Drawing Family Portraits to Show Different Family Types
Grade 1 · Social Studies · 45 minutes
Objective
Students will identify and illustrate different types of families in their community to understand family diversity.
Materials
- drawing paper
- crayons or colored pencils
- chart paper
- markers
Hook
Ask students to close their eyes and think about their family at dinner time. Have them open their eyes and turn to a partner to describe who they pictured sitting around the table.
Main Activity
Students draw detailed portraits of their own families, including all the people who live in their homes or are important family members. After completing their family portraits, students walk around the classroom to observe other family drawings and notice similarities and differences. The teacher creates a large chart paper display where students can tape their family portraits while sharing one special thing about their family. Students then work in small groups to draw imaginary families that might be different from their own, such as families with grandparents, single parents, or families with many siblings. The class creates a collaborative mural showing many different types of families living in their community.
Discussion Questions
- What makes someone part of a family?
- How are the families in our class the same and different?
- What are some jobs that family members do to take care of each other?
- Why is it important to have different types of families in our community?
- What would you tell someone who thinks all families should look the same?
Exit Ticket
Draw one way your family is similar to a classmate's family and one way it is different.
Differentiation
Support: Provide pre-drawn house templates where students can add family members, and allow students to dictate descriptions of their families for the teacher to write.
Extension: Have students create a mini-book showing their family doing different activities throughout a typical day, with simple captions describing each scene.
