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Guidance for Grown-Ups
June 2006
We Are Family

What Does Family Mean To You? (link back to feature)


This Discussion Guide contains the following Activity Sections:

  1. Make a Personal Connection


  2. Make a Community Connection


  3. Make a Global Connection



I. Make a Personal Connection

The Personal Family Tree

The purpose of this activity is to help teens refine and define their notions of what constitutes a family.
  1. Ask your teens to respond to the following journal prompt:


    2. A family is:


    As a group, read the article "We Are Family." Lead a discussion using the following questions as guidelines:

    • How does Rina Dubosarski define family?


    • Do you agree or disagree with Rina?


    • How do you define family?


    • Do you think society is changing how a family is defined?


    • Do you think media is changing how a family is defined?



  2. Ask the teens to return to their writing journals and respond to the following prompt:


    3. If I could choose one word to best capture my vision of family it would be:

  3. Introduce the concept of family trees by sharing the following examples:




  4. Tell the teens that they are going to construct a different kind of multi-layered family tree that depicts people and relationships that are important to them. Remind them that this is not a traditional family tree, as it will consist of three different groups:


    • Personal family members
    • Community members
    • Global members


    Share the following definitions of each group that the teens will include on their multi-layered family trees:

    • Personal family members are those people who may be related by blood or connected to you by personal experience.


    • Community members are people that you respect and admire in the local community. You may or may not know community members personally, but they are people whom you would like to invite to be a part of your family tree.


    • Global members are people who care about issues that are important to you. They are people that you would like to invite to be a part of your family tree.


    Note: First the teens will plan whom they will include on their family trees by using the template entitled "A Different Kind of Family Tree." After all three sections of the worksheet are complete, they will actually construct their multi-layered family trees using large pieces of construction paper.

  5. Have the teens begin by completing the section on personal family members on the worksheet entitled "A Different Kind of Family Tree."



II. Make a Community Connection

The Community Family Tree

The purpose of this activity is to help broaden teens' knowledge of local community leaders and organizations.

  1. Tell the teens that they are going to continue adding to their multi-layered family trees by learning more about leaders, everyday heroes and activists in their local communities. As a group, brainstorm ideas for how to find out about local community members. Provide the teens with copies of local magazines, newspapers, articles and websites that feature stories about local organizations and people. As you collect examples for the teens, think of including people that they might not come in to contact with in their everyday lives, but that you think make an important contribution to the local community.


  2. Invite guest speakers from your local community that you think might be good role models for your teens.


  3. Encourage your teens to investigate local community groups that focus on issues that are important to them. Have them research and learn about community leaders.


  4. Ask the teens to add names to the community members section of their worksheet entitled "A Different Kind of Family Tree."



III. Make a Global Connection

The Global Family Tree

The purpose of this activity is to spark discussion about global community members, and help the teens think about whom they might want to include in their global family tree.


  1. Divide the teens into groups containing four people. Read the following imaginary scenario:


    2. You are going to host a party at your home. You have to limit the guest list to ten people. You must follow these rules when you send your invitations:

    • The guest must be someone you admire.

    • The guest must be someone that you must never have met.

    • The guest must have done something that changed the world in a positive way.

  2. Ask each group to share its guest list. Lead a discussion about the people that were chosen. Use the following questions as guidelines:


    • What guest surprised you the most?

    • What guest do you wish you had invited?

    • Which guest would you not have thought to invite?

  3. After your discussion is complete, ask the teens to add names to the global members section of their worksheet entitled "A Different Kind of Family Tree."



  4. After the worksheet is completed, follow the directions below to help teens create the multi-layered family trees.







Constructing the Multi-layered Family Tree



  1. Tell the teens that they are going to use the information on the "A Different Kind of Family Tree" to create a drawing of a multi-layered family tree.


  2. Provide the teens with the following resources:


    • Large pieces of construction or drawing paper

    • An assortment of red, green and blue markers, crayons, and colored pencils

    • Glue or tape


  3. Ask each teen to place a picture or drawing of herself at the center of the family tree. Tell each of them to use the names on the worksheet "A Different Kind of Family Tree" to construct their multi-layered family trees.


  4. Tell the teens that they are going to use three different colors as they construct their multi-layered family tree. They should write each person's name that they want to have on their family tree using the colors described below.


    • Red: Use this color when noting members of their personal family tree.

    • Green: Use this color when noting members of their community family tree.

    • Blue: Use this color when noting members of their global family tree.


    Encourage the teens' creativity in drawing the family tree.
    For example, they might draw a variety of different kinds of leaves and branches, write the names on pieces of paper and glue them onto the branches, or use different kinds of printing.


  5. Post the teens' family trees and invite others to view their work.



A Different Kind of Family Tree

LIST THE MEMBERS OF EACH PART OF YOUR FAMILY TREE
AND A REASON WHY YOU CHOSE EACH PERSON.



PERSONAL










COMMUNITY










GLOBAL










Have you used Guidance for Grown-ups with your class or teen group? Tell us which ones you used and what kind of success you had with it. Did you put your own spin on it? Let us know.

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