Family Tree

Overview

Lesson 3 of 6 focuses on connecting past and present through students’ family stories, traditions, and simple evidence from home. This builds on earlier parts of “If The World Was A Village” by moving from “ourselves now” to “our families then and now”.

Learning intentions

• Year 0: Students will explore who is in their family and share one family tradition from the past or present.
• Year 1: Students will identify family members and share similarities/differences between past and present family routines or traditions.
• Year 2: Students will create a simple family tree and explain how one tradition or custom has changed or stayed the same over time.

Success criteria

• I can tell who is in my family and show it in a family tree drawing.
• I can share one tradition or custom (now and/or then) using pictures or words.
• I can listen to others and ask a kind question about their family tradition.
• I can point to one way my family is the same as, and one way it is different from, another family’s traditions.

Curriculum links

• Social Sciences: develop understanding of family and community relationships, and how people’s lives and roles change over time.
• History (inquiry approach): use simple sources (family stories, photos, objects) and make sense of the past.
• Key competencies: Thinking (asking and answering questions), Relating to others (sharing and listening), Participating and contributing (valuing classmates’ stories).

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and rules. Teacher greets students and reminds them of kind listening and sharing (no pressure to share personal details). Students sit in a circle and repeat the class sharing routine.

2. 5–12 min · Story hook (“Then and Now”). Teacher reads a short teacher-prepared narrative about a family tradition (eg birthdays, kai time, karakia, Sunday meals) showing “then” and “now”. Students do a thumbs-up/down or show a picture card to answer: “Is this from the past or present?”

3. 12–25 min · Mini-lesson: What is a family tree? Teacher shows a large sample family tree template (stick figures or simple shapes) with labels like “me”, “parent”, “grandparent”. Teacher models how to add details using student-friendly time language: “before”, “when I was younger”, “today”. Students practise by drawing a small “me → grown-ups” tree in their workbook.

4. 25–40 min · Create: Family Tree: Past and Present. Teacher circulates, supports and uses prompts appropriate to each year level:

• Year 0: “Who is in your family? Who looks after you?” and “What do you do together?”
• Year 1: “What do you do now?” and “What did you hear about from before?”
• Year 2: “What tradition do you have in your family?” and “Has it changed? How?” Students complete their own family tree using the class template, adding one “past or present” tradition box with a drawing (and 1–3 words if they can).

5. 40–52 min · Pair share: Kind questions. Teacher models sentence starters on the board: “I notice…”, “Tell me more about…”, “That sounds…”, “Is it the same or different now?”. Students pair up and share their family tree, using the question starters.

6. 52–58 min · Whole class share (optional volunteers). Teacher invites 3–5 students to share one tradition. Students respond with one “I learned…” statement using a provided stem.

7. 58–60 min · Exit ticket (quick check). Teacher gives each student an exit card with two icons: “past” and “present”. Students circle/draw one tradition icon and say one sentence to the teacher or write/draw one label (depending on ability).

Resources

• Family tree templates for Year 0–2 (simple to more detailed)
• Coloured pencils, crayons, markers
• Picture prompt cards (family roles, traditions like cooking, celebrations, kapa haka, religious practices, sports days)
• Sentence starter cards for questioning and sharing
• Exit ticket cards with “past/present” icons
• Optional: take-home family prompt sheet for families (no pressure, offer alternatives like “a story you’ve heard”)

Assessment

• Teacher formative checks during creation: prompts about labels and whether students reference “past/present” in a way that matches their level.
• Teacher listens during pair share for understanding of similarities/differences and use of kind question stems.
• Exit ticket: student indicates one tradition and whether it is “now” or “before”, plus a simple teacher-judged confidence marker (e.g., supported/independent).

Differentiation

• Support: provide pre-drawn template options (more blanks for Year 2, more provided boxes for Year 0); use visual supports (past/present icons); offer word banks (family member words, tradition words) and sentence starters.
• Challenge: Year 2 students explain one change or one same-ness using a “because” prompt (eg “It changed because…” / “It stayed the same because…”).
• EAL/SEN: allow drawing-only responses; accept oral responses recorded by the teacher or student dictation; keep language consistent with the icon system and repeated sentence starters.
• Care and inclusion: reassure students they can use “someone who helps me” instead of naming relatives; provide an option to share a general tradition (eg “family meal”) rather than personal details.

Note for next lesson link

Next lesson (Lesson 4) will use students’ family traditions to connect to “people in different places” in our village, building toward broader community similarities and differences.