Tag: Family

Time Management Lesson

Time is an amazing thing! We all have equal amounts of it! It’s something we all need, however, we all view it and use it differently! Is your personal and family time balanced or is it a hot mess? This Time Management Lesson explores a variety of concepts associated with time management, culminating in an engaging family planning exercise that will have your students thinking critically as they organize life events for a family!

Family Strengths: Game Night

Family Strengths: Game Night is a great way to teach your students about components that make up a strong family!  Not only does it get the entire class involved, but it’s a lot of fun! While many students may have grown up with a night set aside for games, many  don’t get this opportunity for “community” in their own homes so this exposes them to it as well as a variety of board games that have them communicating, collaborating, thinking, practicing patience and good sportsmanship among others.  It’s also a great lesson to do around the holidays as it is a pretty low prep lesson on your part, but engaging enough to keep students interested.

Relationship Videos

Movies and movie clips can be a great way to add and increase interest to a lesson or topic. Jeff Brown, of Colorado, teaches a Psychology of Relationships
course (any many others) at Rampart High School and has an amazing collection of Relationship Videos that he has created for that class.  He is graciously sharing his video collection with us, along with his websites which are chocked full of materials for various content areas.  So, if you’ve been struggling to add more interest and engagement to your relationship lessons, you are definitely going to want to check these out!

Inflation & The Family

Inflation! It’s everywhere, all at once, affecting everyone! The lessons and activities found in this “Inflation & The Family” post will help students understand the impact of it on a variety of families. Additionally, students will explore ways that families can fight inflation.

Family Life Cycle Stages & Case Study

If you teach about the family, you no doubt include a few lessons or a unit on the family life cycle. In my class, I focus on each stage and do an in depth study around each stage. However, I have to introduce the stages of the theory and have done so in a variety of ways. Normally, I do an iron chef intro, but this year, due to a smaller class, I had to create a different strategy. I will include both versions in this Family Life Cycle Stages & Case Study post.

Families in Children’s Books

Many years ago Carol Erwin, of Nebraska, shared an activity with me that gave students the chance to analyze the work of the family. Students enjoy reading  about different families in children’s books as they complete a series of prompts. It’s important for children to see how families interact and be able to recognize and relate to different family structures, stages of the family life cycle, and family functions. So if you have access to a variety of children’s books about families or a local library, you may want to grab some books and check this lesson out.

Family Life Cycle Collage Project

In the past, I shared a technology based project titled, “Family Life Cycle: Prezi Project”. The project required students to create a Prezi to introduce their assigned stage of the family life cycle. I totally used that project until I didn’t! Why? My students are unable to create Prezi’s on their iPads; they can only view them. Because of this little snafu, I’ve had my students create hand generated collages around their assigned family life cycle stage, using their iPads to research the information. When students were finished, they displayed them in order on my wall like a train, and I must admit they looked pretty darn impressive!

Pop-Up Family Structures

I’m finding that my students do better when they have a good balance of “hands-on” activities mixed with technology. So, in this feature you will find my version of a “pop-up” style activity that revolves around the family structures. Students work in small groups to complete a “pop-up” of their assigned family structure, incorporating additional information. The “pop-ups” are then displayed and students participate in a gallery walk to learn more about each of the unique family structures.  See below for more details!

Family Definition Media Activity

Many years ago, I was given a definition while taking a graduate course about the family.  Through the years, I have often used it as a poster project lead-in to my family unit.  However, since going 1:1, I decided to try this assignment a new way, using technology…aka iMovie!  While I’m not an expert with this app, my students are and they were eager to assist their peers when necessary.  I even surprised myself by creating a YouTube channel so I could share a couple of student samples with you!  Not a 1:1 school or have access to technology–no worries!  I’ve included my original poster assignment (see attachments), which by the way could be easily modified for the differentiated classroom. I loved seeing how each student interpreted the family definition and how unique and diverse each movie was…just like families!

Activities for Teaching the Family Functions

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.