Connected+and+Respected+-+Lesson+12+Culture+of+the+Family

**Submitted/Created By:** Leah Mullenbach Grade 3 (Adapted from Connected and respected Lesson 12)

**Standards:**

3C Student demonstrates an awareness of cultural issues and a respect for human dignity and differences. (I care about and respect the individual differences of others.)

4A Student uses positive communication and social skills to interact effectively with others. (I will interact well with others.)

**When Taught:** 4th quarter, This followed an intensive study of the Native groups of Alaska which is part of the 3rd grade social studies curriculum so the kids had some background in the aspects of culture.

**Materials:** Sticker Picture of Kids- extras from school pictures (optional) Large White Paper Family Origins Worksheet

**Time:** 5- 30 minutes sessions to finish project

**Goal:** Help students recognize some aspects of their own unique family culture, identify similarities and differences amongst the class and share positive elements of their family life with teammates.

**Lesson Steps: -**Throughout the 3rd grade social studies curriculum, we study the culture of the Native Alaskans focusing on art, traditions, beliefs, food, housing, clothing and transportation. -We also discussed how, though there are many shared elements, each member of these groups is unique and may think different things and live in different ways. -We began this lesson by discussing that like these Native groups, our families have unique and interesting cultures and we were going to share with our teammates four interesting details about our family. -The categories are as follows: traditions, origins, food and activities. -We started with food. In a talking circle, I had each child share a special food in their family. After talking about the food and why it is special, we folded the white piece of paper into 4s and labeled one box, “food”. The student wrote a couple sentences about what food they chose and why and drew a small picture of the food. -Each session, we repeated this process of sharing in a talking circle and then adding our information onto a box on our paper. <span class="custom_bold">-For origins, we had to do a little homework. Students took the attached paper home and interviewed parents to find out where members of their families were born. (Students filled in whomever they considered family to allow for grandparents, aunts, uncles, foster parents, etc. as many of our families are non-traditional.) <span class="custom_bold">-They then shared and wrote what they discovered about where they were born as well as the important people in their lives. We found these places on the map in comparison to Alaska. <span class="custom_bold">-When all 4 boxes were filled in, we stuck our picture in the middle and wrote the names of our family members around it. <span class="custom_bold">-The fifth session allowed time for the students to show off their final product and share any extra details (or repeat old ones) in groups of 4 as a round robin discussion.

<span class="custom_bold">**Assessment:** The family culture papers could work as an assessment or an observation as students share information about their family either as a speaker or as a listener.