Families Around the World

Teacher: Sara Kohandel

Grade: Kindergarten
Subject: Social Studies
Duration: 25-30 minutes

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA SOCIAL STUDIES PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General Learning Outcomes:

K.2 – I Belong: Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the characteristics and interests that
unite members of communities and groups.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

K.2.4 – Examine the characteristics and interests that bring people together in exploring and reflecting upon the
following questions for inquiry: What might we share with people in other groups? Does everyone belong to a group
or community?
K.2.3 – appreciate how their participation in their communities affects their sense of belonging: demonstrate respect
for the diverse ways individuals cooperate, work, and play together.

TEACHING QUALITY STANDARDS

TQS 3 – Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge: This lesson will address specific learning outcomes in
the kindergarten social studies program of study to reflect purposeful understanding of belonging to a home and the
diverse ways in which a home can be represented. This lesson scaffolds onto the prior knowledge of students since
they have been talking about family configurations and diversity.
TQS 4 – this lesson promotes inclusion within the student body because of the diversity of home represented.
Students from diverse ethnic backgrounds can relate to the wide array of homes represented in this lesson. This
lesson also gives students the chance to share things that are unique in their home.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

- Identify differences between homes in different parts of the world

- Point out unique features of their home that may be reflective of cultural differences
- Being to understand that their last name is linked to unique features about their home and family

MATERIALS AND SOURCES

- Families Around the World website

- Computer
- Smart board
- Large scale house layout
- World map

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

For this lesson, students will draw on their prior knowledge of…

- Their discussion on how unique a family can be based on the book A Family is a Family is a Family and
Families
- Their drawings about their family and their responsibility in the house
 ACTIVITIES
DIFFERENTIATIONS

Since this activity is not executed individually, there will not be any differentiations made for individual work. The
use of visual aids will aid students that are ELL.

Lesson
The teacher will ask students to make their way to the floor to begin the lesson. The teacher will activate the
background knowledge of students by reminding them about the book A Family is a Family is a Family and Families

- By referring to previous readings, the teacher will remind students that families come in all 8 minutes
sizes and configurations (without using this confusing language). Families can look all the
same or different.
- “If families can look different, does that mean that houses can also look different? Does
my house look like O’s house? Does A’s house look like H’s house? No, why do they look
different? – the students should understand that our houses look different because we are all
different people. “Do we all do the exact same things when we go home? Are our families
the exact same? We all have families and that is something that’s the same about us, but
our families are unique. If are born in Canada we might celebrate Canadian culture. If we
are born in Thailand we might celebrate Thai culture. If we are born in Indonesia we
might celebrate Indonesian culture”
- “Around this time of year what do we decorate our houses with? – students should answer
that we put up Christmas decorations. “Does everyone celebrate Christmas? No, not
everyone does. Some of our friends don’t and neither does Ms. K. I still like to spend time
with my family but Christmas isn’t a part of my culture.
- Here the teacher will introduce the word culture. The students will slowly repeat the word and
the teacher will ask if anyone knows what the word culture means. The teacher will explain that
culture has to do with where you are from or where you are born. Our culture shows us the
things that we celebrate, the foods that we eat, and it can also show us what our home will look
like. “So if someone is from a different culture than you, does it make sense that their
house will look different?”

After this discussion the teacher will pull up ‘Families Around the World’ on the smart board to show students the
different homes that exist in different cultures

- “We are going to look at the different houses of different cultures. Are all these houses 5-8
going to look the same? Why do you think they are going to look different?” minutes
- This is a family in Mongolia *the teacher will show Mongolia on a map so students can situate
themselves in relation to the new countries being introduced*. The teacher will introduce their
last name, Batsuuri and explain that we can sometimes learn what culture someone is by
looking at their last name. Not all families in Mongolia live in a house like this but some do if
it’s a part of their culture. This family lives in a house like a tent.
- “Is this family’s house very big? Do they have different bedrooms and a big kitchen with a
big bathtub? Can this family turn on a tap and have water or do they have to walk far to
get to it? Are they still a family? Do they look happy? They still spend time together and
they eat with one another. Does this house look like a house that any of us live in? No
because in Canada our houses look different because we have a different culture.”
- If there is time the teacher will look at a family in Mali
- “Does this family’s house look the same as the one before? Why is that? They are in a
different country and so they have a different culture. Is the house made from the same
material? Is this like a house that we live in? Do we hang our clothes outside to dry? We
can’t because it’s so cold! We use a washer/dryer or we hang our clothes up inside the
house. Because of the culture in Canada we do some things different! Does that mean that
one is wrong and one is right? No they are different but families still care about each
other in every part of the world”
-
In the last part of the activity the teacher will introduce themselves as an example of how culture influences our
home and our practices

- “Do you remember how every one of those families that we looked at had a unique last 5 minutes
name? Can a last name sometimes tell us where someone is from? And when we know
 where someone is from we know more about their culture. What does their culture tell us
about them?
- “Do you remember how Ms. K said that she doesn’t celebrate Christmas? It’s because
Ms. K has a different culture and we can see that by looking at her last name! The
teacher will show their last name to the students and explain that in Iranian culture we have
two last names and no middle name. Sometimes the last name shows where your family came
from! The teacher will introduce Iran on a map and tell students that like some of our
classmates she was born in a different country and because of that she practices different
holidays and eats different foods and her house looks different. The teacher will show pictures
of a traditional Iranian home.
- A picture of a living room to show tile floors because Iran is hot. “Do we usually have carpet
in houses in Canada? We do because it’s so cold. But somewhere like Iran is a lot hotter
and we have tile floors because they feel nice and cool. Sometimes when the tile gets too
cold we use rugs instead of carpets to keep our feet warm. Sometimes instead of couches
and chairs we sit on the ground with cushions because our culture is different. When we
eat with lots of family members we put a cloth on the ground and eat on the floor instead
of at a table because in our culture we have big family dinners and a table doesn’t have
enough room!”
- The teacher draws personal connections between the lesson’s content and their own
relationship to culture

Closure
The teacher will close the lesson by asking students to share their culture, whether it is Canadian or 10
something different. This is a chance for non-Canadian students to share interesting and unique things minutes
about themselves. The teacher will explain that they like being different, it makes them feel special and
they like the parts of their culture that is unique to them. This lesson will allow students from different
cultural backgrounds to begin appreciating the special aspects of their life. This is a chance for all
students to share something unique or interesting that their family does.
Assessment

This lesson will be assessed formatively. The teacher will note students that are able to participate during
discussions, both throughout the lesson and in the closing activity.