Everyone is connected to a family in some way, shape or form!  The roles and responsibilities within each family may differ, as do the functions they provide for their members.  So, when teaching about the functions of the family with my senior high classes, I like to engage students with a station activity where they have to figure out how the items at each station relate to one of the functions the family provides. Later, students connect the functions to their own family as they create a family crest.

Set

• Set up stations around the room that connect to the functions the family provides.  I have 10 stations with corresponding items.  See guide sheet below.
• Give each student a ballot and have them circulate through the stations.  Their goal is to try to figure out what family function is being represented at each station.  They have 15-20 minutes to accomplish this mission.
• Discuss their predictions and reasons.

Materials

• Items for Family Function stations (found around my home and The Dollar Store)
• Laptop, Projector & Screen
• Markers, Crayons, Colored, Pencils, Etc.
• Scissors

Activities

• Review the actual family functions via the PPT below and have students take notes.
• I like to give students some practice identifying the family functions before they actually apply them to their own family, so we go through some scenarios and discuss the functions being represented.
• Finally, students will create a Family Function Crest, choosing and illustrating six functions their family’s provide for them.  Students will cut out the crest and they will be hung as part of a bulletin board once they are graded.  Their names and the function categories they chose are written on the back for reference (in case I can’t make out their illustrations).  There are a couple of rules students must adhere to when making their crests:  #1–They may NOT use any words, only symbols. #2–They must be in color.

Attachments

• Family Function Stations (PDF)
• Functions of the Family (PPT)
• Family Functions–Scenarios (PDF)
• Family Functions Crest Activity (PDF)