Unit 9

Me and my family

Find out who is in your family, what each person does, and draw your own family tree.

1. Read

   Who is in my family?

   Tara has a big question for her class: "Who is in your family?"

   Tara goes first. "My mum Priya is a bus driver. My dad Sunil bakes bread. My little brother Dev likes to draw. My grandma Leela tells the best stories, and my grandpa Hari grows tomatoes on the balcony. My aunt Rita comes on Sundays and fixes everything that is broken."

   That is Tara's family. Everyone in it has a name, and everyone does something for the others.

   Families are not all the same

   Look at these families.

   

   Some children live with a mother and a father. Some live with one parent. Some live with grandparents, or an aunt and uncle, or two mums, or two dads. Some children are adopted or have foster parents who look after them. Some families are big, with cousins in the same house. Some are small.

   Every one of these is a real family. What makes a family is not how many people it has or who they are. A family is people who care for each other and look after each other.

   What do people in a family do?

   People in a family do jobs for each other:

   • Someone cooks and someone washes up.
   • Someone goes to work or to the field to earn money for food.
   • Someone helps with homework or tells a bedtime story.
   • Someone looks after a baby or a person who is ill.

   Children do jobs too! You can lay the table, water the plants or put your toys away. A family works best when people share the jobs and say thank you.

   A family is a small community

   A community is a group of people who live or work together and help each other. Your class is a community. Your street is a community. Your family is the smallest community of all. In a family you share food, share a home, keep each other safe, and sometimes you have to take turns!

   A family tree

   A family tree is a drawing that shows who is in a family and how they are joined.

   

   Read it from the top. The oldest people are at the top. The line between two grown-ups joins a couple. The lines going down go to their children.

   Example. In the tree, Grandmother and Grandfather have 2 children: the aunt and the father. The father and mother have 2 children: "me" and my brother. So my father's mother is my grandmother, and my father's sister is my aunt.

   A tree can also have a mother's side, with more grandparents, aunts and uncles. Yours may have more boxes, or fewer.

   Try it: Draw yourself in a box. Draw the people you live with next to you. Then add the people you love who live far away.

   Mistakes to avoid

   • "A real family has a mum, a dad and children." Not true. Families come in many shapes, and each one is a real family.
   • "Family means only the people in my house." Family can also include people who live far away, like a grandmother in another town.

   For the grown-up helping

   Let your child decide who goes on the tree. Some children have lost a family member, live between two homes, or have someone in their life who is not related by blood but is family to them; all of that belongs. Avoid saying any family shape is "normal" or "not normal". Ask "What does this person like to do with you?" so the child describes each person by what they do and what they mean to the child, not only by a title.

2. Activity

   My family tree

   Your child draws their own family tree and tells you one thing each person does. About 25 minutes.

   You'll need

   • A big sheet of paper
   • Pencils or crayons
   • Photos of family members, if you have them (optional)
   • Scissors and glue (optional, adult handles the scissors)

   Steps

   1. Ask your child to draw themselves in a box in the middle of the bottom of the paper and write their name.
   2. Ask "Who is in your family?" Let your child choose. Draw one box for each person they name, with their name and, if they like, a drawing or photo.
   3. Place the oldest people (grandparents, or whoever your child thinks of as the oldest) towards the top and the youngest near the bottom. Join people with lines. A line between two grown-ups joins a couple. Lines going down join them to their children.
   4. Point to each box and ask "What does this person do? What do you like to do with them?" Write down one short sentence under each box in your child's own words.
   5. Ask "Is your family the same as your friend's family? What is the same? What is different?" Listen. Do not say any family is better or normal.
   6. Put the tree where your child can see it. Add a person, a pet or a new baby any time.

   Safety

   • Adult cuts any photos with scissors; keep scissors away from young children.
   • Some children have lost someone, or live in two homes. Let your child choose who goes on the tree and who goes where; do not insist on a particular shape.

   🔒 Keeping a log of the activity is for registered learners. Register to do this.

3. Quick check

   Family check

   Look at the family tree of Tara's family. Then answer.

   1. 1.How many people are in Tara's family tree?

      

      Answer with a number

   2. 2.Who is Tara's brother?

      
      • Dev
      • Rita
      • Sunil

      Choose one

   3. 3.Rita is the sister of Tara's father, Sunil. What is Rita to Tara?

      • Her aunt
      • Her grandmother
      • Her cousin

      Choose one

   4. 4.Match each person to who they are to Tara.

      • Sunil
      • Priya
      • Hari

      Match each to: Tara's grandfather · Tara's father · Tara's mother

   5. 5.Put these people in order, from the top of the tree to the bottom.

      • Sunil
      • Leela
      • Tara

      Put these in order

   6. 6.Which sentence is true?

      • Every family has the same people in it.
      • Families can be different, and each one is still a family.
      • A family must have exactly two grown-ups.

      Choose one

   7. 7.Which of these are things people in a family do for each other?

      • Cook food and share it
      • Share the jobs at home
      • Look after someone who is ill
      • Never help each other

      Choose all that apply

   🔒 Answering and checking are for registered learners. Register to do this.

4. Quick check

   New puzzles

   Families show up in new places. Can you use what you know?

   1. 1.Imran lives with his grandmother, his uncle and two cousins. Is that a family?

      • Yes. People who care for each other are a family.
      • No. A family needs a mother and a father.

      Choose one

   2. 2.Mia has one older brother and one baby sister. How many children are in Mia's family?

      Answer with a number

   3. 3.Ana's mother's mother is who to Ana?

      • Her grandmother
      • Her aunt
      • Her sister

      Choose one

   4. 4.Complete the sentence: Your father's brother is your ___.

      Answer with a word or phrase

   5. 5.Kofi's family takes turns to wash the dishes. Why is that a good idea?

      • The work gets done and nobody has to do it all alone.
      • One person should always do all the jobs.
      • Dishes do not matter.

      Choose one

   🔒 Answering and checking are for registered learners. Register to do this.

5. Activity

   Tell it back

   Your child explains, in their own words, what a family is and what people in it do. Three minutes.

   Steps

   1. Ask "What is a family?" Let your child answer in their own words.
   2. Ask "Is your family the same as your friend's family? Is theirs still a family?"
   3. Ask "What do people in a family do for each other?" Write down what your child says.

   🔒 Keeping a log of the activity is for registered learners. Register to do this.