Teacher instructions

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune in: Family structures

15 minutes

Find out: Brenda's families

25 minutes

Take action: Affinity mapping

5 minutes

Reflection: What makes a family?

Tune in: Family structures

Step 1. Invite students to close their eyes and think about the people in their lives that they consider to be 'family'. This may consist of biological family, extended family, friends, neighbours etc. Ask students to write their own name in the centre of the chart on the Student Worksheet.

Step 2. Read the excerpts below with students. Ask students to consider which family structure/s they belong to.

Different types of family structures:

Type 1: Nuclear family
This type of family structure consists of two parents (often married) and their children. This type of family generally depends on the parents raising their kids together in the one family home.
Type 2: Sole-parent family
Sole parent families consist of one parent with one or more kids. In these cases, the parent can either be never married, widowed or divorced.
Type 3: Extended family
This type of family structure consists of families with two or more adults who are related through blood or marriage, usually along with children. This can often include aunts, uncles, cousins or other relatives that live together.
Type 4: Child-free family
Refers to two partners who don’t have children. Child free families may be formed out of choice or because they cannot conceive children.
Type 5: Grandparent family
A grandparent family is when one or more grandparent is raising their grandchild or grandchildren. This situation often derives from the child’s parents being unable to care for them due to a range of different circumstances.
Type 6: Blended family
This family structure is where at least one parent has children that are not biologically related to their partner or spouse. Either or both partners may have children from previous relationships or marriages.
Type 7: Adopted/foster family
Refers to a family structure of adults who are raising a child or children that could not (by choice or other factors) be cared for by their biological parent or family.
Type 8: Chosen family
This type of family structure refers to a non-biologically related group of people who have chosen to assume the role of family towards one other.
Type 9: Split families
Refers to a family structure where the parents of the child are living separately, and are not in a relationship. The child/s may spend time between two households.
Type 10: Family by circumstance
Refers to a group of non-biologically related people who due to circumstances have had to cohabitate or share vast amounts of time together and care for one another’s needs to the point where they become reliant on one another for survival.

Sources:

Step 3. Ask students to add to their chart the people that came to mind previously and any other important people they consider family. Students may like to categorise their connections by colour coding how close they feel to certain people, or use a key to define their relationship to them, for example: square = blood relation, circle = non-related.

You may like to support students further by drawing an example based on your own family structure.

Step 4. Direct students to their Student Worksheet, where they will select three different family structures and write about what each means to them in the spaces provided. Students may connect personally with a family structure, or know of stories or television shows that represent particular family structures.

Step 5. (Optional) Invite students to share their experiences with the different types of family structures.

Step 6. Ask students if there are any family structures that might be missing from the list. Invite students to discuss this as a class.

Find Out: Brenda's families

Step 1. Explain to students that they will view clips from The Last Daughter that explore the different families that Brenda is part of. Students will need to complete the table in the Student Worksheet to describe how each family is represented in the film.

Step 2. Play these clips from The Last Daughter:

Take Action: Affinity mapping

Step 1. Explain that Brenda moved from a nuclear family to a foster family. She has now formed her own blended family with her husband Mark and their children. Both her Aboriginal and white families have extended members, such as cousins, aunts and uncles, who are not shown in this clip.

Step 2. Invite students to write a private reflection on the clips they've just watched. They make like to do this in the Student Worksheet. You might like to provide these prompts:

What features were present in each of Brenda’s families?
How did Brenda experience belonging and connection across her different families?
How did Brenda’s different families contribute to shaping her identity?

Step 3. Ask students to identify the similarities and differences between their own and Brenda’s experiences of family. Allow students to use one post-it note per idea/thought and not add any names (anonymous responses).

Invite students to a space in your classroom (whether it be the whiteboard or a blank wall) to place their post-it notes, in no particular order.

Step 4. Invite students to reflect on the 'affinity map', prompting them to discuss their thoughts. You might like to ask them:

What responses surprised you?
What responses interested you?
How did this activity improve your understanding of family structures?
What questions do you still have?

Reflection - What makes a family?

Step 1: Have students return to the essential question of the lesson: 'What should all types of families have in common?'

Have students write their answer in the Student Worksheet.

Differentiated Learning

We trust that teachers are the best equipped to know how to cater to the diversity in their classes. At Cool Australia, we incorporate a variety of differentiation strategies into each lesson. Firstly, each lesson in this unit appeals to an array of different learning preferences. Learning activities can be completed in a number of different ways - if a student feels more comfortable speaking rather than writing, there are opportunities to accommodate this. In lessons that feature group work or learning stations, we trust that teachers will use their discretion in knowing how to best organise their students in accordance to positive working relationships and ability. Graphic organisers and scaffolds are often included so students can ‘visually think’ and keep a record of their work. While our lessons are designed to be 55 - 60 minutes in length, we trust that teachers will manipulate lesson and segment times according to the needs of their students.

The Last Daughter - What Makes a Family?

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