about it

Reading

A NON-TRADITIONAL FAMILY
This is Sarah’s family tree. Read her description below the picture
and discuss:
a. Why is her family non-traditional?
b. How does she feel about having a non-traditional family?
c. How about your family? Is it traditional or non-traditional? Explain.

♥
Saira Rick

♥ ♥ ♥
Bob Anne Claire Tony David Alice

♥
Rose James
Steven Amy & Eve

Sarah

Lisa Marie

Emily
Practice
Classify these words in the right I am Sarah and I have a non-traditional family. My grand-
column. Add two more words to
each group. parents are Saira and Rick. They have different nationalities:
Grandma is Indian and Grandpa is from the United States. They
father sister grandmother uncle son
have two sons, Tony and David, and a daughter, Anne. Tony is my
wife nephew mother brother aunt
niece grandfather husband daughter father, and he is married to my mother, Claire. Uncle David is mar-
ried to Alice. They have one son, Steven, and they recently adopted
two beautiful twin girls, Amy and Eve. Aunt Anne is also married to
Bob and they have a son. My cousin’s name is James, and he lives
a. ____________ a. ____________ with his girlfriend, Rose. From his first marriage, James has a
b. ____________ b. ____________ daughter. Her name is Lisa Marie.
c. ____________ c. ____________
I am also a mom, but I am not married. I am a single
d. ____________ d. ____________
mother. My daughter’s name is Emily, and she is Lisa’s best friend.
e. ____________ e. ____________
I live with my parents in a comfortable, big country house. Our
f. ____________ f. ____________
g. ____________ g. ____________ family is non-traditional, but we are really close to each other.
verbs
adjectives
no
un
s Language
Structure

To express possession in English, you can use Possessive Adjectives

Sara’s Family is big. Her (my, your, his, her, our, your, their) or you can use Saxon Genitive
Family is Non-Traditional (‘s). Compare and discuss the examples below:

I am Emily I am Rose

We are Amy
and Eve

Sarah has a daughter. James has a girlfriend. David and Alice have two children.
Amy and Eve are David and Alice’s
Emily is Sarah’s daughter. Rose is James’s girlfriend. children.
Emily is her daughter. Rose is his girlfriend. Amy and Eve are their children.

2. Complete Emily’s family description with the

Possessive Adjectives appropriate possessive adjectives.
I my I am Ana. My name is Ana. “ I am Emily and _________ mom is Sarah. She is a
loving mother and a great daughter, too. ___________
you your You have a car. Your car is red.
parents are grandpa, Rick and grandma, Saira. Mom’s
he his He has a friend. His friend is nice.
favorite cousin is James. ________ girlfriend, Rose, is a
she her She has a son. Her son is smart. very kind lady. James has a daughter. ________ name
is Lisa Marie and we are best friends. Mom and I love
it its This is my dog. Its name is “Jack”.
spending time together: __________ favorite pastime
we our We own a house. Our house is big. is biking. We live with __________ grandparents in
___________ house in the suburbs. The house is really
you your You have jobs. Your jobs are good.
big, comfortable and we can keep some pets there. We
they their They have a child. Their child is big. have a big German Shepherd dog. _________ name is
Rocky. It’s a great dog...”

1. Choose the best alternative in each
case.
a. This is Bob. His / Your last name is
Jacobs.
b. I have a cat. Her / Its color is black.
c. We are parents. Your / Our children
are twins.
d. The boy is a good student. His / Their
favorite subject is mathematics.
3. How are these people related to you? Write the
proper relationship on the lines like in the model.
grandmother
a. My mother’s mother is my ___________________
b. My mother’s brother is my ______________________
c. My aunt’s son is my ____________________________
d. My sister’s husband is my _______________________
e. My father’s sister is my _________________________

A- Who is she?
Get in pairs. Use Sarah’s family tree B- She is Saira.
in the previous page and ask about A- Is she Claire’s mother?
Interaction people’s different relationships using B- No, She isn’t. She is
possessives like in the conversation: Tony’s mother. Claire is
her daughter-in-law.
A- Oh! I see...
 Listening

Who is that girl?

Do you like looking at family photos? Do you prefer paper or digital

photo albums?
In this conversation, Alice is sharing her family photos with a friend.
Listen to her description and circle the best option in each case.

1. Carol is Alice’s 4. Helen is Alice’s

a. mother a. sister
Socio-culture tip
b. grandmother b. aunt

2. Dug and Irene are Alice’s 5. Gina is Alice’s Responding to conversation:

As an act of courtesy, include
a. grandparents a. cousin expressions to show interest in
b. parents b. daughter what others say like these:

3. Frank is Alice’s 6. Henry is Alice’s - Oh! That sounds interesting...

- Really? Tell me about your
a. brother a. son
brother...
b. uncle b. nephew - Wow, how nice!
Audio source: Jones, L. (2002). Families. On Let’s talk 2 [CD]. Hong Kong: Cambridge -That’s great/fantastic/amazing!
University Press