Family trees and family structures - how families look across cultures and time

Calendar Circle + read aloud the first 3 spreads of The Keeping Quilt. Notice the four generations the quilt has crossed. Teacher: 'A family has GENERATIONS. Today we draw a FAMILY TREE.'

• Hold up the quilt-keeping-quilt image; count 4 generations
• Ask: 'How many generations are in YOUR family?'
• Affirm uncertain answers

M-1-F-CIV-04-B Illustration

Reproduction of Patricia Polacco's The Keeping Quilt cover (Simon & Schuster 1988) and the four-generation 'Anna - Anna's daughter - granddaughter - great-granddaughter' inset. Used to model 'a family across four generations.'

M-1-F-CIV-04-C Illustration

Reproduction of selected spreads from Carmen Lomas Garza's Cuadros de Familia / Family Pictures (Children's Book Press 1990) - 'Empanadas,' 'Tamales,' 'Birthday Barbecue,' and 'Beds for Dreaming.' Used to model the one-page family-history book format students will create later in the term.

A FAMILY TREE is a special drawing that shows the GENERATIONS in your family. At the BOTTOM is YOU. Above you are your CAREGIVERS - the grown-ups who love and care for you. Above THEM are THEIR caregivers - your grandparents. And sometimes above THEM, your great-grandparents. Family trees can look MANY ways - some have one caregiver, some have two, some have grandparents in the same home, some have foster or adoptive caregivers, some have a CHOSEN family of close friends.

• Notice - all of these are REAL family trees. The tree shape doesn't matter - the LOVE does.

  model Teacher points to single-parent, two-mom, two-dad, adoptive, multi-generational examples in margin

  prompt Show MG-6 Family Tree Template with diverse-configuration margins
• You can fill in only what you KNOW. Empty leaves are OK.

  model Place own photo at bottom; parent oval above; grandparent ovals above that

  prompt Demo: teacher fills in own family tree at front

• Where on the tree do YOU go?
• Where do your caregivers go?

M-1-F-CIV-04-A Diagram

24x36-inch laminated template with 4 horizontal tiers labeled GREAT-GRANDPARENTS (top, 8 oval slots), GRANDPARENTS (4 oval slots), PARENTS/CAREGIVERS (2 oval slots), and ME (1 oval at bottom with a small mirror inset for child photo). Dotted-line connections. Margins show 6 alternative configurations in faint gray: single-parent, two-mom, two-dad, adoptive, foster, multi-generational household. Caption: 'Family can mean many things. Your tree can look any way that fits YOUR family.'

MG-6 Chart

Mounted on classroom wall at child-eye-height (24-36 inches) with laminated surface for repeated dry-erase use.

• Each child receives MG-6 template; fills in WHAT THEY KNOW about their family. Empty leaves OK.

  scaffold Pre-printed name labels for emergent writers
• Partner-share: name 1 person on your tree and which tier they are

  scaffold Sentence frame 'My ___ is in the ___ tier'

• Point to YOU on your tree. Point to a CAREGIVER. Point to a GRANDPARENT (or empty leaf if you don't know).
• Name one family structure that is DIFFERENT from your own.

• Display family trees on classroom wall (with caregiver permission)
• Preview: tomorrow we hear stories about long ago

• Tonight, ask a caregiver who is on your family tree that you might have missed. Add them tomorrow.