TEACHERS TAKE NOTE

Lucy's Family Tree

Karen Halvorsen Schreck

Illustrated by Stephen Gassler III

Paperback, $7.95, ISBN 978-0-88448-292-5

9 x 10, 40 pages, color illustrations

Children / Adoption / Multicultural; Grades 3-6

Identity issues can be particularly troubling for adoptive children and this often makes the family tree assignment many teachers are fond of, truly problematic. Lucy's Family Tree tells the story of how one girl completes her class assignment and in the process discovers that few families conform to the "traditional family" definition she has envisioned. Teachers will appreciate learning new approaches to designing family trees that are more inclusive of family diversity.

Lucy's Family Tree will help inspire classroom conversations about:

• Adoptive families
• Non-traditional families
• Conflict-resolution skills within families
• Identity concerns
• Traditional Mexican handicrafts

Activity: Family Diversity

Introduce the idea of family diversity by having students:

• Develop a bibliography of books on family diversity: Ask students to spend time in the library identifying appropriate resources for younger children so they can learn about family diversity. There are many picture books now that creatively engage readers on this topic.
• Media portrayals of the American family. Students could begin to read newspapers and periodicals and look for articles about families today. Over a two-week period, students should gather this information and be given time to work in small groups to create a poster on the issues they identify. After the two weeks are completed, students should present their posters to their classmates. They should be prepared to talk about the ways the articles they have selected connect to the theme of family diversity.
• Take a look at "census" information. Have your students check out your library for census information about household demographics in your community. Discuss the meaning of this information with students and ask them how the government uses this information. Are the students surprised by what they learn?