Teaching and learning plan - Environmental Science

Objectives
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This chapter will enable the students to:
• name various relationships between family members

• recognize the similarities between the family members

• describe the responsibilities of each member in a family and

• identify the custom and traditions in their family

Teaching Aids
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1. Photos/pictures of different family members.
2. Family photos from albums, magazines, newspapers.
3. Chart showing the family tree mentioning great grandfather/mother to great grandson/daughter.
4. Pictures showing the different families involved in different professions.

Introduction
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From time immemorial, people have lived in groups. When people within a group are related to each
other then the group was called a family.
So, some of interesting questions that come to our mind are:
a. What is a family?

b. Why do people live in a family?

c. When did people start living with families?

d. Can we live without our family?

e. Do any organisms live in families other than humans?

In India, people learn the essential themes of cultural life within the bosom of a family. The beauty about
the Indian culture lies in its age-long prevailing tradition of the joint family system. It's a system under
which even extended members of a family like one's parents, children, the children's spouses and their
offspring, etc. live together. The elder-most, usually the male member is the head in the joint Indian family
system that makes all important decisions and rules, whereas other family members abide by it dutifully
with full respect. The basic structure of the family has changed very much throughout the years. Diversity
is present in every individual and in every family. Children and adults need to understand and learn to
respect and tolerate this diversity. We have to understand about the world we live in and the people
around us. Understanding about different family will build a respect for those who come from a different
background than themselves. A family is a place where people care for us; we share our feelings no
matter if it is joy or sorrow. Our family is a place to cry, to laugh, to vent frustration, to ask for help and
tease, and yell, to be kissed and hugged and loved.

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 Teaching and learning plan - Environmental Science

Fascinating Facts
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1. In a survey it was found that children and babies made 33 per cent of people smile, followed by
family and friends (28 per cent), pets and animals (22 per cent), nature (8 per cent), while money
only made 6 per cent of people smile. .

2. The basic units of society are the patrilineal family unit that is the family includes relatives though the
male line.

3. To replace children, childless families usually have pets instead.

4. Tribes such as Mundas and Nagas do not permit marriage between persons from the same village.

5. The rule of residence generally followed in India is patrilocal (After marriage the bride moves to
groom's house).

6. In rural areas in Japan sometimes a whole village is one large extended family.

Teaching Plan
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What teacher can do?

a) Strategies:
• Begin the session by having a general discussion with the students on their family members and
the terms of address in their native language.

• Ask the students to list the family members. Name the youngest and the eldest family member
and also write the number of male and female members in the family.

• By discussing with the students family duties like cooking , shopping, decision making and
breadwinning we can get a clear picture about the family members and their responsibilities.

• Ask individual students about the special customs and traditions in their families.

• Find out whether the students feel happy to stay together with their grandparents, aunts and
cousins or they love staying separate.

• Explain how they learn to share their happiness and thoughts, help each other and respect each
other while staying with other family members.

b) Class Activities:
Involve the students in some 'Group' as well as 'Pair and Share' activities:
Group Activities (Role Play): Play a game of family, where different students will play different roles of
the family members like father, mother, grandmother, grand father, son daughter, etc and try to
understand the relationship and responsibilities.

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Pair and Share: Pair of students can discuss and explore the custom and traditions of their families.
Field Trip: Students can observe different families with different family professions in a society or colony
around them where they live.

Reinforcement
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A) Fill in the blanks:
1. M __ T __ E __
2. F __ T __ E __
3. S __ S __ E __
4. B __ O T __ E R
5. U __ C L __
B) Whom do you resemble in your family?
C) Who gets you ready for school?
D) If you are suffering from fever, then who takes you to the doctor?
E) Who is the head of your family?
F) Do you remove your footwear before entering your house?
G) Are there any other customs followed in your home?

Answers to Reinforcement
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A) 1. M O T H E R
2. F A T H E R
3. S I S T E R
4. B R O T H E R
5. U N C L E
B) (Answer will vary from student to student.)
C) (Answer will vary from student to student.)
D) (Answer will vary from student to student.)
E) (Answer may vary from student to student basing upon the family type.)
F) Yes, we do remove footwear before entering our house.
G) (Answer may vary from students to students.)

Activity
1. Draw and label their family tree or one which is fictitious or historical.
2. Round-the-class survey on names and numbers of family members.
3. Make a great collage by cutting out pictures of family members and gluing them to poster board.

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Questions for Evaluation

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1. What do you call these relations in your family:
a) Your father's sister
b) Your mother's mother
c) Your uncle's daughter
d) Your uncle's son
2. How do you resemble your family members?
3. How do we enjoy with our family?
4. What are good manners?
5. Give an example of being a responsible child.
6. How do you help your mother?
7. Whom should we respect?

Answers to Questions for Evaluation

!
1. a) Aunt
b) Grand Mother
c) Cousin
d) Cousin
2. (This answer will vary from students to students on the basis of similarities in face, eye, nose, talking
style, behavior, etc.)
3. We enjoy with our family by going to picnic or for a movie, talking, dancing, and sharing our joys and
sadness.
4. Good manners are those manners with kindness and warm courtesy to others. Greeting the guest is
one of the good manners.
5. Taking care of the younger sister or brother is an example of being a responsible child.
6. You can help your mother by cutting vegetables, keeping the house clean.
7. We should respect our elders and also show love and care to young folks so that they learn good
manners.

Frequently Asked Questions

!

1. Who are uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces?

2. Why do people live in a family?
3. Can we live without our family?
4. Does any organism live in a family other than humans?

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

!
1. Uncle: Father's brother, mother's brother, father's sister's husband, mother's sister's husband; Aunt :
Father's sister, mother's sister, father's brother's wife, mother's brother's wife; Nephew : sister's son,
brother's son, wife's brother's son, wife's sister's son, husband's brother's son, husband's sister's son;
Niece : Sister's daughter, brother's daughter, wife's brother's daughter, wife's sister's daughter, husband's
brother's daughter, husband's sister's daughter.

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2. People live with their family so that they can get help from their family members, when they are sad or
happy they can share their feelings. If they are ill, they can get care from their family members.
3. We can live without our family when we are mature and independent.
4. Yes, other organisms also live in family as human do. For example a tiger lives with a tigress and their
cubs.

Misconceptions and Exceptions

!
1. A father's involvement is important for the well-being of a child.
Fact: While it would be a seemingly obvious proposition to most of us, that fathers' consistent and
substantial involvement in child care would benefit the child, this appears to have not been well
established. The relationship between father's involvement and children's well-being seems to be
mediated by a number of other conditions that involve the father, the mother, and the child. In other
words, increased father's involvement does not automatically result in improved child outcomes.
2. Only Human live with their family.
Fact: Human is not the only to live with family, other organisms also do live with their family, as like a lion
lives with a lioness and with their cubs.
3. Father is the bread winner of the family.
Fact: That was a saying of the past, in today's world it is very common to find both parents working to
share the economic burdens of running a home.

Exceptions
For most of the Hindus, their first or personal names are names adopted from the names of their gods,
goddesses, spirits, or sages. These names may be derived also from the virtues, functions, and forms of
these gods, goddesses, spirits, or sages. However, there are exceptions to this general rule, especially
among the Tamils and several other communities, Hindus trace their naming legacy mostly from the
ancient realm of literature that includes the Vedas and the Puranas. Therefore, most names are religion-
based. It is also true that most family names and last names are taken from various family professions,
perhaps followed originally by the families.

Real-Life Applications
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1. Study of tracing of family pedigrees is known as genealogy. This is helpful in creating a family tree.
2. The study about a family will reveal who is related to whom and trace the personal histories of the
individuals involved.
3. Children will understand that people learn the essential themes of cultural life within the bosom of a
family.
4. It will help them to appreciate and understand their families.
5. Create awareness about the various cultures prevalent in India.

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Challenging Problems
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1. Your grandfather's portrait,
I call him ___; my grandfather is my _____'s father. My grandfather's real name is__, My grandfather likes
to__, My grandfather lives in___, My grandfather is very good at ___, I like it when my grandfather ___,
My grandfather and I like to ___, My grandfather is great because ___.
2. When did people have started living with families?
3. What made them to live in families?
(Let the student to explore this part.

Activities
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1. Draw a picture of your mother and write about her.
2. Pupils interview each other about their families, in pairs.
3. Pupils work in pairs, each pupil having different information about the same family. They find out the
missing information by asking each other question.

Summary
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1. We call different family members by different names on the basis of our relationship with them, like
father, mother, brother, sister, grandfather, grand sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, niece, nephew, etc.

2. Among our family members we may find similarities in face, eyes, nose, talking style, behavior, etc.

3. We enjoy with our family by doing fun activities together.

4. Taking care of the younger sister or brother is an example of being a responsible child.

5. We have to help our parents in household work.

6. Good manners are those manners which show kindness and warm courtesy to others. Greeting the
guests is one of the good manners.

7. We should respect our elders.

References
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1. Kids and Grandparents: An Activity Book by Ann Love and Jane Drave.
2. Happiness in the family by Lopatina A. & Screbtsova M.
3. Love Is a Family by Roma Downey, illus. by Justine Gasquet
4. Environmental studies -Looking Around-Textbook for class III.

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