Family Life

Abbreviations: T – Teacher; S – student

Warm-up (Pair Work) (10 min)

T: Good morning students! How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

S: (various answers)

T: Today we are going to talk about your families and the history of your family. First of all I would like to ask you different questions about our family, just general information. Please answer them in 1-2 sentences or phrases, write them down and present to the rest of the class. You have 7 minutes to complete this task.

Following questions are displayed on the computer screen

1) What is the best environment to raise a family in (e.g. apartment, village, etc)?
2) What was the worst thing you did as a child? Did you get caught?
3) Is there anything funny or different about your family?
4) Does someone in your family maintain a family tree? How far back can you trace your family history? 

T: Now, let’s hear 2-3 stories from what you have written and discuss them.

Students volunteer to read their stories. Teacher facilitates discussion. (10 min)

T: Before we continue to talk about family, let’s learn some words, so that you can easily speak about your family and get to know about others. I need a volunteer to read the following blog entry from a woman from the UK.

S: I would like to read it.

T: Great! Please start. Students, please pay attention to the new words marked in bold.

Family – Key Vocabulary in Context

The nuclear family is the traditional family structure in the West. This term, originating in the 1950s, describes families consisting of a father, a mother, and their offspring. Under this structure, the family is seen as the basic unit in society; the father functions as the breadwinner and the mother as the homemaker. Nowadays, alternative family types are becoming more prevalent, such as single-parent families, families headed by same-sex parents, and extended families where families live with their kin, which may include several generations. Extended families are less common in North America, where it is not uncommon to place grandparents in retirement homes.

 A Social Trends survey in 2009 reported radical changes in child rearing and marriage practices in the United Kingdom. Figures showed that while 30 percent of women under thirty had given birth by the age of 25, only 24 percent had tied the knot. This marked the first time childbirth had become the first major milestone in adult life, ahead of marriage. In 1971 in the U.K, 3/4 of women were married by the age of 25 and half were mothers.

Judging by the high rates of divorce and the increasing number of children born out of wedlock, it would appear that the family as an institution is in decline. American sociologist Stephanie Coontz believes so too, but for different reasons. Coontz points out that marriages are no longer arranged for political or economic reasons, and children are no longer required to contribute to the family income. Marriages nowadays are founded on love. She believes this shift towards love and free choice has actually weakened both the family by making it optional and the bond between the husband and wife by making it contingent on emotional fulfillment.

T: Thank you for reading. Students, are there any unknown words in this text?

S: wedlock, nuclear family, kin

T: Good, so you will learn something new. Let’s now listen to a blogger reading out loud this paragraph for the second time and let’s try to figure out the meaning of those unknown words and phrases.

A blogger reads her entry, students listen.(5 min)

T: Now that we have listened to the blog entry for the second time, let’s talk about those unknown words. Please refer to the blackboard and discuss following questions with your partner.

Follow-Up Questions (10 min)

1) What is a nuclear family?
2) True or False: extended families are replacing nuclear families in North America.
3) How has marriage and raising children changed in the U.K. since 1971?
4) Why does Stephanie Coontz believe the institution of the family has weakened?
5) Do you agree or disagree with the ideas in the article?

T: I would like you guys to find a partner from a different country now. Please find your partner and sit together. We will have a pair work what to you do when..

What do you do? (Pair Work) (10 min)

— Discuss with a partner what you should do when…

your six year-old child asks where babies come from.

your child fails his English test.

your 13-year old gets a tattoo on his back of a tarantula.

your child won’t eat his/her vegetables at dinner.

your 12-year old daughter says she’s dating a high school student.

your child won’t stop screaming because you won’t buy him candy in the grocery store.

your child tells you that he or she is gay.

your marriage becomes stale.

your child graduates university.

T: I need to volunteers to be our speakers for today’s role-play.

S: I would like to volunteer.

T: Great. We need one more student. Don’t be shy; it is a very easy task and good speaking practice for you. OK, now we have two speakers. Please read following role play carefully, think over your arguments and present them to your classmates. You have 3 min to prepare.

Role-play (10 min)

T: Thank you very much for your participation. For your next class, you will have to write a blog entry based on the questions below. You can choose one question and dwell on it. You will have to orally present this topic in class next week. Good luck and have a productive week!

Homework (5 min):

1)    Violence: Is it ever okay to hit a child? What is the custom or law in your country?

2)    Due to population growth and environmental problems, should families have fewer kids?

3)    What is the ideal number of children to have?

4)    Is it better for a child to have one parent or two homosexual parents?

5)    Is it tradition in your culture for women to adopt their husband’s last name? Is this fair?

6)    In your country, are mothers allowed maternity leave (from work)? What about paternity leave for fathers?

7)    What is a mid-life crisis? How can one be avoided?

8)    When are children old enough to move out of the house?