My Family!

Objective & content

This activity sheet is about the family. A big picture shows Ama's family, seven people standing together outdoors: her grandma, her grandad, her mum, her dad holding her baby sister, her big brother, and Ama herself in the middle. A short text in Ama's voice gives everybody's name. Pupils read the text, write the names in a family tree and check sentences about the family. By the end, pupils name the people in a family and say My grandma is called Joy. and I've got a big brother.

Pedagogical guide

Task 1 is the picture: look at it with the class and ask who is who ("Who is the baby? Who is the grandad?"); there is nothing to write. Task 2 is Ama's text: "Hi! I'm Ama. I'm nine. This is my family." It names everyone once: her grandma Joy, her grandad Ken, her mum Afua, her dad Kojo, her big brother Yaw (he's twelve) and her baby sister Adwoa. The names will be new to most pupils: read them aloud first. Task 3 is a family tree with seven boxes (Grandma, Grandad, Mum, Dad, Brother, Me, Baby sister); Ama is already written under Me as the example, and pupils write the six other names from the text. Task 4 gives six sentences with has got and is ("Ama has got a brother.", "Kojo is the dad.") and pupils circle Yes or No. Three are true and three are not: Ama has got one sister, not two; the baby is a girl; Afua is the mum, not the grandma. Page 2 gives the answer key and the teacher notes.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Draw your own family tree on the board (or a made-up one) and name the people.
2. (5 min) Task 1: look at Ama's family together: "Who is the baby? Who is the grandad?"
3. (10 min) Tasks 2 and 3: pupils read Ama's text and write each name in the family tree; check together.
4. (5 min) Task 4: pupils read the six sentences and circle Yes or No.
5. (10 min) In pairs, pupils tell a partner about their own family: "I've got a brother. His name is ..."

Adaptations

[S] Read the text aloud and point to each person in the picture.

[A] Pupils draw their own family tree on the back, with an aunt, an uncle or a cousin.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy per pupil of page 1, in colour or black and white. Pupils need only a pencil. Page 2 is the answer key with teacher notes: keep it. Pupils should know the numbers up to twelve (Ama is nine, Yaw is twelve); the family words are written in the boxes of the tree.