Grade by Grade
A. Heritage and Identity · Changing Family and Community Traditions

Families and Groups in Our Community

A3About 30 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe different kinds of families.
  • I can name some groups in my community.
  • I can name groups I belong to.
  • I can give an example of a tradition that a group has.

Words to know

extended family
Relatives beyond parents and children, like grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
blended family
A family where a parent and their children join with another parent and their children, so there may be step-parents, stepbrothers or stepsisters.
group
People who come together because they share something, like a language, a faith, a culture, a sport or a hobby.
culture
A group's way of life: their language, food, stories, music, art, clothing, beliefs and celebrations.
place of worship
A building where people of a faith gather to pray or worship, like a church, mosque, synagogue, temple or gurdwara.

Who is in your family?

Sam lives with his mom and his little sister.

Priya lives with her mom, her dad, her grandma, her grandpa and her baby cousin.

Noah lives with his two dads.

Lily lives with her grandparents. Her mom lives in another city and they video call every night.

All of these are families! A family is people who love and take care of each other.

Kind of familyWho might be in it
Two-parent familytwo parents (a mom and a dad, two moms or two dads) and their children
One-parent familyone parent and their children
Extended familygrandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins living together or close by
Blended familya parent and children join with a step-parent, maybe with stepbrothers or stepsisters
Adoptive familyparents who adopted a child to be part of their family forever
Foster familygrown-ups who care for a child who needs a safe home for a while
Grandparents raising grandchildrengrandparents who take care of their grandchildren
There are many kinds of families. Some families are a mix of these.
👨‍👩‍👧👩‍👦👨‍👨‍👦👩‍👩‍👧‍👦👵🧒
Families come in many shapes and sizes. What makes a family is love and care, not the number of people.

All families are real families

No kind of family is "better" or more "normal" than another. When we talk about families, we use kind words and we never say someone's family is wrong or weird.

Groups in our community

You belong to a family, but you also belong to other groups. A group is people who come together because they share something.

  • Cultural groups share a culture, like a language, foods, music and celebrations. (Examples: a Filipino cultural association, a Ukrainian dance group, a Somali community centre.)
  • Faith groups share a religion and meet at a place of worship: a church, mosque, synagogue, temple or gurdwara.
  • Language groups share a language. Ontario has a large French-speaking (francophone) community.
  • School groups: your class, a choir, a reading club.
  • Sports and activity groups: a hockey team, Scouts or Guides, a swimming class.

Many groups have their own traditions!

A long table full of dishes from many cultures, such as dumplings, samosas, flatbread, rice and fruit, at a community potluck with people in the background.
At a community potluck, people from many groups share foods from their cultures. Which of these foods have you tried? AI-generated image
GroupA tradition this group might have
A hockey teamshaking hands with the other team at the end of every game
A schoola winter concert every December
Franco-Ontarians (French-speaking Ontarians)raising the green and white Franco-Ontarian flag on September 25, Franco-Ontarian Day
A mosque community during Ramadansharing a meal together after sunset, called an iftar
A Ukrainian dance groupdancing at a festival every summer
Groups and some of their traditions
Worked example

Example: Let's name Liam's groups

Liam lives with his mom and his grandma. He plays on a hockey team on Saturdays. On Sundays he goes to church with his grandma and sings in the children's choir. At school he is in Ms. Ahmed's Grade 2 class.

What kind of family does Liam have? What groups does he belong to?

  1. Family: Liam lives with his mom (a parent) and his grandma (extended family). So it is a one-parent family that includes extended family.
  2. Sports group: his hockey team.
  3. Faith group: his church, and the children's choir there.
  4. School group: Ms. Ahmed's Grade 2 class.
  5. Each group may have traditions. Example: the hockey team shakes hands after every game.

Liam belongs to his family, a hockey team, a church and its choir, and his class. That's a lot of groups!

family:Mom and Grandmahockey team(Saturdays)Ms. Ahmed'sGrade 2 classchurch and itschildren's choirLiam
Liam belongs to many groups at the same time. You can make a map like this for yourself!
Hands-on activity

My groups circle

You need: paper and crayons.

  1. Draw yourself in the middle of the page.
  2. Draw circles all around you. In each circle, write or draw one group you belong to: your family, your class, a team, a club, a place of worship, a cultural or language group.
  3. In each circle, add one tradition that group has (like a song you sing, a game you play, or a special day).
  4. Ask a grown-up: "What groups did you belong to when you were 7?"

Talk about it: "Which group has a tradition you really like?"

Imagine this

If every group you belong to gave you a badge (your class, your team, your club, your choir...), your jacket might jingle when you walk!

Your turn

1

What makes a group of people a family?

2

Name three kinds of families.

3

What is an extended family?

4

Name two groups you belong to.

5

What is a place of worship? Name one.

6

Give an example of a tradition a school might have.

7

True or false: A family with one parent is a real family.

More practice: warm-up

1

Who could be in an extended family? Name two.

2

Is a hockey team a group? Yes or no?

3

What colours is the Franco-Ontarian flag?

4

Is your class at school a group?

5

Fill in the blank: Families come in many shapes and ______.

More practice: on your own

1

Jada lives with her mom, her stepdad and her stepbrother. What kind of family is this?

2

What does a cultural group share?

3

Why might a mosque community share an iftar meal during Ramadan?

4

A friend says, "Your family is weird because you live with your grandma." What could you say?

5

Can one person belong to many groups? Explain.

Challenge

1

How are a family and a hockey team alike? How are they different?

2

Why do you think groups like a cultural association or a faith group have their own traditions?

3

Think of a group that is not in this lesson. What tradition might it have?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What makes people a family?

2.

Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are part of your...

3.

Which is a place of worship?

4.

A group is people who...

5.

Which sentence is respectful?

6.

Which is a tradition of a group?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: There are many kinds of families, and everyone belongs to several groups (cultural, faith, language, school, sports). Groups have traditions of their own.

How to help at home:

  • Name the groups your family belongs to and talk about their traditions.
  • Read picture books that show many kinds of families.

Be sensitive: some children live in foster care, with one parent, with two moms or two dads, in blended families or with grandparents. Let your child define who is in their family. If your child says something unkind about another family, gently correct it: "That's their family, and all families are real families."

Common difficulties: children may think "group" means only a club. Help them see that a class, a faith community or a cultural community is also a group.