This lesson is the second in the series “Family Tapestry [1].” One goal of these lessons is to help students recognize and accept differences among themselves and within the larger community. Another is to recognize how each student’s unique family contributes to a richer society. As students begin to understand themselves better, learning opportunities will likely emerge to explore biases and prejudices. In this lesson, students explore how their family’s ethnic and cultural journey contributes to their lives and to their community.
This lesson is the second in the series “Family Tapestry [1].”
Framework
The Census Bureau projects that by the year
2042, the U.S. majority population will become a minority, as non-Hispanic
whites will then make up just under half of the U.S. population. As the United
States becomes more and more culturally and ethnically diverse, with growing
percentages of African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and other minority groups,
schools have become more diverse too. In fact, schools are actually more
diverse than the nation as a whole. No doubt students will need to learn how to
interact in a diverse environment for success while they are in school and once
they leave. One way to help students learn about, experience, and appreciate
different cultures and their contributions to society is through a study of
family cultural journeys. After all, everyone has a family and everyone’s
family has a story to tell. Our cultural histories can help teach us who we
are, connecting us to a heritage and identity handed down across generations.
It can also help to teach students about the unique contributions that every
culture brings to a community.
Family stories, in particular, can be a relevant resource for historical research that provides a uniquely personal insight into our past. As students trace their family’s journey, they can see where they came from, learn how traditions affect their lives, and consider which elements of that cultural history they would like to pass on. It’s important to note that each family’s retention of ethnic traditions may be as unique as their country of origin. Some families may continue to follow their ethnic traditions while others may not. And some students, including adopted or foster children, may not be comfortable sharing their personal history, may not have access to their birth family’s history, or may feel they must “choose” between their birth and adoptive families in deciding whose stories to tell. Rather than single out reluctant students, give all students the choice of sharing the journey of anyone who cares about them. After all, everyone in a community helps to shape our identity, and this may provide an equally interesting opportunity to share a story nobody knows!
Additional Resources
Examining Identity and Assimilation [2] Students examine identity and assimilation with an activity that asks the
essential question: Was there ever a part of your identity you had to hide?
Exploring Community History and Cultural Influence [3] In this activity, students identify aspects of culture that influence their own behavior and sometimes make it difficult to understand the behavior of other people.
What Makes a Family? [4] Students use the 2010 Census to explore family diversity and the different ways to define a family. They also research the experiences of Michael Oher, a professional football player for the Baltimore Ravens, who scrambled for survival without a family.
Objectives
Activities will help students:
Essential Questions
Glossary
ancestor [an-ses-ter]
(noun) a person from whom one is descended
culture [kuhl-cher]
(noun)
the behaviors and beliefs of a certain social, ethnic or age group
diversity [dih-vur-si-tee]
(noun) variety, differences
family [fam-uh-lee, fam-lee]
(noun)
a group of people going through the world together, often adults and the
children they care for
historian [hi-stawr-ee-uhn]
(noun)
an expert in past time periods
location [loh-kay-shuhn]
(noun) a place of settlement, activity or residence
unique
[yoo-neek]
(adjective) having no like or equal
Materials
Activities
(Note: Before beginning the lesson, address any special concerns that families with adopted children and those living in foster care may have about the activity. You may want to call parents or guardians in advance to find out whether the activity raises sensitive issues with their child. Encourage parents or guardians to be involved with children completing the activity. For example, adopted children may want to include both sets of parents, or solely the adoptive parents or the biological parents.
On the day before the lesson, ask students to find out the name of the city/country where they were born and the name of a city/country where a grandparent, great-grandparent, other relative or an important adult in their lives was born outside of the United States. You may have some students in your class who are adopted, undocumented or living in foster homes. Instead of singling any students out, you may want to remind all students that they can choose someone who is not related but who makes a special contribution to their lives. Before students enter the room, hang a large world map in a central location and place a pushpin over the city/location of your school.)
Extension
Imagine that a family
member 50 years from now is trying to learn about you. You can put five objects
into a time capsule that will tell that person what is important to you and
what family traditions are important to you. Write a list of the five objects
and explain how each one would help them understand your part in your family’s
cultural journey.
Standards
Activities and
embedded assessments address the following standards from McREL 4th
edition [8] and Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts [9].
Language Arts
Standard 4. Gathers and uses information for research purposes.
Standard 5. Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process.
Standard 6. Uses skills and strategies to read a variety of literary texts.
Standard 8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes.
Grades K-4 History
Topic 1 - Living and Working Together in Families and Communities, Now and Long Ago
1. Understands family life now and in the past, and family life in various places long ago.
Topic 4- The History of Peoples of Many Cultures Around the World
5. Understands the causes and nature of movements of large groups of people into and within the United States, now and long ago.
Civics
Standard 9. Understands the importance of Americans sharing and supporting
certain values, beliefs, and principles of American constitutional democracy.
Level II [Grades 3 to 5]
1. Understands how Americans are united by the values, principles, and beliefs
they share rather than by ethnicity, race, religion, class, language, gender,
or national origin.
5. Knows some of the costs of diversity (e.g.,
people sometimes discriminate unfairly against others on the basis of age,
religious beliefs, race, or disability; members of different groups sometimes
misunderstand each other and conflicts subsequently arise).
6. Knows conflicts that are caused by diversity (e.g., unfair discrimination on
the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, language, and gender; alienation of one
group from another; efforts to impose beliefs and customs on others).
Standard 11. Understands the role of diversity in American life and the importance of shared values, political beliefs, and civic beliefs in an increasingly diverse American society.
Life Skills: Working With Others
Standard 1. Contributes to the overall effort of a group.
Standard 3. Works well with diverse individuals and in diverse situations.
Standard 4. Displays effective interpersonal communication skills.
Life Skills: Self-Regulation
Standard 2. Performs self-appraisal.
Standard 5. Maintains a healthy self-concept.
Family/Consumer Sciences
Standard 1: Understand the family as the basic unit of society.
Standard 2: Understand the impact of the family on the well-being of individuals and society.
Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts
Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration
Standard 1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations
and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Standard 3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard 4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that
listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development,
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Standard 6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Writing
Text Types and Purposes
Standard 1. Writes arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive
topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Links:
[1] http://www.tolerance.org/activity/family-tapestry
[2] http://www.tolerance.org/activity/examining-identity-and-assimilation
[3] http://www.tolerance.org/activity/exploring-community-history-and-cultural
[4] http://www.tolerance.org/activity/what-makes-family
[5] http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-24-fall-2003/out-shadows
[6] http://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/family interview k-2.pdf
[7] http://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/family interview 3-5.pdf
[8] http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp
[9] http://www.corestandards.org