Grade R My Family Lesson Plan: Life Skills

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This Grade R Life Skills lesson helps learners talk about My family — who lives at home, family members and simple roles, and the idea that families can look different. It is play-based talk, story, drawing and sharing — not a written test.

CAPS topic (naming only): Life Skills, Grade R — study areas Beginning Knowledge and Personal and Social Well-being, with links to Creative Arts (drawing) and oral work. Topic naming: My family / family members and roles (me-and-my-family style weeks). Match the week to your ATP and term. CAPS123 is a practical classroom aid. It is not an official DBE publication.

Near-topic Beginning Knowledge (farm / animals — do not merge): On the farm.

Materials (teacher-prepared)

  • Family-themed storybook (e.g. an inclusive “all kinds of families” picture book you have in school)
  • Chart paper and markers
  • Crayons and drawing paper
  • Family flashcards or picture cards (parent, sibling, grandparent, carer…)
  • Interactive whiteboard or large chart for a shared house drawing
  • Stickers or small reward tokens (optional)

No hosted worksheet download on this page. Do not promise a CAPS123 printable that is not linked here. Use teacher-made flashcards, storybooks and drawing paper.

Learning objectives

By the end of the lesson, learners should be able to:

  1. Identify and describe family members and simple roles.
  2. Recognise that families can look different (diversity of families).
  3. Use basic vocabulary related to family (family, parent, sibling, grandparent, home).
  4. Talk about why families matter in everyday life (care, help, belonging).
  5. Show listening and speaking during discussion and sharing.

Vocabulary

| Term | Meaning for Grade R | | — | — | | Family | The people who care for you / live with you (families can look different) | | Parent | A mother, father or other main carer | | Sibling | A brother or sister | | Grandparent | A grandmother or grandfather | | Home | The place where a family lives |

Previous learning

Learners have been working on ideas such as My body and My emotions (or similar “myself” weeks). This lesson widens the circle from “me” to “people who care for me”.

Anticipated challenges

| Challenge | Classroom move | | — | — | | Shyness about sharing | Positive praise; optional share; never force personal detail | | Non-traditional or sensitive home situations | Celebrate all family structures; no ranking of family types | | Drawing / labelling difficulty | Pre-drawn house templates; teacher scribes labels |

Beginning (about 4 minutes)

  1. Introduction (2 min): Greet learners warmly. Explain: “Today we talk about families — the people who live with us and care for us.”
  2. Story reading (2 min): Read a short family-themed storybook to introduce the topic and inclusive language.

Middle (about 32 minutes)

  1. Discussion and explanation (10 min): Talk about different family members and simple roles. Use flashcards (parents, siblings, grandparents, carers). Invite volunteers to say who lives with them — accept all answers without comparing.
  2. Interactive class house (12 min): On chart paper, draw a simple house. Learners take turns drawing or placing a sticker for a family member. Name the role as they add to the picture.
  3. Own family drawing (10 min): Learners draw their family and label members with help. Circulate; encourage short stories about the drawing.

End (about 4 minutes)

  1. Sharing (2 min): Volunteers show drawings and name one family member.
  2. Exit ticket (2 min): Each learner names one family member and one thing they like to do together. Optional sticker for participation.

Assessment

  • Participation in the shared house activity.
  • Engagement and responses during discussion.
  • Drawings show attempt to identify / label family members (support as needed).
  • Exit-ticket oral responses.

Differentiation

  • Support: Pre-drawn templates; picture vocabulary; Home Language labels first, then LoLT words.
  • Stretch: One short sentence about each person drawn, or share a family tradition / favourite shared activity.
  • Access: Large-print or tactile flashcards; materials within reach; extra time to respond.

Teaching notes

Keep language inclusive: single-parent families, extended families, foster or kinship care, and other caring households are all valid. Emphasise that all kinds of families are unique and special. Do not rank family types. Soft-link only the farm Beginning Knowledge lesson if useful for hub browsing — different theme.

CAPS and ATP reminder

Subject: Life Skills, Grade R. Study areas: Beginning Knowledge and Personal and Social Well-being (+ Creative Arts drawing). Topic: My family. Confirm hours, week and any formal check on your ATP. CAPS subject files: DBE CAPS hub. ATPs: DBE ATP hub (2023ATPs) (2023/24 retained with exclusions — Circular S19 of 2025).

Disclaimer

CAPS123 is independent and not an official DBE publication. Classroom materials without a download link on this page are teacher-prepared.