How do families change across time and cultures?

Supporting Questions
How does the community/society change family structure?
How has your individual familys culture changed over time/location?

Compelling Questions addressed:


HIST 1.1 - How do past actions of people in our community still influence our community
today?
HIST 1.8 - Why was each community I belong to formed?

UNIT Content Objectives:


1. Students will be able to provide reasons that support the idea that family structures and
community structures influence each other over time.
2. Students will be able to compare and contrast their own personal lives to the lives of those in
other time periods and other cultures.

UNIT Language Objectives:


1. Students will be able to express an opinion and/or argument using appropriate language.
2. Students will be able to articulate cause and effect, using keywords pertaining to a sequence
of events. Keywords include first, next, then, after, before.
Language Frames
I know ____________ because __________.
As a result of ____________, __________ occurred.

Unit Plan: This unit will span the course of a month (4 weeks). Over that month, lessons will
be conducted on MWF afternoons for an hour each afternoon.

Week 1: Intro to culturally diverse communities and families - Families change across
cultures/location
Day 1 - Introduction: Read Aloud to introduce the concept of diversity between families
BOOK: You and Me Together: Moms, Dads, and Kids Around the World by Barbara Kerley
Discussion - What are some of the things you saw in the book that are similar or different to
what your family does?
Day 2 - Explore the website/App ToucheableEarth - investigate the site and see other cultures
in action
Day 3 - Read aloud
BOOK: Two Mrs. Gibsons by Toyomi Igus
Discuss how families in America incorporate many different cultures into their homes
Week 2: Influence of time/societal change on family structure in America
Day 4 - Introduction: Visualization activity - Show children images of families across time in
America - write down their observations on anchor charts
discussion about how the families seem to be structured differently/how people in the family
have different roles as time progresses
Create a timeline at the top of the whiteboard that will remain there all week of families at
different times in American History
Day 5 - Teacher will identify and instruct reasons why families changed over time
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2015780,00.html
Day 6 - Students will write a short letter or diary entry as if they are a kid in another time in
America - students will use the images on the timeline as a guide for what their role would
have been.
Week 3: Students research their own family history and roots
Day 7 - Introduction: Read aloud activity
BOOK: Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney - Book shows a girl researching her family
roots and putting together a family tree
Activity: Class Brainstorm - create an anchor chart as a whole class of different members of
the family
Day 8 - Begin research on family background and roots using the school library, parent
information, and kid-friendly research databases
Day 9 - Continue research, begin constructing individual family trees.
Week 4: Culminating Events
Day 10- Wrap up of creating family tree and presentation for World Fair.
Day 11- World Fair - students set up their desks around the room with their family tree, photo
album, and some sort of dish/artifact/physical presentation of something from their past
culture.
Day 12 - discussion to connect all the ideas
Read Aloud: The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
Discussion: The students will identify how this family changed across time and culture
How can they relate this to their family changing across time and culture? What did they
notice about their family tree and culture presentations that is different or the same than what
they do now?
Continuation post-unit: Students family trees will be put up as a bulletin board of a Class
Forest. Photo-Albums will be put in a bin in the class library for the rest of the year so
students can continue learning about each others cultures.

LESSON 1, Written by Hannah Ragonese - Week 2 Day 1

Content Objective(s)
1. SWBAT identify different family characteristics between the 1600s and present US.
2. SWBAT describe differences between their families and families in the past.

Language Objective(s)
1. SWBAT use sequential/chronological terms such as before, then, after, now, past.
2. SWBAT use a comparison/contrasting statement using the following language frames:
a. My family is the same as families in the past because __________
b. My family is different from families in the past because __________

Key Vocabulary
Family - people that care for one another and typically live together.
Role - the position that someone takes in a situation

Materials
1. Images of families in the past
2. Flip Chart paper
3. markers
4. whiteboard or pre-made timeline

Learning Activities
Initiation: Visualization Activity (Images are in Appendix 2)
Say: We have been talking about families and how they are different in America
Give the students an opportunity to discuss what they remember about families
in America
Tell the students that we will continue our discussion of family differences
today.
Put up an image of a family from the early 1600s in the US on the board (physical image).
Give students the opportunity to observe the image. Ask the students what they notice about
the picture without giving them any information about it. Write their observations on an anchor
chart
Repeat with images from the Early 1700s, 1800s, 1900s, and today.
State the Content Objectives for the day and put them on the board.
Content Objective: By the end of class today, we will be able to recognize
differences between families over the last 400 years.
Content Objective: By the end of class today, we will be able to explain how our
own families are different from families in the past.
Lesson Development:
Once the students have made observations about the images, place each image in its
respective location on a timeline that is visible for the whole class to see for the rest of the
unit.
Ask the students if there is anything that they notice about the locations of the pictures on the
timeline, and if they have any new observations or ideas about the images (now that they
know they are from different time periods). Add the new ideas to the anchor charts.
Discussion: Ask the students if the people in the images appear to be playing different roles in
the family at different times:
Go through each image one by one and ask: What role does this person
appear to have in the family? Add their observations to the anchor charts.
Discussion: Ask the students if their family is different or the same as any of the families that
they see on the board
Provide the students with the language frames from LO2 at this time.
Closure: Identify that the changing factor between these families is time. Later, we will be
discussing exactly why the structure of families changes over time and students will complete
an activity in which they will write to a family from a different time.

Extension Activity: At their desks, students will individually draw pictures of their immediate
family members. In small groups or in pairs, students will talk about their family members and
what role each member plays in the family. This activity may need modeling. If time permits,
model to the students a drawing of your own family members and their roles (i.e. This is my
mom. She works at a dentist office during the day and cooks for the family every night.)

Next Lesson Assessment Activity: Students will complete a letter or diary entry as if they
were part of a family in any of the other time periods discussed.

Elements of Inquiry:
1. Ask Questions and Plan Inquiry about the world beyond themselves Students will begin
thinking about families outside of their own time period and culture. Students will evaluate and
compare and contrast their own lives to the lives of those in different time periods.
3. Evaluate Sources of Evidence Because students are evaluating visual images, they will
be practicing their critical thinking skills. They will not be given background information about
the images and will therefore need to draw their own conclusions and ideas about the images
that they are seeing.
5. See From Multiple Perspectives Students will view families in other time periods from the
perspectives of those family members.
The teachers aid in inquiry for this lesson by providing the students with only a slight
background. The teachers only facilitate discussion rather than lecturing the students so that
the students create their own perspectives.

LESSON 2, Written by Pam McDonald - Week 3 Day 8

Content Objective(s)
1. SWBAT use effective resources to research their familys and their cultures
background.
2. SWBAT identify differences and similarities between the lives of their ancestors from
history and their own lives today.

Language Objective(s)
1. SWBAT express their opinion on (using evidence from research) how their specific
ancestors shaped how their family is today.
2. SWBAT use a comparison/contrasting statement using the following language frames:
c. My family is the same as the families of my ancestors because __________.
d. My family is different from the families of my ancestors because __________.

Key Vocabulary
Family- people that care for one another and typically live together.
Culture- a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc.
Ancestor- a person who was in someones family in past times
Heritage- the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc. that are part of the history of a group or
nation.

Materials
computers with access to the Internet
non-fiction books on different cultures (depends on the culture of students in class)
graphic organizer (for student note taking) sample graphic organizer at the end of Unit Plan
(Appendix 3)
pen/pencil (for student note taking)

Learning Activities
Initiation: Family Background Research
Explain the assignment to the students and state the learning objectives. Explain that this
project requires research and the use of reliable resources in order to find information. Tell
students that it is necessary for them to take notes as they research and keep track of what
resources they use.
Give students a cheat sheet with suggested online kid-friendly resources that have been
vetted by the teacher. (Appendix 4)
Provide students with a graphic organizer, as well as a list of research criteria, to organize
their thoughts and research. (Appendix 3, Appendix 5)
Optional activity to promote deeper understanding: Have students develop a list of three or so
simple research questions that they could use to guide their research
Optional activity to promote deeper understanding: Model the research process for the whole
class by navigating a website using the Smartboard or a projector and pointing out good
pieces of information. Discuss why the information chosen is important or better (more
relevant) than other information from the website. Have the class generate research questions
together and fill out a sample graphic organizer (using a projector or SmartBoard). Discuss
why research is important and discuss its purposes.
Lesson Development:
Give students around 10 to 15 minutes to gather last-minute resources from the school library
or print articles from the Internet.
Have students use the rest of class time (45 to 50 minutes) to research about their cultures
history.
On the second day of this lesson, give students around 10 minutes to wrap up their research.
For the next 15 minutes, have students use their graphic organizers to compare and contrast
the research of their familys heritage to their current family structure and culture.
Closure:
For the next 15 minutes, have students share their research with each one another.
First, have students get into pairs to share.
Have a few students share with the whole class.
Give students construction paper. For homework, have students complete a poster with main
points from their research as well as similarities and differences between their ancestors
families and their families today.
Have students complete this poster by Day 10 of the unit (allows for the teacher to look it over,
2 days to make edits).

This lesson touched upon the first dimension of inquiry: Ask questions & plan inquiry about the
world beyond themselves. By investigating their culture and their history, students are asking
questions about their background and the past. In this way, they are investigating the world
outside of the immediate bounds of the classroom. In discussing and analyzing different
cultures, this lesson also reflects the second dimension of inquiry: Use disciplinary concepts
and tools. Dimension three is covered through student research (Evaluate sources of
evidence). Dimension four is addressed when students share their findings with each other
(Communicate conclusions and take action). Furthermore, they use their research to create
something bigger: a presentation for people outside of the class to see. The teachers help
students engage in these dimensions of inquiry by encouraging their curiosity and desire to
find out more about their histories. The activities designed for the lesson are all made to
promote deeper student thinking.

Overview of Lessons

This lesson is designed to meet ELLs needs in many ways. Firstly, the visualization activity
supports ELL learning because it presents students with an image, something that lacks words
from the English language. ELL students will be able to hear other native speakers analyze the
picture and, furthermore, can practice their English speaking. The objectives are also clearly
stated, providing ELL students with a guide on what they should be focusing on when learning.
Another way that this lesson is designed to help ELL students is that it contains key vocabulary
that will be reviewed. This vocabulary will provide ELL students with helpful definitions that they
can be ware of throughout the lesson.

The visualization activity will similarly help students who do not speak often and are afraid to
speak up in class. This activity does not have any wrong answers and therefore will
encourage shyer students to speak up. The whole concept of this lesson is designed for all
cultures and sub-groups of students. Each students culture is recognized and validated and
this, therefore, will promote deeper student learning.

Assessment:

Letter or Diary Entry (Unit CO2) The letter or diary entry will be assessed based on the
students ability to present a perspective other than their own. The students writing should
contain accurate information discussed about family structure from the time period they are
writing about.
Rubric for Family Tree/World Fair Presentation (Unit CO1 and CO2)
Emerging Approaching Meets Exceeds
Expectations Expectations Expectations
Accuracy of Family tree does not Family tree Family Tree Family Tree
Family Tree contain accurate family contains a few contains contains family
information/relationship accurate family members
s family members dating back
members and dating back 2 three
immediate generations. generations.
family.
Family tree Family tree
Family tree contains contains labels
contains no labels for for family
labels. family members
members including
including where they
some lived, their
information names, and
about the their
people and relationships.
their lives.
Artifact/dish Artifact/dish is not Artifact/dish is Artifact/dish is Artifact/dish is
present at presentation somewhat relevant to the relevant and
or does not have to do related to the researched representative
with the culture researched culture of the
researched. culture but is (present) but researched
not entirely does not culture from
accurate or represent some time in
representative anything about the past.
. the culture
from the past.
Photo Photo Album does not Photo album Photo album Photo album
Album contain images that are contains few contains some contains many
relevant to family (3-7) pictures (7-10)pictures (10+) pictures
culture across time, or from a limited that depict that depict
is not present at range of time different family different family
presentation. during the styles/activitie styles/activities
cultures s from from different
history. different times times during
during the the cultures
Photo album cultures history.
contains history.
images only Photo Album
from the Photo Album contains both
internet. contains images from
images from the internet
Photo album the internet and images
contains and from the from the actual
pictures with actual family. family.
minimal
captions. Photo album Photo Album
contains contains
pictures with pictures with
some captions captions that
that describe describe depict
the events in the changing
the pictures. culture over
time.
Organizatio All of the materials One of the Two out of All materials
n represent minimal materials (out three of the are put
organization. Items do of three) are materials are together
not have to do with organized, organized, concisely and
each other and are not concise, and concise, and accurately.
clearly labeled. accurate. accurate with Items have
captions. captions and
information
and are put
together
chronologically.

Effort and Participation Selected


Students will be
SIOP assessed
Features throughout the entire unit on their effort
Checklist
Preparation:
and participation during class activities. Strategies [H.O.T. covered in math
_x_ Content objectives methods]:
_x_ Language
Formativeobjectives
Assessments Throughout the unit,_x_ students
Questionswill
& consistently
tasks to promote H.O.T.
be asked if they agree
_x_ Adaptation
or disagreeofwith
content
other students. They will be asked to explain their thoughts and ideas.
Students will be assessed on their ability
Building Background
to compare [tentative,
and contrast theirtofamily
be life
Comprehensible Input [covered in our introduced
through evaluation during class discussions (Unit CO2).in class 9/8:
course]: _x_ Links to Background Experience
_x_ Clear explanation of academic tasks _x_ Links to Past Learning
_x_ Variety of techniques
Unit Notes _x_ Provision of needed background
knowledge
Send a letter home to the parents/guardians of Key
_x_ vocabulary
the students at the beginning of the unit outlining
the lesson objectives and ideals. This letter should ask for guardian permission for the student
to research their culture and family tree. Some families may be sensitive about their history and
therefore would not want their children to look into it. Some children may be adopted or in foster
care and therefore would be sensitive about this topic. This letter should also inform the
guardians that in-home work and research will be occurring. The students will need to find
family photos and will also need to prepare an artifact from their culture for the World Fair at the
end of the unit. Finally, the letter should invite guardians to the world fair.

BACKUP RESEARCH PROJECT - For students who do not receive permission to research
their own background, provide these students with the opportunity to research a culture or area
that interests them. Give these students a list of cultures that are not already represented in the
classroom and allow them to pick from these so that the students can learn about more than
just what is in their own classroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gJYi9V-jtI
Appendix 1 Supplemental Books for Lessons or for Library
Family Pictures - Sandra Cisneros
The Lotus Seed - Sherry Garland
American Girl Doll (Rebecca)
Grandfathers Journey - Allen Say
Children Just Like Me - Kindersley - keep for classroom library
Two Mrs. Gibsons - Toyomi Igus
You and Me Together: Moms, Dads, and Kids Around the World by Barbara Kerley
How My Family Lives in America by Susan Kuklin
Appendix 2 Images for Visualization Activity

1600s

1700s
1800s

1900s
2000s
Appendix 3 Graphic Organizer for Student Research
Appendix 4 Research Resource Cheat Sheet

The following websites are great resources to use when researching your culture and family
background! Feel free to investigate other resources, but remember to choose websites that
have information that will help your research. If you want to use a website not on this list, dont
forget to check it in with the teacher!

Happy researching!!

Time
http://www.timeforkids.com
National Geographic
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com
Yahoo!
https://www.kids.yahoo.com
Fact Monster
http://www.factmonster.com
Library Spot
http://libraryspot.com

Appendix 5 Research Criteria

The source that corresponds to each piece of research is written alongside the research.
Information is taken from at least three different sources.
At least one fact has to do with the cultures history.
At least one fact has to do with the cultures values/traditions.
At least one fact has to do with the cultures native language.
At least one fact has to do with the cultures family system.
At least six facts about the culture have been gathered and approved by the teacher.

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