Ayash Grows a Family Tree Lesson Plan Teacher Guide

This Teachers’ Guide is created to accompany the picture book Ayash Grows A Family Tree and includes comprehension and analysis questions as well as practical activities that can be conducted in a classroom.

LEVEL: Grades K - 5

THEMES
Asian Interest, Sri Lanka, Genealogy, Diverse Books, Multicultural, Multi-generational, Family, Creative Play

BOOK DESCRIPTION

School projects have never been so much fun…

Five-year-old Ayash has a problem: how do you grow a family tree?
Help arrives in the form of his grandmother, Paatti, who, armed with a box of old photographs, gently guides the eager little boy while teaching him about his roots.
A humorous and endearing tale that will become a firm family favourite!

SYNOPSIS

Ayash is excited about his new school project. He contacts his grandmothers for help and advice. His paternal grandmother – Paatti – sits with him and explains some of the family connections and history he has never encountered before. Ayash is confident he can complete the project on his own. He prepares a spot in his garden and attempts to grow an actual tree! Fortunately, Paatti returns in time to save the day.

BACKGROUND

On the surface, the story teaches children the importance of knowing your roots. It allows for parents (or grandparents) to relate some family history, especially about members who may live overseas or have passed away.

The story also indirectly puts forward the idea of families of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity. Ayash’s paternal grandmother, Paatti, is Tamil. His maternal grandmother, Archchi, is Sinhalese. (These are the two main communities living in Sri Lanka, a small island nation off the southern coast of India.) Recent Sri Lankan history saw tensions between these two ethnic groups culminating in a 30-year civil war that ended in 2009.