Lesson 07 — The Groups I Belong To

Learners name the several groups they belong to at once — family, class, community, a club or team, a faith or cultural community, a language group — and see themselves at the center of a web of belonging. This is the first half of understanding how group membership shapes identity.

D01 P1: Emotional & Social Awareness D01.S2 45 minutes Draft

Objectives

D01.S2.03.02 Name several groups they belong to and how each one shapes who they are.

Essential question

What groups do I belong to?

groupbelongmembercommunity

Materials

Standard materials

My Groups web · 1 per learner A page with "me" in the center and empty circles around it to fill with the groups the learner belongs to
Group idea chart · 1 A reference list of kinds of groups (family, class, community, club or team, faith or culture, language)

Low-tech / no-cost

Voice and body Name your groups aloud and count them on your fingers; no page needed
A circle of stones Put yourself in the middle and place one stone for each group around you

Enriched / lab & device

A reusable 'my groups' wheel with labels · 1 per learner A wheel the learner can spin and fill with their own groups, kept in the portfolio
Photos or objects from each group · 1 set Real keepsakes to place on the web at each group's circle

Works in different contexts

large-group Brainstorm kinds of groups together first, then learners fill their own webs and share one group aloud
multi-age Older learners scribe the groups a younger learner names, then share one group they share in common
self-directed A learner fills the web alone and reads the groups back to check they named several, not just one
level-grouped Learners ready to extend sort their groups into kinds (family, place, interest, language, faith or culture)
outdoor-only Stand in the center of a ring of stones or leaves and name each group as you point to its marker

A web diagram with a simple figure in the center labeled "me," and six empty circles around it connected by lines. Small labels around the edge suggest ideas: family, class, community, a club or team, a faith or culture, a language. The circles are blank so a learner writes or draws their own groups.

Lesson 7 — The Groups I Belong To

Summary

Learners name the several groups they belong to at once — family, class, community, a club or team, a faith or cultural community, a language group — and see themselves at the center of a web of belonging. This is the first half of understanding how group membership shapes who they are.

Objectives

Name several groups they belong to. (D01.S2.03.02)

Connection

Right now you belong to more than one group at the same time. You are in a family, a class, a neighborhood or village, maybe a team or club, maybe a faith or cultural community, and you speak at least one language with others who speak it too. Being in a group means you share something with the other people in it. In a big city apartment block, a child belongs to a family, a class, a football team, and a grandmother’s village far away — all at once. Belonging is like a web with you in the middle.

Materials

My Groups web
Group idea chart
Crayons and pencils

Preparation

Copy a “My Groups” web page for each learner.
Prepare the group idea chart (kinds of groups).
Arrange a circle for sharing.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). The goal is breadth — that a learner can name several groups, not just one or two. Normalize that everyone belongs to many groups, and that some groups are chosen (a club, a team) while others are given (a family, a birthplace, a language). Honor every kind of group without ranking: a faith community is not “better” than a sports team, and a child with no formal club still belongs to their family, class, and community. Where natural, invite learners to name a group that meets far away or online — belonging can cross distance. Keep the web open and welcoming; there is no “correct” number of groups.

Procedure

Gather (5 min). You have been telling the story of your life. Now look at the groups you belong to — the circles you stand inside every day.
Meet the web (10 min). Look at the page: you are in the middle, and empty circles wait around you. Each circle is a group you belong to. A group is people you share something with — a home, a class, a place, a game, a belief, a language.
Brainstorm kinds of groups (5 min). Read the idea chart: family, class, community, a club or team, a faith or culture, a language. Can you think of more? A choir, a farm, a group of cousins, a group that meets online.
Fill your web (15 min). Draw or write one group in each circle — your own real groups. Try to name several, not just one. If you run out of circles, draw more.
Share and count (5 min). With a partner, name your groups and count them. Notice how many groups one person can belong to — and how your list and theirs are different.

Differentiation

Support: Provide picture cards of group kinds (a house, a school, a ball, a place of gathering, a speech bubble) to place in the circles; scribe the names.
Extension: Sort your groups into kinds — family, place, interest, language, faith or culture — and label each circle.

Assessment

Formative (observation): Can the learner name several (three or more) groups they belong to?

Home connection

Ask someone at home what groups they belong to, and add one new idea to your own web.

Resources

CASEL SEL Framework (self-awareness and social awareness): https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/