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1.Who is in my family?
2. Why are families important?
3. What is important about our names, and how does it connect us to our families?

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Colorful illustrations introduce readers to the wide diversity of family structures. The simple text and bright illustrations engage young readers and help them to begin to think about the big concept that all families are different and important.

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The Family Book celebrates the love we feel for our families and all the different varieties they come in. Whether you have two moms or two dads, a big famil...

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In this nonfiction book by Shelley Rotner, ample photographs accompany simple text that will allow students to independently read about many different kinds of families.

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Families by Shelley Rotner, Sheila M. Kelly | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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Celebrate diversity with a picture book for very young children about the many faces of contemporary families. Big or small, similar or different-looking, there are all kinds of families. Some have one...

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This nonfiction book features families from all across the world, showcasing diverse families and their cultures. Readers learn what ties a family together no matter what their family looks like. This book is listed on the EngageNY ELA text suggestions list.

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Families - Ann Morris - Hardcover

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by Ann Morris

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Families

by Ann Morris

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Some children live with their mothers and fathers. Others have stepparents or live with just one parent. Still others live with grandparents or foster parents who chose them specially. But all children all around the world, are part of families--big and small, loving, sharing, and caring for one another.

This look at all kinds of families from all over the world helps young children begin to think about families they belong to, as it gives them a glimpse into the rich variety of world cultures.

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Families - Ann Morris - Hardcover Skip to content by Ann Morris $16.99 Spend $49 and get FREE shipping on HC.com + See More U.S. & International Retailers by Ann Morris We'd love you to buy this book, and hope you find this page convenient in locating a place of purchase.

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Short video helps students understand terms and relationships for different family members. This video will be particularly helpful for ELL students

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Kids vocabulary - Family - family members & tree - Learn English educational video for kids

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Create a family timeline to showcase important dates to your family, such as anniversaries, births, separations, moving, etc. Students will determine what they feel is important to include.

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Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

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Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

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In this fiction story, a young rabbit is in a "competition" with his dad to see who has the most love for the other. This is a sweet story that shows the limitless love between a child and their parent.

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Guess How Much I Love You Padded Board Book by Sam McBratney | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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"Guess how much I love you," says Little Nutbrown Hare. Little Nutbrown Hare shows his daddy how much he loves him: as wide as he can reach and as far as he can hop. But Big Nutbrown Hare, who...

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In this endearing fiction picture book, A little boy is named after his father, but he wants a name unique to him. He struggles with how to tell his dad and find a name that balances his connection to his father and allows him to be his own person. Without asking, his dad knows just what to do!

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A NYPL Best Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A Boston Globe-Horn Book Picture Book Honor Book of the Year Time Top 10 Children's Book of the Year A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year An Amazon Best Children's Book of the Year

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A NYPL Best Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A Boston Globe-Horn Book Picture Book Honor Book of the Year Time Top 10 Children's Book of the Year A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year An Amazon Best Children's Book of the Year

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What's in a name? Students will discuss how names can tie them to their families. Many times, student are made fun of for their names, but students will engage in critical literacy to help guide them to a respect and appreciation for what a name represents for any one individual.

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Author Shelley Rotner talks about her name, including how it's pronounced, some nicknames she is called by her friends and family, and why her name is important to her.

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TeachingBooks.net Audio Name Pronunciation | Shelley Rotner

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Educator Note: This primary source recording gives insight into a book creator and is not directly tied to a specific book. Please preview the resource to ensure that it supports your instructional goals.

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Engagement 2: Create a padlet sharing what your name means

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Engagement 2: Create a padlet sharing what your name means

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Students will research the meaning of their names by asking parents why they chose a name, and looking online at what name means. Students will use this information, and their own ideas on how their feel their name represents their identity to create a post on a class padlet to share the meaning of their name.

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Simple texts and large photographs teach children about family diversity using positive and enthusiastic language. The simple text and large font lends this book to beginning readers.

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In Different Families, beginning readers will learn to celebrate diversity by appreciating the variety of configurations that can make a family.

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Supportive Text 2: Kids Britannica: Family

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Supportive Text 2: Kids Britannica: Family

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As a whole class, students will read this encyclopedia entry that lays out what a family is. Students will engage in inquiry by answering questions such as whether any type of family has been left out, or if the article should remove or add anything they feel is important to say about families.

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Nuclear Family

A nuclear family refers to two or more people who live together. There are many different combinations of a nuclear family. These include a married couple, two parents with their children, one parent with children, a legal guardian and children, or siblings with no parent.

The traditional form of a nuclear family is a husband, a wife, and their children. Other forms of a nuclear family include two men or two women who raise children together. Many children are raised by only one parent, instead of two. When one or both adults bring children to a marriage, a stepfamily is formed. The family that is not related by blood to a child then becomes that child's stepfamily.

Children come into families in different ways. Some children are born into a family. Other children are adopted. Adoption is when a person who is not the child's biological parent is awarded legal parental rights to the child.

A nuclear family can change over the years. These changes happen through divorce, death, or the aging of its members. As children grow into adults, they leave the nuclear family of their parents and siblings and often create nuclear families of their own.

Extended Family

Extended family is a term used to describe people who are related to each other but normally do not live together. These relatives include grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

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Nuclear Family A nuclear family refers to two or more people who live together. There are many different combinations of a nuclear family. These include a married couple, two parents with their children, one parent with children, a legal guardian and children, or siblings with no parent.

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Engagement 3: What is a family Glog post

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Engagement 3: What is a family Glog post

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Students will create a Glog that expresses their ideas and opinions about what makes a family. From these Glogs, students will highlight key words and create a classroom word wall or chart that collects words that describes what a family is. Words will be added to this word wall throughout the unit.

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1. Who do we consider "family?"
2. In what ways are families created?
3. Can you be a family if you don't all look alike?

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The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman 

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The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman 

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From the author of Amazing Grace, Mary Hoffman composes a reference style nonfiction book that showcases diverse families using busy illustrations. Subject matter includes the things families do together that help to define and tie them together as family.

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The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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This fun and fascinating treasury features all kinds of families and their lives together. Each spread showcases one aspect of home life-from houses and holidays, to schools and pets, to feelings and family...

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And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

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And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

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Two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo want to create a family of their own. With no mommy penguin, the penguins have the help of the zoo keepers to get an egg that they care for and eventually raise as their own. This picturebook is based on the true story of penguins Roy and Silo from the Central Park Zoo.

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Find out more about And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, Henry Cole at Simon & Schuster. Read book reviews & excerpts, watch author videos & more.

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Video 1: PBS Kids You, Me, and Community 

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Video 1: PBS Kids You, Me, and Community 

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This short video shows different family members and structures as presented in a catchy song sure to engage students who may be more reluctant readers or have difficulty synthesizing written text.

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This Wonderopolis article helps students think about what makes a family, and to begin considering what is similar and what is unique about a child's family compared to others.

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Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by Tyla. Tyla Wonders, " What makes a family " Thanks for WONDERing with us, Tyla!

How many families do you know? You probably know many members of your closest friends' families. You may also know the families of some of your classmates. You may have also noticed that not all families look the same. But they do have one basic similarity. Families are closely bound by their love and for one another.

Some families have one parent-either a mom or a dad. Some have both a mom and a dad. Others have two moms or two dads. If two parents get divorced and remarry, you may be seeing double. There can be two sets of parents!

Some kids live in families with foster parents. They care for children when their biological parents cannot. Other parents choose to adopt children to love and care for.

When adults get married, one or both of them may already have children. The marriage joins not just two individuals but also two families. Many call these new families "stepfamilies" or "blended" families. They are a new of people who were already part of other families.

In a stepfamily, one parent might be called a stepmother or stepfather. If both parents have children, these children might call each other stepbrothers and stepsisters. In some cases, they might just call each other brothers and sisters instead.

As many of us know, a family isn't to parents and their biological children. The word "family" is a big word. It covers many other types of loving relationships. In many cases, all members of a family don't even live together. Lots of people consider good friends to be part of their family.

Family members are often close. They feel they can on one another for caring and support. A family could include grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, or close friends. What is important is the love or common interests that bind them together.

Regardless of biological relationship , you may be a part of several "families." Your school classmates may be a family to you. Your soccer team may be a family. Your fellow Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts may be a family, too.

How many families are you a part of? What makes each one special? Take some time today to talk with your family members about what makes you a family.

CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.SL.1, CCRA.SL.2, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.7, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2, NCAS.A.1, NCAS.A.2, NCAS.A.3

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Everyone has one, and some people have many of them. Join us in Wonderopolis today for a closer look at the ties that bind us together!

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Engagement 1: Create your family portrait

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Engagement 1: Create your family portrait

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Students will draw a portrait of the people in their families. After drawing their picture, students will have an opportunity to email it to Wonderopolis using the link at the bottom of the "Who Makes Up a Family" supportive text page. Students can also upload their pictures to Voice Thread and create a recording describing their family and why it is special.

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This nonfiction book by the same author as Families presents adoption through several photographs of adopted children and their families. Rotner helps to explain adoption in simple terms, in a text that students can read and understand on their own in independent reading or small groups.

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I'm Adopted! by Shelley Rotner, Sheila M. Kelly | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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Why was I adopted? What was it like where I was born? How did you find me? Children have many questions about adoption. With a perceptive text and dynamic photographs, the creators of this book demystify...

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Stella Brings the Family by Miriam Schiffer

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Stella Brings the Family by Miriam Schiffer

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Heather's class is creating invitations for their mothers to the class's Mother's Day celebration, but Heather only has two fathers. Heather finds a way to address the problem that many children of same gendered parents face when they must find a way to fit in a social structure that caters family structures that have both a mom and a dad

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Stella's class is having a Mother's Day celebration, but what's a girl with two daddies to do? It's not that she doesn't have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night. Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whol

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Quackers is a cat who has always lived with ducks, so he thinks he's a duck. One day, he meets another cat and realizes he's not a duck afterall and decides to try to live with the other cats like him, until he realizes he misses his duck family. Quackers finds a way to be part of both families!

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Quackers by Liz Wong | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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Jumpstart's Read for the Record® selection! A cat who thinks he's a duck? He must be Quackers!! This quirky funny book is about standing out, fitting in, and building a life with room...

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Supportive Text 2: What Does it Mean to be Adopted? Wonderopolis

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Supportive Text 2: What Does it Mean to be Adopted? Wonderopolis

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This article helps children learn what adoption is and ties all families together by asking children to think of what they are thankful for in their own families.

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Can you remember the day you were born? Of course not! None of us can. When we're born, we're too young to understand what's going on around us. Most of us can't remember much more than of our first several years on Earth.

In your earliest years, you rely almost completely upon your family. All of us need people to take care of us when we're young. As we grow, we learn that those people who care for us are our family.

Sometimes, those family members we know and love aren't actually the people who gave birth to us. Many children eventually learn that they were adopted. Do you know anyone who was adopted?

is the process through which a person - the parent - assumes responsibility for a child. requires the biological parents (the ones responsible for the birth of the child) to give up their right to of their child.

There are many reasons why biological parents might give up of their children. Sometimes they are unable to provide for their child, so is a better for the child. , parents may not be able to have a child of their own. allows them to start a family and share their love with a child who needs it.

Once an is , the parent is the parent of the child. There's no difference between an adopted child and one who is born into a biological family.

Although adopted children don't share the same as their parents (they share with their biological parents), they share all the same love and special moments like any other family. Children may not realize they're adopted until their parents decide to tell them. This is a personal decision that by family and the ability of the children to understand.

Specific laws can vary from state to state. Some states allow children to learn the of their biological parents easily. Other states protect this information and it can be very difficult to learn this information.

Some adopted children never learn the of their biological parents. Others learn their identities and may even establish a relationship with their biological parents at some point in time. Each child is different, but it's not unusual for adopted children one day to become curious about their biological . Thanks to the Internet and modern technology, it's much easier for adopted children to search for information about their biological relatives.

Of course, it's not just babies that are adopted. Kids of all ages can be adopted at any time. They can be adopted by a new family or a relative or even a step- or foster-parent . Many families choose to adopt children from other countries, too.

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Can you remember the day you were born? Of course not! None of us can. When we're born, we're too young to understand what's going on around us. Most of us can't remember much more than of our first several years on Earth. In your earliest years, you rely almost completely upon your family.

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Children will use a template of a home in order to create their family "xray." Children will be asked to place family members who they consider to be their core unit inside the home, as well as how their family makes them feel. Outside of the house, they can place extended family members, friends, or community members, and their feelings associated with them.

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Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale by Karen Katz

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Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale by Karen Katz

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Exquisite illustrations in this realistic fiction picturebook take us on the journey of a couple who go overseas to adopt the baby they have been waiting for. Readers get to share in the excitement of the new addition to the family.

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g

BUY THE BOOK

Trade Paperback

$9.99

Square Fish

Square Fish

ISBN: 9780805067071
32 Pages, Ages 4-8

An affirming story about international adoption, based on the author's own experience with her daughter.

A magical, reassuring story of one adoptive family's beginnings, told in words and pictures that are just right for the youngest child.

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Reviews

Praise for Over the Moon

"Both text and pictures are suffused with anticipation and joyful welcome at the baby's arrival." - Kirkus Reviews, pointer

"An ebullient tribute for families whose members may have come from a faraway place." - Publishers Weekly

"Katz's exuberance is contagious, bursting forth to make this as sunny as a warm summer day." - Booklist

Reviews from Goodreads

Karen Katz; illustrations by Karen Katz

Karen Katz has written and illustrated many books for children, including The Colors of Us, Can You Say Peace, My First Ramadan, Counting Kisses and Where is Baby's Belly Button. Long inspired by folk art from around the world, she was inspired to write Over the Moon, her first book, when she and her husband adopted their daughter from Guatemala, and she wanted to tell the story of welcoming Lena into their lives. Katz loves to paint and experiment with texture, color, collage and pattern. Besides an author and illustrator, she has been a costume designer, quilt maker, fabric artist and graphic designer. Katz and her family divide their time between New York City and Saugerties, New York.

Karen Katz

From the Publisher

Square Fish

g

$9.99

Square Fish

Square Fish

ISBN: 9780805067071
32 Pages, Ages 4-8

Reviews

Praise for Over the Moon

"Both text and pictures are suffused with anticipation and joyful welcome at the baby's arrival." - Kirkus Reviews, pointer

"An ebullient tribute for families whose members may have come from a faraway place." - Publishers Weekly

"Katz's exuberance is contagious, bursting forth to make this as sunny as a warm summer day." - Booklist

Reviews from Goodreads

Karen Katz; illustrations by Karen Katz

Karen Katz has written and illustrated many books for children, including The Colors of Us, Can You Say Peace, My First Ramadan, Counting Kisses and Where is Baby's Belly Button. Long inspired by folk art from around the world, she was inspired to write Over the Moon, her first book, when she and her husband adopted their daughter from Guatemala, and she wanted to tell the story of welcoming Lena into their lives. Katz loves to paint and experiment with texture, color, collage and pattern. Besides an author and illustrator, she has been a costume designer, quilt maker, fabric artist and graphic designer. Katz and her family divide their time between New York City and Saugerties, New York.

From the Publisher

Square Fish

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g Trade Paperback $9.99 Square Fish Square Fish ISBN: 9780805067071 32 Pages, Ages 4-8 An affirming story about international adoption, based on the author's own experience with her daughter. A magical, reassuring story of one adoptive family's beginnings, told in words and pictures that are just right for the youngest child.

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Supportive Text 3: Families in Art and photography collection

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Supportive Text 3: Families in Art and photography collection

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Students will look through a collection of various families depicted in art and photographs. They will engage in critical conversations about how the families are depicted. Students can follow an "I notice" and "I wonder" pattern as they view the images, as the teacher helps to facilitate conversation that leads children to notice that some family types are depicted more, or in a more favorable light, or that certain family groups might be left out. This is an ongoing collection of images

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This commercial was broadcast during the Super Bowl in 2013 featuring a mixed race family. It raised a lot of controversy. Students will be asked what they notice about the commercial, and what message they think it is trying to send. They will be asked to consider why individuals might consider it controversial and engage in critical conversation around this idea. What other families might others find controversial?

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Engagement 3: Write a letter to General Mills/company of choice

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Engagement 3: Write a letter to General Mills/company of choice

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To extend their reading on family diversity and build on the idea that some families might be less valued by certain members of the community, students are asked to critically view the Cheerios commercial or other commercials and advertisements that feature families. Students will be asked to consider whether they think those companies are doing a fair job of representing families, and why or why not. Then, students will write a letter to the company addressing their concerns or showing their appreciation and support.

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1. What needs do my family provide for me that separate them from other people?
2. How do I help support my family?
3. How can I help other families?

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Tony loves to help his father in the family pizzeria, until his father's restaurant gets converted into an upscale restaurant. Tony is no longer able to help his dad, and his dad begins to spend less time with the family and burn out. They realize they work better together as a team and change the restaurant back into a small pizzeria, even if that means they get less money.

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Little Nino's Pizzeria | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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KAREN BARBOUR lives in Iverness, California. She is also the illustrator of I Have an Olive Tree by Eve Bunting, Let's Talk About Race by Julius Lester, and Poetry for Young People: African American Poems, edited by Arnold Rampersad and Marcellus Blount.

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Alex's parents are divorced so he takes turns visiting each parent. In each parent's home, he has different belongings, but still receives the love and care he needs from each parent. Parents can still work together even if they are separated.

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Two Homes by Claire Masurel | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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"Parents looking for a book about separation or divorce will find few offerings as positive, matter-of-fact, or child-centered as this one. . . . Simple, yet profoundly satisfying." - Booklist...

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Supportive Text 1: Families- there are many kinds.

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Supportive Text 1: Families- there are many kinds.

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Students will read this source together in a whole group setting, with particular emphasis being placed on the section called "How Families Work." Students consider different family dynamics, such as parents who work, parents who don't, and helps students to consider their parents' perspective when it comes to working to support the family. This article also has readers consider than children can be helpers in their family too.

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family; families; children; stepfamily; foster; mother; father; mum; dad; brother; sister; adopted; child; divorce; stepmother; stepfather.  ;

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Kids' Health - Topics - Families - there are many kinds

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Supportive Video 1: All Families Have Special Time Together. Daniel Tiger

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Supportive Video 1: All Families Have Special Time Together. Daniel Tiger

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This video is a song about families spending time together. In the video, families are shown helping each other and spending time together in various activities, such as going to the library or doing a puzzle. Students will consider what sort of things different families do together and notice that even though many families are different, they likely do a lot of the same things together.

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All Families Have Special Times Together | Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Videos | PBS KIDS

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A visit with different families who have different ways of having special family time -- raking leaves, playing with clay, going to the movies, or walking the dogs.

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Supporting Text 2: Kitchen Laughter. Poem by Beth Choi

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Supporting Text 2: Kitchen Laughter. Poem by Beth Choi

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This is a poem published in Join Us! January 2018. Vol 12, Number 1, issue 133, Highlights High Five Kids Magazine. p. 4.

This poem is a short text highlighting a young child spending time together with their grandmother the same way his/her father spent time with her when he was young. The poem helps students get a sense of emotion and how it can feel to spend time together with family.

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Supportive Video 2: Elmo Meets Animal Families

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Supportive Video 2: Elmo Meets Animal Families

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Even animals have diverse families! This video uses animals to demonstrate how families can differ, but at their core still are the same by caring for and helping each other. This simple video might help more reluctant students connect to the wider ideas of the unit by simplifying ideas and presenting it with engaging video of animals.

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Elmo Meets Animal Families (Elmo at the Zoo #6)

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Engagement 1: Create a Family "Snapshot"

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Engagement 1: Create a Family "Snapshot"

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Students will be asked to consider what they do with their families. How do their families help them? What role do they play in helping their families? Students will draw a picture or use photograph of their family and create a narration in voice thread answering these questions.

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Gia is not very excited that her mom is having a baby even though her mom and other family members are so excited and always seem to be talking about the baby. This sweet story, featuring a single mother pregnant with her second child, explores a child's feelings as their family changes. Families can help each other navigate these feelings, and we adapt our roles as our families change.

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Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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A sweet addition to the family is coming! Written by National Book Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson. Illustrated by Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Sophie Blackall. Jacqueline Woodson...

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Families help us feel safe and comfort us when we need it. They love us no matter how we are feeling, and help us through even tough emotions.

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When You Are Happy by Eileen Spinelli - When you are afraid I will take your hand and not let go-- In this delightful and lyrical text by renowned children's...

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Families keep children safe, but sometimes they need some extra help. This book explores foster care with sensitivity and care as it helps to explain it in easy to understand terms.

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Kids Need to Be Safe: A Book for Children in Foster Care (Kids Are Important Series) | Julie Nelson, Mary Gallagher | 9781575421926 | Books

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Give comfort and support to children in foster care.

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This realistic picturebook tells the stories of children waiting for their parents to return home from the military. While the children miss their families, they remember the good times they had together and are reassured that they will be reunited again. Until then, they can rely on other people to help take care of them until their parent returns home

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juvenile fiction / social themes / general (see also headings under family)

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While You Are Away [Eileen Spinelli, Renee Graef] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Three children describe how they feel when one of their parents is away.

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Children will work together to write a script and act out a skit that shows some ways that diverse families can work together.

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Engagement 3: Why are families special video

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Engagement 3: Why are families special video

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Students will view this video created by other students and make their own video that highlights the things that makes all families special, discuss why they are important, and include some details on things they find special about their own families.

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Our Family: A Film About Family Diversity

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1. If people live far away, can they still be family?
2. How do we connect with our family from our past?
3. What are family traditions?
4. How do we feel close to our family?

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My Grandfather's Coat retold by Jim Ayles

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My Grandfather's Coat retold by Jim Ayles

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In this tale, a grandfather's prized coat is repurposed over four generations, making something new from the coat each time is gets ripped or worn out. Some ordinary things can be precious and connect us to our famililes.

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My Grandfather's Coat by Jim Aylesworth | Scholastic

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A rollicking, rhyming, fun rendition of a favorite folksong about a many-times recycled coat--by the award-winning, bestselling team of Jim Aylesworth and Barba

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Video Support 1: Family Traditions by Barney

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Video Support 1: Family Traditions by Barney

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Students will get a beginning understanding of family traditions to help them understand how we can connect to families from our past. All families have traditions. Some traditions are the same as our own, but some are unique.

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Juno's grandmother lives in Korea and he misses her very much. She writes him a letter, but Juno does not know how to read Korean. However, she can interpret the photo she includes for him in the letter, and in turn, he makes some pictures for his grandmother. Juno figures out a way to connect with his grandmother despite the distance and language barrier.

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Dear Juno by Soyung Pak | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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Juno's grandmother writes in Korean and Juno writes in drawings, but that doesn't mean they can't exchange letters. From the photo his grandmother sends him, Juno can tell that she has a new cat. From...

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Video Support 2: Kids Show and Tell: Family and Culture 

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Video Support 2: Kids Show and Tell: Family and Culture 

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Students will view a video that has children sharing things that are important to them related to their family and culture, including songs, items, and food.

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Kids Show and Tell - Family & Culture (and try Jollibee!!) | Show and Tell | HiHo Kids

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Engagement 1: Collection of Family Songs

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Engagement 1: Collection of Family Songs

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Children will compile a list of songs that are significant to them and their family. These could be lullabies, or fun songs they sing together with relatives, or songs passed down from their families, or special songs they created together with their families. Then they will put it together to create a playlist or CD that can be shared with other families in their school and community.

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This realistic fiction book features a little girl being raised by her grandmother while her father is incarcerated. Avoiding painting negative stereotypes, Woodson shows the positive relationship a parent can have with their child even while incarcerated.

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Visiting Day by Jacqueline Woodson | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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Jacqueline Woodson is the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature In this moving picture book from multi-award winning author Jacqueline Woodson, a young girl and her grandmother...

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Mama's Nightingal: A Story of Immigration and Separation by Edwidge Danticat 

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Mama's Nightingal: A Story of Immigration and Separation by Edwidge Danticat 

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In this story, a young girl's mother is arrested and held in an immigration detention center, separating her from her family. The mother records tapes of her telling bedtime stories from their Hatian folklore. Saya's father tries to write letters to get her mother free, but does not have any progress until Saya gets involved and writes to her local newspaper about her mother's plight.

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Mama's Nightingale by Edwidge Danticat | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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A touching tale of parent-child separation and immigration, from a National Book Award finalist After Saya's mother is sent to an immigration detention center, Saya finds comfort in listening to her mother's...

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Supporting Text 2: A card mailed to me from my mother

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Supporting Text 2: A card mailed to me from my mother

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Students will discuss different ways that families stay in touch over long distances. To spark conversation, I will share a card my mom mailed to me, as well as other letters and correspondence we use to stay in touch. Students will be invited to bring in their own cards or letters to help extend the ideas and make their own connections. Some students may wish to make their own correspondances with family members after this discussion, and will be asked to consider what barriers some people might face with keeping in touch with their families, such as language, distance, incarceration, etc.

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Engagement 2: Creating a Line Poem on Voice Thread

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Engagement 2: Creating a Line Poem on Voice Thread

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As the unit comes to a close, students will be asked to revist the chart or bulletin board that contains a collection of words that they feel represent what a family is. Students will choose one or two words from that collection and create capture a photograph, draw a picture, or use another method that they feel represents this word and how it relates to families. The projects will be posted into a Voice Thread where children can discuss and explain their choices.

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This book helps to break down the relationships between individuals on a family tree. A good introduction to the idea of family trees. Part of the EngageNY ELA recommended texts list.

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Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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Where am I on my family tree? A beloved bestseller that shows children how to understand their place among their relatives, now refreshed with new art from Emma Trithart. Who is part of your family?...

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This book features an interesting layout as it can be read from front to back, or back to front, meeting in the middle to show the ancestry of a little boy who would be the base of the family tree being described in the book.

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This one-of-a-kind picture book provides a beautifully simple introduction to the concept of family ancestry. It uses two stories in one to explore a small boy's family tree: the boy tells the family story of his father's side starting from the front of the book, and that of his mother's side starting from the back of the book.

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The Birthday Tree: A Story About Open Adoption by Laurie Lears

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The Birthday Tree: A Story About Open Adoption by Laurie Lears

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Megan was adopted when she was a baby but she still talks to Kendra her birth mother by writing letters and sending photographs. When Megan was born, Kendra planted a tree in her hard to remind her of Megan and celebrate with each year. When Kendra writes to say she's moving, Megan worries what will happen to the birthday tree as she works to think of a plan so her mother doesn't forget her. But Kendra shows up, with the tree in tow to plant at her new house!

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Megan's Birthday Tree: A Story about Open Adoption

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Megan is adopted, but she and her parents keep in touch with her birth mother, Kendra. Every year, Kendra decorates the tree she planted when Megan was born. Megan cherishes this Birthday Tree, for it ties her and Kendra together.

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Students will look at and examine my family tree as they analyze who it includes, and who it may be leaving out.

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Engagement 3: Creating inclusive family trees

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Engagement 3: Creating inclusive family trees

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Students will collaborate to create a family tree design that includes spaces for all family members, including adoptive parents, step parents, foster families, and more. Then, they will create their own family tree that includes all the most important people to them.

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At the end of the unit, the students will create a "museum" that showcases their learning to the school. Students will have their own display, organized by their name (using the information from subtopic 1), and share information about what is important about their family. Included will be the videos and voice threads, and other work that highlight their collective understanding of what a family is so that they can share this knowledge with their families and other members of the school and community. Parents and students will be welcome to bring other things from their own families to showcase the uniqueness of their families. Together, this culminating activity will create an inclusive, diverse representation of families.