What Is a Family?

Contributor: Meghan Vestal. Lesson ID: 12025

You may be surrounded by people at school, on a bus or elevator, or in the park. Would you call these people your family? Family is something special with people that are very close!

categories

People and Their Environment

subject
Social Studies
learning style
Visual
personality style
Lion, Beaver
Grade Level
Primary (K-2)
Lesson Type
Dig Deeper

Lesson Plan - Get It!

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  • What do these images have in common?
  • What do they suggest?

 snowflake and a family

  • What do you think of when you hear the word family?
  • Do you have images of your parents?
  • Or maybe you have images of playing with a sibling or pet?

The images that come to your mind probably differ from those that come to mind for someone else. That is because families are unique.

Like a snowflake, each family is different and special.

Your family may include you, your mom, your dad, and your sister. Or maybe you have multiple brothers, a whole bunch of sisters, or a few of each! You may have a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin that lives with you.

Perhaps you call the members of your family something different from what your friends call those same family members.

Think about your best friend. Compare your family to your best friend's family with these questions.

  • How many people are in your family?
  • How many people are in your best friend’s family?
  • What are the names of people in your family (mom, dad, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather, etc.)?
  • What are the names of people in your best friend’s family?
  • How are your families different? How are they the same?

After comparing your families, watch the following video to learn more about what makes a family special.

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  • Can you think of any family members not mentioned in the song?

Families come in all shapes and sizes. In addition to having different numbers of people, some families have pets.

  • Do you think a pet is part of a family? Why or why not?

Sometimes, families live in different places. For example, sometimes, one parent may live in a different place, or a parent might have to go away for a few months if they are in the military.

  • Is a family still a family, even when people are in different locations?

Move to the Got It? section to compare families.

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