Children can expand on ONE FAMILY by exploring their own experiences with collective nouns they experience at home and in the classroom. The variety of “one family” was even apparent when I was
a child in the 1950s. Today, the variety is far greater. Honoring these differences can be an inclusive follow-up activity when students have shared ONE FAMILY. Thanks to the insightful and thoughtful perspectives of Elle and Katherine at their blog



I can also recommend having students explore ONE FAMILY with a focus on the activities families do, and reflect or record when their own family has done the same. As different as our families may be, we so often do the same things. Children might also explore the variations of families they find in picture books. An initial list of books representing variations of families could include:

Arbor Day Square by Kathryn Galbraith. Illus. by Cyd Moore. Peachtree, 2010.
A Chair For My Mother by Vera Williams.
The Family Book by Todd Parr.
George and Martha by James Marshall.
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss.
I Can Do It Too! By Karen Baicker. Illus. by Ken Wilson-Max. Handprint, 2003.
If You Listen by Charlotte Zolotow. Illus. by Stefano Vitale.
   Running Kids Press, 2002.
Just Like You by Emma Dodd. Dutton, 2008.
Little Flower by Gloria Rand. Illus. by R.W. Alley. Holt, 2002.
A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza. Puffin, 1996.
Mrs. Goat and Her Seven Little Kids told by Tony Ross. Atheneum, 1990.
Olivia by Ian Falconer.