PRIMARY PROJECT 1

My Family Tree
In a Nutshell
Every family is different. Pupils should appreciate and respect each other’s families and be more open-minded about
different types of families. They will need to do some research on their family structure, collect some pictures of their
relatives and explain to their classmates who they are. Later, they will work in groups to arrange the photos to make
their own family tree and present it to the rest of the class.

RESEARCH WORK IN PRESENTATION

GROUPS

LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Family: relationship between family members.
• Plan and make their family tree.
• Know the names of different family members in English.
BASIC COMPETENCIES
• Listen to and understand simple instructions and classroom routines in English given by the teacher.
• Identify and acknowledge cultural differences appreciating various features of identity which contribute to tolerance
and integration.
• Use ICT as an effective self-learning tool for foreign languages.
HOME-SCHOOL CONNECTION
School-Home: The teacher will ask families to talk to their children so that they have a clear picture of their family
structure. A list of questions will be provided for pupils to ask their family members: How old are you? Which is your
best childhood memory? What is your best friend’s name? What is your favourite food? Etc.
Home-School: Families will provide pupils with the information they need to make their family tree, as well as
photographs of each of the family members that will be included in the family tree. Each pupil will need to know at least
three different anecdotes which involve childhood memories from some of their family members. Grandparents usually
have lots of them!

Timing: 2 h 30 min
Session 2:
Session 1: 15 min Weekend Session 3: 45 min Session 4: 45 min
15 min + 30 min
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5
Introduction Research Planning Creating Presentation

Materials
• Photographs of family members
• A3 coloured cardboard
• Pencils and crayons
• Scissors
• Glue

© Cambridge University Press 2018 1 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL

PRIMARY PROJECT 1

Stage 1: Introduction (15 min)

Do we know all the members of our family? Can we clearly explain who each member of our family is?
Each person has their own family and each family is completely different. The size of the family or the relationship
between family members may vary, but all family structures can be represented through a family tree.

Would your pupils like to make their own family tree? Are they sure they really know the members of their family?
Write on the board some vocabulary items for your pupils to have in mind when communicating. You can also print the
last page of this project and hand it out to your pupils.
Ask them questions to find out what they know about their family members:
• What are your parents called?
• Have you got any brothers or sisters? Are they older or younger than you? How old are they?
• Do you have any aunts or uncles? And cousins?
• Do you know the name of your grandparents?
• Do you know what a family tree is?

© Cambridge University Press 2018 2 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL

PRIMARY PROJECT 1

Then, explain the following stages of the project:

WORK IN
RESEARCH PRESENTATION
GROUPS
(Look for (Show the
(Organize the
information) information)
information)

Stage 2: Research (over the weekend)

Ask your pupils to do some research on their relatives and their degree of kinship, with the help of their families. Ask them
to bring different photos of themselves into the classroom, passport-sized, if possible, of their closest relatives: parents,
siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. Even their pet can be included!
Moreover, if they can record a short video of a Sunday lunch, or any other family event, it would be fun for the rest of the
class. The family members should say in English ‘I’m ___’s Mum’, ‘I’m ___’s little sister’, etc. If all the family members
cannot appear in the video, the family tree will provide the rest of the information. You can also consider the idea of
creating a PowerPoint presentation and include a link to the videos.
At the end of the project, the family will have to help the child to complete an evaluation about their involvement in the
project.

Stage 3: Planning (15 min)

Put pupils in groups of four or five and tell them that they must work together to do the following:
• Show the photos of their relatives they have brought into the classroom, explaining to their classmates who each
one is.
• You will describe an example of a family tree. If possible, you could explain your own family tree to make it more
motivating or interesting to pupils.
• In each group, they will have to think how they can arrange the photos of each family. Another option is that pupils
may present someone else’s family tree to make the project even more collaborative.
• You can give them some ideas and examples so that each group agrees on which format suits them best in order to
present their own family tree. (Have a look at the Digital Tip section for more information.)
• Choose the materials and colours they want to use to make their own family tree and work on each tree individually.

© Cambridge University Press 2018 3 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL

PRIMARY PROJECT 1

Stage 4: Creating (75 min: two sessions of 30 and 45 minutes, respectively)

Pupils will work in groups to create their own family tree:
• Explain to them that they must agree on how to arrange the family trees and the materials to be used. At the end of
this document, there are some common phrases and expressions for pupils to use when communicating.
• Make them realize that they must include all members of their family. Everyone is important!
• Remind them they must present their family in an orderly manner: brothers and sisters, parents, uncles and aunts
and cousins, grandparents, etc. Do not forget pets, if they have them!
• They can also create small cards with basic information: picture, name, age, birthplace, favourite food, any
interesting details, etc.
Give them ten minutes to make plans, and then stop by their tables so that you can explain the directions in further
detail, or help them with any problems. During the rest of the two sessions, watch what is happening at the tables and
supervise their work.
With the last ten minutes of the final session, tell them to plan the next stage (Presentation). Explain the rules for this:
1. Each team will present the family trees for ten minutes: each pupil for two minutes (including the video).
2. Each member of the group should participate.
3. There will be one or two minutes for questions from the audience.

Stage 5: Presentation (45 min)

A few days before presenting My family tree, place the projects in a visible area in the classroom. If pupils have recorded
a homemade video, you will be in charge of collecting all the videos and show them to the rest of the class before or after
each presentation.
The day of the presentation tell each team to remember the rules of presenting, and that they must manage their time.
Remind pupils to enjoy the good work they have done and congratulate them on how they have become great historians
of their own family!

© Cambridge University Press 2018 4 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL

PRIMARY PROJECT 1

Digital Tip
You can look for ideas of family trees on Pinterest – there are plenty of creative examples.
In addition, you can play videos to work on the concept of a family tree and the vocabulary for family members. Type
´Family members song for children´ on YouTube. When choosing resources, take into account what type of families pupils
have got in order to explain the different types of families there are and cater for diversity.
Families can show their children homemade videos or photographs of members of their family in different situations.
Families should work on the vocabulary for relatives asking them questions like: Who is it? Is it your brother or sister? Is
it your mother (mum) or father (dad)? Is it your grandmother or grandfather? Point out that the word cousin can be both
feminine and masculine.

Emotional Tip
Since this project provides a very motivating situation, emotions will play a key role in this collaborative work. Each pupil
will be able to explain to their friends what their family is like and even show them photos. Family is a very useful context
to work on emotions. Ask: Who do you like spending your holidays with? Who takes you and picks you up from school?
Do you prefer to play alone or with your family? Do you get angry with your parents? Why?
From the photographs, pupils can try and identify other people’s emotions. Ask: Who is happy? Is there anyone sad? Is
there anyone surprised?
The Research stage helps pupils to work on life and well-being competency, focusing on the importance of feeling and
enjoying being part of their family.

Evaluation
This project consists of three different types of evaluation with user-friendly methods for pupils and families.
The first part of the evaluation has a point system of 1 to 4 where pupils can take responsibility for their own learning and
become more autonomous. The objective of pupil self-evaluation is to provide opportunities to reflect on their work, what
they did well and how they can further improve, with the goal of enhancing the learning process and leading to a feeling
of fulfilment.
The aim of the first graph requires pupils to rate their families’ involvement in the project by colouring the graph. Pupils
will be helped by their families who will rate the work, input and attitude shown at home. With this creative system of
evaluation, families have direct communication with their child’s learning process.
In a similar way, with the teacher’s help, the group will evaluate the input of all the members’ contribution who have
participated in the project. In general, pupils tend to colour all the areas in only one colour. The important thing is that
through these goals pupils gain a sense of their own work and that of their classmates.

© Cambridge University Press 2018 5 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL

PRIMARY PROJECT 1

PUPIL’S NAME: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PROJECT: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Self-Evaluation
- +
Evaluation Criteria 1 2 3 4

Have I tried to be original?

Have I discovered anything new about my family?
Have I organized my time well?
Have I organized the space well to stick on the photos?
Have I clearly explained to my classmates what my family is like?
Have I made any mistakes?

Family Evaluation

We like doing We have enjoyed

research together as talking about the
a family. members of our
1 2 3 4 family.

We have found the photos

we needed.

Group Evaluation

We have taken turns We all contributed

when speaking. as team members.
1 2 3 4

It was easy for us to agree.

© Cambridge University Press 2018 6 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL

 PRIMARY PROJECT 1

Key Vocabulary

mother (mum) ���������������������������������������������������

father (dad) ���������������������������������������������������
sister
���������������������������������������������������
brother
���������������������������������������������������
grandmother
���������������������������������������������������
grandfather
���������������������������������������������������
aunt
���������������������������������������������������
uncle
���������������������������������������������������
niece
���������������������������������������������������
nephew
���������������������������������������������������
cousin
���������������������������������������������������
family tree ���������������������������������������������������
married to ���������������������������������������������������
divorced from ���������������������������������������������������
separated
���������������������������������������������������
partner
���������������������������������������������������
stepmother
���������������������������������������������������
stepfather
���������������������������������������������������
stepsister
���������������������������������������������������
stepbrother
���������������������������������������������������
pet
���������������������������������������������������

Useful Expressions

Let me introduce you to my family. This is my …

Who goes first? Who’s next?
It’s my turn.
We have to agree.
I agree / disagree.
How much time have we got?
We have … minutes left.
Who does this task?

© Cambridge University Press 2018 7 PHOTOCOPIABLE MATERIAL