Belonging, understanding, and appreciating differences; learning to get along in families and with others.

CONNECTIONS TO MANDATE/MISSION:

Students develop a sense of personal identity as they explore family likenesses and differences from their own home and other parts of the world, and learn how to get along with each other.

CORE CONCEPTS:
 

Change:  how tradition and people change over timeConflict:  how people all over the world abide by rules of conduct and resolve their conflictsCulture:  study of customs and values of families from other cultural groupsInterdependence:  relationships between family membersPerspective:  how people see others and themselvesResponsibility:  how rules affect the way people liveScarcity:  creating a system of living and working that is necessitated by limited resources

During this unit, lesson, or activities, students, individually or in groups:

read or listen to stories about family life through "big books" and trade book literature.make "people" from oak tag patterns with fabric, yarn, etc. to reflect personal characteristics.interview an older member of the family to learn about family traditions and celebrations.make a quilt segment with the family to show a special family custom or celebration and join all the segments to form one large class quilt.bring in favorite family recipes that reflect celebrations; cook and taste different foods from different groups.discuss how a family works together to meet basic needs and extend the discussion to how students can work together in the class or on the playground; make a "big book" of what this might look like.write experience stories.draw pictures of their families, tell about each picture, and make family books.read a "big book" about solving problems or conflicts; have students role-play a problem-solving situation.listen and talk with a guest speaker about customs and traditions, and how there are similarities among groups.

As visitors enter the Kindergarten classroom, they see children working with a volunteer at an art center using various art supplies making cutout people which look like themselves.  The day before, the teacher had read We Are All Different.  The class discussed likenesses and differences within the classroom, and what it would be like if everyone were the same.  Some of the finished "people" can be seen on a bulletin board with the caption "WE ARE ALL ALIKE; WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT; WE ARE ALL FRIENDS."

In the morning, the teacher had read Something from Nothing.  Students shared the keepsakes they had brought from home with the whole class and discussed how "mouse family" made something from nothing.  Now, at computers, some students are working together creating a slide on "Kid Pix" depicting their keepsakes.  The teacher or volunteer has typed the dictated sentence onto the slide for students to illustrate.

On the wall is hanging a "baggie" quilt showing squares students have created at home depicting a special family custom or tradition.  The quilt was created as a follow-up to a speaker sharing traditions with the students.  Students had also read Josephina's Quilt.

Instructions to make a "Baggie Quilt"

LEARNING ASSESSMENTS:

At the conclusion of units, lessons, or activities students might

retell a story that has been read.create and perform a play.compare and contrast different family structures.publish a class big book.draw a picture of where they belong in their family.