Lesson Objective:
Understand that life is a series of cycles
Draw your family tree
Lesson Outcome:
By the end of the lesson, the children will have created their own family tree
Resources:
Life Cycle
Family tree examples
Introduction
- Brainstorm: what is “life” – Display the word “life” on the whiteboard and ask children to contribute to a class list of what they think life is. Prompt with questions and expand brainstorm if appropriate.
Main Teaching
- What is a life cycle? – Steer discussion towards the life cycle. What do children think a life cycle is? What stages are involved in a life cycle?
- List stages on board –List in a chronological order, based on the children’s responses. Stages may include: Birth, brit (circumcision), going to school, childhood, bar/bat mitzvah, teenager, adulthood, job, marriage, having children, getting old, dying.
- Question: What makes it a life cycle, not a life line? – Explain to children that what is on the board is only one life, not the life of others. Does life start with birth and end with death? No! Your life starts in the middle of someone else’s life cycle. Rearrange life line on the board into a life cycle and show offshoots of other cycles. (see diagram)
Activity
- Draw a family Tree – Children to look at examples of family trees and create their own family tree in any design they wish. Aim to include grandparents and any dates of births (and deaths) they know. Blank family trees
- Take a photograph of each child – Take a photograph of each child for next week’s lesson.
Plenary
- Talk about their family tree – Children to present their family trees to the rest of the class.
- Homework
Ask children to bring in photographs (or copies of photographs) of them as a baby for next lesson.