Developing Strong Families

Summary

Students will learn about the qualities and factors that help create a strong and stable family life.

Materials

• Vocabulary worksheet
• Sense of a Goose story
• Strong Families PowerPoint
• How Strong is Your Family worksheet
• Secrets of a Strong Family teacher information
• You Can Change Your Family assignment
• Large pieces of fabric (Levi works best)
• Family Rules transparency
• Family Tradition worksheet
• Family Strength handout
• Promoting Family Strength article
• Making Our Families Stronger handout
• Working Together handout

Supplementary Resources

• "Building Family Strength"--Utah State University Extension Bulletin, Dr. Thomas R. Lee, Family and Human Development.
• "Family Connection" is available through your county extension office. The program is a home study format of lessons and exercises for families to use in strengthening seven key areas of family life. It takes five months to complete and costs $13.00.
• "Six Secrets of Strong Families," 1985, Nick Stinnett and John DeFrain. Little, Brown, and Company, 34 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. 02106
• "Stress and the Healthy Family," 1985, Dolores Curran. Harper and Row Publishers, Inc. 10 E. 53 St., New York, N.Y. 10022
• "Do You Hold a Regular Family Council," Utah State University Extension Bulletin, Glen Jenson, Family and Human Development Specialist.

Instructional Procedures

Vocabulary
Use the vocabulary worksheet (pdf) with students.

Primary Vocabulary

• Commitment
• Time Together
• Appreciation
• Values and Spiritual Wellness

Supplementary Vocabulary

• Communication
• Decision Making And Responsibility
• Problem Solving

Introduction/Pre-Assessment
There are two children's books that deal with families:

• Christina Katerina and the Time She Quit the Family, by Patricia Lee Gauch, ISBN 0-399-22405-X, Sancastle Books
• The Relatives Came by Cynthia Bylant, ISBN 0-689-71738-5, Aladdin Books, MacMillan Publishing Co.

Content Outline, Activities and Teaching Strategies
(All options do not necessarily need to be taught. Select ones to cover standards and objectives and according to your district policies.)

Option 1: Story
Read A Sense of a Goose Story (pdf). Discuss how the story relates to building family strength. Show the slides 1, 2, and 3 of the PowerPoint Presentation on Strong Families.

Option 2: Qualities of a Strong Family
Have students make a list of qualities of a strong family on the board or in small groups. Have students answer the questionnaire How Strong is your Family (pdf). Make a list of areas where your family may need help. Show slides 4, 5, and 6 of the power point presentation on strong families.

Option 3: Secrets of a Strong Family
Discuss the teacher information Secrets of a Strong Family (pdf). Make a list of 10 activities you can do with your family to build your family strength. To help students understand ways to make their families strong have them complete the You Can Change Your Family Assignment (pdf). Show slides 7-16, 18-21 of the Strong Families PowerPoint Presentation.

Option 4: Activity
Play "Magic Carpet" pg.224, More Activities That Teach, by Tom Jackson, IBSN#0-9664633-3-1. Discuss activities in relationship to families. Show slide 17 of the Strong Families PowerPoint Presentation.

Option 5: Family Rules
Show the Sound of Music movie clips and discuss family rules (The scene where the major is giving instruction to the new governess about the rules of the house.) Have students write the numbers 1-10 on a piece of paper. Using an overhead projector, display the transparency, Family Rules (pdf). Discuss how these rules are dealt with in different homes. Have students list the 10 rules that are most difficult for them to deal with. They should then identify one way they could better observe these rules in their home. Show slide 22-24 of the Strong Families PowerPoint Presentation.

Option 6: Traditions
Show Fiddler on the Roof movie clips and discuss how family tradition influences our family's unity. Song--Play the song "Traditions" from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. What are some of the traditions described in this song? Give each student a copy of the words to read as the song is played. Discuss how they became traditions, family traditions. Share with the students a tradition you have in your family, where it came from and why you keep it. Students will complete the worksheet Family Traditions (pdf). Discuss with the students the importance of keeping traditions from the past. Show slides 25-28 of the Strong Families PowerPoint Presentation. Discuss the following thought: "Traditions are the glue that keeps the family together."

Option 7: Promoting Family Strength
Discuss the following articles: Family Strength (pdf), Promoting Family Strength (pdf), Making our Families Stronger (pdf), and Working Together (pdf). These materials emphasize helping to strengthen families. There are activities in these handouts that can be given as assignments or extra credit.

Summary/Evaluation
Despite the media attention focused on the down side of family life, families are considered the foundation of our nation. We have a great many families that consider their family's health strong and growing. To be a strong nation we must build strong families. This takes know how, determination, desire, and hard work. So start working to build your family's strength.

Whether you have grown up in a strong family or not, it is possible to have a strong and healthy family of your own. If your present family is a good model to follow, transfer those strengths to your new family. If not, rather than blame others, yourself, or circumstances, take responsibility for making your future family the kind of family that nurtures and loves its members. It doesn't just happen by accident. It takes effort and determination; but it's worth it. Investing in your family is the best investment in the future you can make.