Families Grow and Change

Overview

In this eighth lesson of Hello, Changes Over Time, students explore how people and family routines can change as time passes. Using teacher-provided examples, photographs, or stories, students discuss past and present changes, then create a “My Family Then and Now” drawing or oral response. Family structures and privacy are respected throughout.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Notice that people grow, learn, and change over time.
• Compare one “before” example with one “now” example.
• Listen and respond to classmates’ ideas about families and routines.
• Share one family or personal change through drawing, speaking, dictation, or writing.

Success criteria

• I can name or show something that was different before.
• I can describe one change in a family member, routine, or myself.
• I can use the words “before” and “now.”
• I can listen respectfully when others share.

Curriculum links

• Determine the central ideas or information in a teacher-read story or example and give an accurate summary.
• Identify key steps or stages in a process related to social studies, such as how people grow and routines change.
• Integrate visual information from photographs, drawings, or slides with information from spoken text.
• Ask and answer questions, participate in collaborative conversations, and describe familiar people, places, and events.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Carpet routine and hook. Display a striking “before and now” image, such as a small child’s shoe beside a larger shoe, using the opening before-and-now image. Teacher says, “What changed? What stayed the same?” and models sitting, looking, and listening. Students silently notice, then turn to a partner and share one idea.

2. 4–10 min · Teacher model and read-aloud. Teacher presents two or three respectful examples through the family change examples: a baby learning to walk, a child learning to read, and a family changing a bedtime or meal routine. Read a short teacher-created story, or describe the examples aloud. Pause to ask, “What happened before? What is happening now?” Students identify the central idea: people and routines can grow and change over time. Avoid suggesting that all families change in the same way.

3. 10–15 min · Guided discussion. Teacher displays the discussion prompts and establishes the response routine: eyes on the speaker, quiet hands, and one voice at a time. Ask: “How might a family routine change?” “What can a person learn to do?” “What is one thing that may stay the same?” Students share with a partner first, then volunteers contribute. Students may use a classroom example, a fictional family, or a personal example; no child is required to disclose private information.

4. 15–24 min · Then-and-now response. Distribute the My Family Then and Now drawing sheet. Teacher models a simple response: “Before, I needed help putting on my coat. Now, I can do more by myself.” Students draw two pictures labeled “Before” and “Now,” showing a family member, a routine, or themselves. They may dictate a sentence to an adult, copy a sentence frame, or record an oral response. Circulate and ask, “What changed?” and “How do you know it is before or now?” Use the activity directions and sentence frames as a visual reminder.

5. 24–28 min · Partner sharing. Teacher reviews respectful listening and displays the sharing and listening prompts. Students share their drawing or oral response with a partner using one of these frames: “Before…, now….” or “My picture shows a change in….” Partners respond, “I heard that…” or ask, “What changed?” Students who prefer privacy may share only with the teacher or keep their work private.

6. 28–30 min · Plenary and exit check. Teacher returns to the final recap and asks students to complete the sentence orally: “People change because they grow, learn, or…” Invite two or three responses. For an individual check, ask each student to point to the “Before” and “Now” parts of the worksheet and name one change, or dictate it to the teacher.

Resources

• the Families Grow and Change slide deck
• the My Family Then and Now drawing sheet
• Teacher-created before-and-now photographs or picture examples
• Short teacher-created family-change story
• Crayons, pencils, and clipboards or writing boards
• Carpet spots or clearly marked sitting spaces
• Optional privacy folder or quiet work area

Assessment

• Listen during partner and whole-group discussion for accurate use of “before,” “now,” “change,” “grow,” and “learn.”
• Confer with students during drawing, asking them to explain how their two pictures are different.
• Use the final oral check and worksheet to determine whether each student can recognize a past example and describe one family or personal change.

Differentiation

• Provide the sentence frames “Before…, now…,” “I used to…, now I…,” and “The routine changed because….” Pair each frame with simple picture cues.
• Offer fictional or classroom examples, such as changing from learning to sit at the carpet to sitting independently, for students who do not want to discuss family life.
• Accept drawing, pointing, gesture, dictation, one-word labels, or an oral recording instead of independent writing. Scribe students’ words without correcting their ideas.
• Use short directions, model each transition, provide a visual timer, and seat students where they can see the teacher. Rehearse carpet and partner-listening behaviors before discussion.
• For multilingual learners, preview “before,” “now,” “grow,” “learn,” and “change” with gestures and visuals; allow home-language discussion or bilingual support where available.
• Respect varied family structures, including foster, adoptive, blended, multigenerational, and chosen families. Never require students to identify a specific family member or share a photograph.