You are on page 1of 10

Family

Robert K. Kennedy
Rkenned52@utica.edu
Beginning/Youth
Goal: This lesson will provide beginner level students with vocabulary to identify and describe
family members. Students will learn how to talk about their family members in the present tense
as well as proper adjective use to describe them.

Instructional Objectives: At the end of the unit students will be able to use family related
vocabulary. Students will learn how to form level 1 sentences using adjectives. This unit will
focus on all four skill areas.

Time: 60-70 min per lesson

Materials: Handouts, magazines, poster board, markers, glue, over head projector and copies of
handouts for overhead.

What I plan to write on the Board: I will use the board to write class notes and examples of
new vocabulary and grammar.

Prerequisite Skills: These lessons are intended for beginning youth ESL students and will
require a minimal ability to read and write level 1 English sentences and questions.

Class Layout: The layout will start with row seating and change to small group (3 or 4 to a
group) seating and paired seating for the final lessons. Groups will be re-assigned per lesson so
that students will work with a variety of their classmates.

Assessment:
-Entry: Begin with class discussion about what they know about family to gain an idea of where
the class is starting from
-In class and homework: assignments will allow me to see how the class is progressing and any
information that might need to be re-covered. These will also allow me to make changes to the
unit as the class progresses.
-End: Students will write a short essay about their family using assignments to help build their
knowledge of vocabulary and proper grammar use.

Anticipated problems: With any technical issues I will have handouts for every student so I can
just write on the board. If any student is below the ability for this lesson I will have to work extra
with those students to make sure everyone understands the content of the lessons.

Personal Aims: Increase STT, Instruct in a manner appropriate for level 1 students, and gain
better understanding of my class and their backgrounds.
Lesson 1: Vocabulary
Time: 60 min
Materials: Vocabulary handout, family crossword handout and family questions handout.
Presentation (T>S, S>T): Begin class discussion about family. Ask class: What is family? Who
is in your family? I would help students by writing “I have a mother, a father, and a sister.” I
would ask the class what these terms mean and explain them. I would then pass out the family
vocabulary hand out:
son - male of parents
daughter - female of parents
sister - female born of same parents
brother - male born of same parents
husband - male in marriage
wife - female in marriage
father - male parent of children
mother - female parent of children
grandfather - male parent of children's parent
grandmother - female parent of children's parent
great-grandfather - male parent of children's children's parent
great-grandmother - female parent of children's children's parent
uncle - brother of children's parent
aunt - sister of children's parent
niece - daughter of sister or brother
nephew - son of sister or brother
After passing this out, I would go over the definitions with the class and practice pronunciation.
(20 min)

Practice (T>S, S>T): Hand out family vocabulary crossword:

Family
1 2 3 4 5
                     
                               
6
                             
                               
7
                             
8
                             
9 10
                           
                               
11
                             
12
                             
                               
13
                             
ACROSS DOWN

1. male of parents 1. female born of same parents


3. male in marriage 2. daughter of sister or brother
6. female parent of children 4. male born of same parents
7. female of parents 5. male parent of children's parent
8. female in marriage 10. sister of children's parent
9. male parent of children
11. son of sister or brother
12. brother of children's parent
13. female parent of children's
parent
I was able to make this through: www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com (The image did not copy
exactly as it would print)

As a class we would fill in the crosswords together taking time to make sure students understand
vocabulary and pronunciation. (15 min)

Production (T>S, S>T): Hand out family questions sheet:


Fill in questions.
What is your mother’s name?
What is your father’s name?
Do you have any sisters or brothers?
How many sisters do you have? What are their names?
How many brothers do you have? What are their names?
What are your grandmothers’ names?
What are your grandfathers’ names?
Do you have any aunts or uncles? What are their names?
Do you have any nieces or nephews? What are their names?

I would instruct the class to fill out the worksheet to the best of their abilities and if they do not
know the information it is ok to leave that part blank. As the class works on the assignment I
would walk around the class to help students with anything they did not understand. After the
class had completed the worksheet each student would take turns introducing their family to the
rest of the class. I would also have completed a worksheet and go first as an example. I would
use this exercise to assess how well the class understood the vocabulary and whether or not it
would need further review. (25 min)

For homework I would ask that students finish any questions they were unsure of and to bring in
any pictures of family members or family events for a project we will begin to work on.
Lesson 2: Description using adjectives
Time: 60 min
Materials: Words that describe people handout, Find the adjective handout, student’s pictures,
and random magazine photos of celebrities.
Presentation (T>S, S>T): I would start this lesson by asking: What is an adjective? I would listen
to student answers and explain that adjectives are words that are used to describe people, places
and things. I would explain that if we want to describe members of our family we need to use
adjectives. I would then pass out a list of adjectives that describe people:

These words describe a person’s personality:


brave - someone who isn't afraid of danger.
chatty - someone who talks a lot.
clever - good at learning things.
cowardly - someone who is afraid of things.
easy-going - someone who is easy to get along with.
friendly - someone who is nice to other people.
funny - used to describe someone who is amusing.
generous - someone who shares their time or things with others.
grumpy - bad-tempered.
hard-working - someone who works very hard.
honest - someone who is truthful and who doesn't cheat or steal.
kind - someone who behaves in a caring way towards other people.
lazy - an inactive person who avoids work.
loud - someone who talks really loudly.
lucky - someone who often has good fortune.
mean - Someone who is a nasty person
moody - someone who behaves differently every time you meet them.
nasty - a mean, unpleasant person. (the opposite of nice)
neat - a person who is very tidy.
nervous - someone who is easily startled by things.
nice - someone who is friendly and kind. (the opposite of nasty)

These words describe a person’s appearance:


tall – someone who is above average height
short – someone who is below average height
thin – someone who is slim or lean
muscular - someone who has well developed muscles
overweight – someone who has excess weight
hairy – someone who has a greater amount of hair than most
bald – someone who has lost hair on their head
attractive – someone that is pleasant to look at
(These definitons are from: http://www.thefreedictionary.com)
After explaining these adjectives I would write examples on the board of how these are used. I
would also have the class read through the vocabulary to check for pronunciation.
Ex) The bald man has a hairy chest. I would ask the class what are the adjectives in this
sentence? (20 min)

Practice (T>S, S>T): I would then pass out the Find the adjective handout:
Name: ____________________________________________
Adjectives
Circle the adjective in each sentence. Draw a line under the noun it
describes.
Example: John painted a beautiful picture. (Beautiful would be circled and picture would be
underlined)
1. Five turtles climbed on the log.
2. Mr. William's youngest son goes to college.
3. There is a squirrel on our back porch.
4. We sat beneath a shady tree.
5. Sally picked up twebty rocks when she walked by the creek.
6. Have you seen my striped shirt?
7. A sidewalk leads to the front door.
8. The jacket I bought has shallow pockets.
9. Polly fixed the broken bicycle.
10. How does my new shirt look?
11. Jay lives in the largest house on the block.
12. Huge orange trees grow along the street.

I would allow the class to begin working on the assignment and then go over it as a class. I
would ask the class if they could think of any other adjectives, and have students write any they
thought of on the blackboard. (20 min)

Presentation (T>S, S>S): Using the pictures the students brought in I would instruct them to
write four sentences about the person in their picture, using adjectives to describe the physical
appearance of the person or scene. I would then collect all the pictures and pass them out at
random back to the students. One at a time the students will read their sentences and any student
that believes they have the right picture would hold up their picture. I would make the game
more interesting by giving extra points to any student able to successfully describe their picture.
(20 min)

For homework: I would instruct the class to take a magazine picture and write at least six
sentences describing the celebrity. I would suggest that students think about what they wrote
about their pictures and think about things like hair color, body type, and eye color, when writing
their descriptions. I would use this assignment to assess the class’ understanding of adjectives
and how to use them.
Lesson 3: Family Tree
Time: 70 min
Materials: Example family tree (written on board), blank family tree worksheet, Jacks family
passage, magazines, poster board and markers for each student
Seating: This lesson is the beginning of group seating.
Presentation (T>S): I would start by saying that today we are going to make a family tree! I
would explain that a family tree is a diagram that shows how a family is related to one another. I
draw my family tree on the board:
Elizabeth Kennedy + John Kennedy Dorothy Rivers + Mike Rivers
GaryKennedy/ Robert Kennedy + Sheila Rivers
Sarah Suhoki + Mike Suhoki / Kyle Kennedy(me)
(Drawn out this would look a lot better) I would then explain my relation to the other people and
show how the diagram represents that. (15 min)

Practice (T>S, S>S) : I would pass out a blank family tree chart about Jack’s family:

Jack’s
Family
(Resource from: http://bogglesworldesl.com/family_relations.htm) (This diagram did not copy
the pictures.)

I would instruct the class that I am going to hand out a passage describing Jack’s family and
together in their groups they are going to fill out the names on Jack’s family tree.
Passage:
Mike is married to Rose. Mike is bald and is a painter. John is Jane’s husband. John and Jane
both have gray hair. John wears glasses. Darlene is John and Jane’s daughter. Darlene has red
hair. Darlene likes to exercise. Darlene is Eric’s wife. Eric has a brother and a sister. Joe is Eric’s
brother. Joe has long hair and a beard. Marge is Eric’s sister. Marge is married to Barry. Mike
and Rose are the parents of Eric, Joe, and Marge. Sarah has blonde hair. Sarah is married to
Loyd. Loyd is short and bald. Loyd also wears glasses. Jack is married to Jill. Jill is Loyd and
Sara’s daughter.

I would allow 15 mins for the groups to work on the diagrams. During this time I would be
walking around the classroom offering assistance to the groups. We would then fill in the chart
together as a class. As we filled in the chart I would explain why the descriptions fit the
illustrations. (25 min)

Presentation (T>S, S>T, S>S): I would tell the class that now we are going to make our very own
family trees! I would pass out markers to each group and poster board to each student. I would
ask students to include themselves and all their brothers and sisters on one level, their parents
and their aunts and uncles on the next level, and their grandparents on the next level. Students
would then present their family trees and describe one detail about three of their family
members. (30 min)
If time available: Students could decorate each other’s family trees (within their groups) using
pictures from magazines that fit their descriptions of that family member.

Lesson 4: Family dialogues


Time: 60 min
Materials: diologue ideas (enough for each group)
Seating: Groups of four again, but different groups.
Presentation (T>S): I would tell the class that today we are going to create family dialogues.
Each group is going to create a dialogue based on the subject they randomly select.
Subjects:
Family on vacation, family dinner, family meeting, wedding, and family game night. (5 min)

Practice (T>S, S>T): To help the students create their dialogues, as a class, I will lead a
discussion of possible questions each group should answer. I would ask what would you want to
know about a family going on vacation? I would help offer hints such as who in the family is
going? Where are they going? I would brainstorm with the students for each subject. Who is at
dinner? What is your family eating? What is the family meeting about? Is someone in trouble?
Who is getting married? What game is the family playing? I would write any suggestions on the
board in a column under the title of their subject. (15 min)

Production (S>S, S>T, T>S): After creating a sufficient number of questions with the class for
each group I would have each group create a simple dialogue that addresses the topic. I would
ask that each dialogue use at least 6 adjectives to describe the experiences and at least 10 family
vocabulary words. Each student should have at least 4 lines. As the students were creating their
dialogues I would walk around to check on their progress and help check grammar in the
dialogues. Each group would then act out their dialogues. As they were acting out the dialogues I
would remind students to keep in mind the questions on the board. After each group, I would ask
the class the questions on the board, to check that it was understood. (40 min)

If time: If we finished early I would ask students to share any family experiences that they have
had.

Homework: Read: The Shinawatra family is trying to eat healthy meals, but it is difficult. Both
Mr. and Mrs. Shinawatra work all day, and they are tired when they get home. They also have
two young sons who need a lot of attention. Their oldest son is seven years old and the younger
son is nine months old.
It is difficult for the Shinawatras to plan healthy family meals when they have such a busy
schedule. Lately, the family has been eating fast food that Mr. Shinawatra picks up on the way
home from work. This is a bad habit, and the Shinawatras are worried that their children will
develop poor eating habits. They want to start eating healthy homemade meals.
(Story from: http://www.elcivics.com/lifeskills/family-dinner.pdf)

Questions:
The Shinawatras have two daughters. True/False
The Shinawatra family sits home all day. True/False
Recently, the family has been eating fast food. True/False
How old is the oldest child?
How many children do the Shinawatras have?
What are the parents worried the children might develop?
Lesson 5: Listening comprehension
Time: 60 min
Materials: Story and question handout
Seating: rows
Objective: assessment of grammar and vocabulary learned in unit.
Presentation (T>S): In this lesson I will be reading a story about a family trip I took as a kid. I
will ask that the students listen to the story and answer the question sheet to the best of their
ability. I will tell the students that I have an exciting story to tell them about me and my family.

Practice (T>S): I will read the story through twice. The first time I will ask that students write
down any adjectives or family vocabulary that they hear.

Story: When I was young my family took a trip across the United States in an old van. My
mother and father switched driving and we travelled many miles per day. We travelled from NY
to Phoenix, Arizona. It was a long drive. We were going for a wedding. My mom was so excited
to watch her sister get married. My sister and I were not happy to sit in a car for three long days.
It was very hot in Arizona. NY is a very cold state. My sister, aunt, and mom went shopping in a
large mall. I played games with my cousins.
On the way home our van broke down. My father had to walk ten miles to reach a phone to call a
tow truck. It took us five days to get home and I missed a week of school. I did not think I would
have fun, but I had a great time with my family.

I would then ask what adjectives the students heard and what vocabulary terms they heard.

Production: I would pass out the questions handout and read the story through again. I would
collect the questions and then go over them as a class.

Questions:
True/False
The family took a trip to Europe.
They travelled in an old van.
They had no problems getting home.
The reader had an awful time with his family.
The sister went shopping on the trip.

What city did the family travel to?

What was the reason for the trip?

What did the speaker do while everyone was shopping?

How far did the father have to walk when the van broke down?
How much school did the reader miss?

Homework: Final written assessment: Students will write a short essay about the family
members on their family tree. Students should include every person on their tree and describe
what makes that person special to their life.

You might also like