Kindergarten Fall History — Family, School, Community Helpers, and the First Sense of Past, Present, and Future
Lesson 1 25 min hist.gK.f.lesson_01

Who is in my family? — Launch of the I Wonder chart

Skills targeted
Objectives
  • Students can name at least three members of their own family.
  • Students can generate one wondering ('I wonder if other families have ___?') about other families to put on the class chart.
Vocabulary
familymembermotherfathersisterbrothergrandparentcousinwonder

Lesson plan

Warm-up

5 min

Greeting circle — each child says 'My name is ___ and one person in my family is ___.'

Teacher moves
  • Model first with own family ('I am Ms. Lee and one person in my family is my brother')
  • Validate every family configuration — single parent, two moms, grandma-led, foster — without correction
  • Echo the child's first family-member name back to the class
Media
M-K-F-CUL-01-A Illustration
Reproduction of the Suzanne Lang cover art — multiple animal-family portraits in picture frames arranged in a grid (two-

Reproduction of the Suzanne Lang cover art — multiple animal-family portraits in picture frames arranged in a grid (two-mom owls, single-dad bear, grandparent-led mice, mixed-species adoptive family). Style: bright flat illustration, frame-grid composition, suitable as easel display at 18x24 inches.

Direct instruction

8 min

Today we begin a journey where YOU are the historian. A historian is a person who finds out about people. The first people you'll find out about are the people in your own family. Listen as I read Families, Families, Families! and notice how the families on each page are the same as yours, and how they are different.

Key examples
  • Every family on every page IS A FAMILY.
    model Same as my family in some ways (kids, parents); different in other ways
    prompt Look at this page — a family with two dads and three kids
Checks for understanding
  • Show me on this page one family that looks like yours in any way.
  • Tell your shoulder-partner: name one person in your family.
Sourcework
Source type
picture book as class source
Routine
Class read-aloud -> I notice / I wonder -> chart wonderings
Details
Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang (2015) — used as the unit's first 'class source' about family diversity.

Guided practice

7 min
Tasks
  • In partners, count family members on your fingers and say each name
    scaffold Sentence frame: 'In my family I have ___, ___, and ___.'
  • Place family figurines on the family-tree mat to match your own family
    scaffold Figurines come in many skin-tones, ages, and include mobility-aids; teacher kneels beside child to confirm choices
Media
M-K-F-CUL-01-B Manipulative Physical / non-image

24-piece wooden figurine set: 8 adult-tone variations, 8 child-tone variations, 4 elder figures, 2 wheelchair-using figures, 2 cane-using figures. All figures painted with neutral expressions. Accompanied by 12x18-inch felt mat with three concentric ovals labeled 'in my house' / 'in my family' / 'in my extended family'.

Formative assessment

2 min
Exit ticket
  • Point to one person on your family-figurine mat and tell me one thing about them.
scoring Names a person + one fact = mastery snapshot; names a person only = practicing; cannot name = re-teach next session with smaller group

Closure

Moves
  • Add one wondering to the I-Wonder chart ('I wonder if every family eats dinner together?')
  • Preview: tomorrow we'll meet the family photo as a source
Media
M-K-F-CUL-01-C Chart
36x48-inch chart paper, headed 'WE WONDER...' in 4-inch sans-serif letters. Student wonderings added in marker as the te

36x48-inch chart paper, headed 'WE WONDER...' in 4-inch sans-serif letters. Student wonderings added in marker as the term progresses, each with the child's name. Permanent wall display from week 1 through week 18.

Homework

5 min
Tasks
  • Bring in one family photograph for tomorrow's lesson. Caregivers: any photo of any family member counts — recent or older.

Exercises in this lesson

hist.gK.f.cul.family_structures.ex_01
Place family figurines on the family-tree mat to match the people in your family. Then say who each one is.
 manipulative place and describe · diff 1

Differentiation

Scaffolds
  • Picture choice cards if a child cannot name family members verbally
  • Pre-conferral with caregiver of any child whose family situation may be sensitive (foster, recent loss)
  • Sentence frame: 'In my family I have ___.'
Extensions
  • Draw a family portrait with labels for each person (stretches into Grade-1 NCSS expectation)
  • Generate THREE wonderings instead of one
English Learners
  • Bilingual family-vocabulary picture cards
  • Allow naming in home language with English echo by teacher
Ieps 504s
  • Provide pre-selected family photo if home-photo not returned
  • Allow pointing instead of naming
  • Extended time

Teacher notes

First-week tone-setting matters more than content mastery. The single most important moment: every family configuration named is met with the same warm affirmation. Pre-conferral with caregivers in week zero identifies foster/recent-loss/incarceration/deportation cases so the lesson never traps a child. The I-Wonder chart is the spine of the entire term — keep it visible, add to it weekly, and revisit wonderings as they are answered.