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Have students watch this short documentary that tells the perspective from a kid with same sex parents. It includes short clips from popular news media outlets with political opinions, and laws regarding same sex marriage. Have discussion questions: What are the laws in the United States about same sex marriage? Are marriage laws fair? Does same sex parents change the meaning of family? Have students create their own video; a PSA about bullying or discriminating against different types of parents.

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My Gay Parents : Short Documentary- Gayby Baby- Kids' ideas about being gay

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My Gay Parents : Short Documentary- Gayby Baby- Kids' ideas about being gay View more videos like this: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5MKSekMa9Rcl60HpXlasg Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/107716284341734428943/107716284341734428943/videos "The Australian parlament voted against my parents having the right to marry" As the marriage equality debate rages around the world, it's become clear that there is a voice missing from the discussion: the voice of the kids.

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The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption 

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The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption 

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Elaine Aoki
This fiction text is about international adoption. It tells the story of different families who travels to China to adopt four baby girls. Have students discuss the similarities of the different families and their journey. Make text to text connections with Over the Moon.

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the white swan express: a story about adoption

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family & home stories (children's / teenage)

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The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption

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Many people from North America make the long journey to their children in China. But first the family has to complete all the adoption-agency paperwork, have interviews, fill out legal forms, and receive approvals. Then a tiny photograph of their child arrives. Finally, they travel to China to em...

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Karen Katz
This fiction story book covers mixed racial families. A young girl notices that she is a different color from her mother and other people. The book talks about having different skin tones makes each one of us special, but all connected at the same time. Students can create their own simile, My skin is like ____, it is _____"

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Eve Bunting
This is a fiction story book about a young girl, Laura, who is upset about her dad marrying a new woman after her mother died. She has a "memory string" made of her mothers buttons that represent different memories she has with her. Have students create their own memory string for a person in their family and share their memories.

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Students will develop questions about animal families after reading And Tango Makes Three. They will watch the following video clip from thekidsshouldseethis.com about a baby otter learning how to swim from its mother. They can research, directed by the teacher, the family structure in otters and compare it their own lives. Have students share something their parent, or parents, taught them to do.

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Baby river otters don't know how to swim when they're born! In this April 2013 video from the Oregon Zoo, meet Molalla the Baby River Otter and his mother Tilly as she gives him a few lessons.

"It might look kind of scary to a casual observer," (keeper Becca) Van Beek said. "She'll grab Mo by the scruff of the neck and dunk him in the water. But that's a very natural behavior. Baby otters are extremely buoyant, so Mo has built-in water wings for his swim lessons. This is how baby otters learn to swim, and it's exactly what we've been hoping to see."

Related reading: sea otter vs river otter. Then watch videos of more babies and a few more otters.

Thanks, Michael.

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A baby otter gets a swimming lesson from its mother

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Baby river otters don't know how to swim when they're born! In this April 2013 video from the Oregon Zoo, meet Molalla the Baby River Otter and his mother Tilly as she gives him a few lessons. "It might look kind of scary to a casual observer," (keeper Becca) Van Beek said.

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Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith
This fiction text discusses many different ways parents come together and have a child. It uses a graphic format of writing to tell the story, focusing on pictures to tell most of the story. Have students identify with on of the characters in the text.

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Leslea Newman and Laura Cornell
This fiction picture book is about a young girl who has two mothers. It compares it to how Heather has two of everything, even mommies! Heather shares a picture of her family. The message of the story is that all families are different, but they all love each other the same. Have students draw a picture of their parents and share with a classmate. Discussion questions: do you think Heather feels left out at school? What would you say to a bully that might hurt Heather's feelings for having two mothers?

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juvenile fiction / family / alternative family

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Candlewick relaunches a modern classic for this generation with an all-new, beautifully illustrated edition.Heather's favorite number is two. She has two arms, two legs, and two pets. And she also has two mommies. When Heather goes to school for the first time, someone asks her about her dadd...

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Let's Talk About Living With Your Single Dad

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Let's Talk About Living With Your Single Dad

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Melanie Ann Apel
This non-fiction text explains what it is like to live with a single dad as a parent. It uses real photographs and talks about how to confront confusing emotions. Have students discuss the advice the book suggests and come up with their own advice.

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Why Don't I Have a Daddy? A Story of Donor Conception

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Why Don't I Have a Daddy? A Story of Donor Conception

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George Anne Clay
This fiction text is told in the context of a young cub who does not have a dad. The mother lion had used a donor to create her family. It shows the strong meaning of family in this dynamic. Students will compare and contrast the family structure in order to identify that they share the same meaning of family, even though it was created differently.

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why don't i have a daddy?: a story of donor conception

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children's / teenage fiction & true stories

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Why Don't I Have A Daddy?: A Story of Donor Conception

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As the little lion cub notices all different types of families, he starts to question his own family. His family consists of his mother and him. The little cub learns that while there is no "daddy" in his family, there is a donor lion who made his life possible.

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Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
This fiction text is a story about two penguins "adopt" a baby penguin. Even though they created their family in a different way, they still share the same meaning of family. Students will identify three animals that they want to find out how their families are made.

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Karen Katz
This fiction text is based on the author's experience with being adopted internationally. It has many bright illustrations that help tell the story similar to a fairy-tale. Have students identify the feelings of the expecting parents in this book. Do you think this is similar or different than parents who have a child in the traditional sense?