Social Studies · Grade 1

Active learning ideas

Family Trees and Ancestry

Active learning works for family trees because young children connect best through personal stories and hands-on creation. When students draw, tell, and compare, they move beyond abstract names to meaningful relationships they can see and explain.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• Ontario Curriculum, Social Studies, Grade 1, A1. Application: describe some of the ways in which people’s roles, relationships, and responsibilities relate to who they are and what they do
• Ontario Curriculum, Social Studies, Grade 1, A1.2: describe some of the ways in which they and their families are unique (e.g., their family structure, the languages they speak, their family’s country/countries of origin, their abilities, their talents, their likes and dislikes)
• Ontario Curriculum, Social Studies, Grade 1, A3.1: identify some of the significant people, places, and things in their life

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Plan-Do-Review
• 30 min · Individual

Individual: My Family Tree Drawing

Students draw themselves at the bottom, add parents above, and grandparents higher up. Provide tree templates with branches labeled for names and birth years. They add one fun fact per person, like a hobby. Display completed trees on a class wall.

Construct a simple family tree for your family.

Facilitation Tip

During My Family Tree Drawing, provide examples of different family structures to normalize diversity before students begin.

What to look for

Observe students as they draw their family trees. Ask individual students to point to themselves, their parents, and their grandparents on their tree and name them. Note if they can verbally identify these relationships.

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Plan-Do-Review
• 25 min · Small Groups

Small Groups: Family Story Circles

In groups of 4, students take turns sharing one ancestor story from their tree. Provide prompts like 'What did your grandparent do for fun?' Groups record key details on shared charts. End with groups presenting one story to the class.

Explain how a family tree helps us understand our ancestors.

Facilitation Tip

In Family Story Circles, model turn-taking and active listening by sharing your own family story first.

What to look for

After students have created their trees, facilitate a class discussion using prompts like: 'What was the most interesting thing you learned about your family?' and 'How is your family tree like your friend's family tree, and how is it different?'

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Plan-Do-Review
• 45 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Diversity Tree Mural

As a class, create a large mural combining elements from all trees: draw common symbols like hearts for love or leaves for growth. Discuss similarities and differences. Add student photos or drawings to branches.

Compare the different family structures represented in our class.

Facilitation Tip

For the Diversity Tree Mural, assign roles to small groups so students collaborate on sections while keeping a manageable scope.

What to look for

Provide students with a small card. Ask them to draw one symbol representing their family and write one sentence explaining what an ancestor is.

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Plan-Do-Review
• 20 min · Pairs

Pairs: Compare and Contrast

Partners exchange trees and note two similarities and two differences, such as family size or pet names. Use Venn diagrams to record. Pairs share findings in a whole-class discussion.

Construct a simple family tree for your family.

Facilitation Tip

During Compare and Contrast, use sentence stems like 'My family tree has... but your family tree has...' to support academic language.

What to look for

Observe students as they draw their family trees. Ask individual students to point to themselves, their parents, and their grandparents on their tree and name them. Note if they can verbally identify these relationships.

• Remember
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with the concrete and familiar by having students begin their trees with themselves and immediate family. Use open-ended prompts to encourage specificity, like asking about favorite family meals or traditions. Avoid overwhelming young learners with too many generations or abstract concepts; keep the focus on three levels maximum. Research shows that when students see their identities reflected in the curriculum, engagement and retention increase.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying family members by name and role, recognizing varied family structures, and articulating how ancestry connects them to their past. Their trees should reflect both accuracy and personal pride.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During My Family Tree Drawing, watch for students who only include parents and siblings, assuming all families follow this structure.

  Provide visual examples of different family structures during the introduction and ask students to include everyone who helps care for them, such as grandparents, aunts, or foster parents.

• During Family Story Circles, watch for students who define ancestry only by blood relatives like grandparents and cousins.

  Prompt students to share stories about adoptive, step, or foster family members and explicitly include these roles in their tree-building conversations.

• During Diversity Tree Mural, watch for students who assume family trees extend indefinitely into the past.

  Use the mural as a timeline by labeling each generation clearly and stopping at great-grandparents to reinforce finite ancestry.

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Methods used in this brief

• Plan-Do-Review