A. Heritage and Identity · Our Changing Roles and Responsibilities

My Roles and Responsibilities

A3 A1About 30 minutes

Learning goals

I can say what a role is and name some of my roles.
I can say what a responsibility is and name some of my responsibilities.
I can match a role with the responsibilities that go with it.
I can explain how my roles are part of who I am.

Words to know

role
A part you play or a job you have, like son, daughter, student, big sister or team player.

responsibility
Something you are expected to do or take care of because of your role. Feeding your pet is a responsibility.

identity
All the things that make you you: your name, your family, your roles, the things you like and the languages you speak.

community
A group of people who live, work or play in the same place, like your school, your street or your town.

Let's start with a question

When you are at home, who are you? Maybe you are a daughter or a son. Maybe you are a big brother or a little sister.

When you walk into school, who are you then? You are a student and a classmate.

You are the same person in both places. But you play different parts. Each part is called a role.

What is a role?

A role is a part you play. One person can have many roles at the same time.

Your teacher is a teacher at school. At home, your teacher might be a mom, a dad, an aunt or a grandchild!

What is a responsibility?

A responsibility is something you are expected to do because of your role. Other people count on you to do it.

A student has the responsibility to listen and try their best.
A pet owner has the responsibility to feed the pet and give it water.
A big sister might have the responsibility to help her little brother put on his boots.

A tabby cat eats from a bowl beside a water dish near a front door with a backpack and winter boots. — A pet owner's responsibility is to give the pet food and water every day. The backpack and boots by the door are clues to other roles too: student and helper. AI-generated image

👧🏠🏫⚽🐶

Maya is one person with many roles: a daughter at home, a student at school, a player on her soccer team and the owner of a dog.

Maya's role	Where	One of her responsibilities
daughter	at home	sets the table for supper
big sister	at home	reads a story to her baby brother
student	at school	puts up her hand to speak
soccer player	at the park	brings her water bottle and plays fair
dog owner	at home	fills the dog's water bowl

One person, many roles. Each role has its own responsibilities.

Just for fun

What if you had to wear a different hat for every role? A daughter hat, a big-sister hat, a student hat, a soccer hat, a dog-walking hat... You'd need a whole closet just for hats!

Worked example

Example: Let's match roles and responsibilities

Sam is 6. He is a son, a student and a friend. Match each responsibility to one of Sam's roles.

Hang up his coat at school
Share the swing with Ali at recess
Put his dirty socks in the laundry basket

Ask: Where does it happen and who is counting on Sam?
Hanging up his coat at school helps his class. That is part of being a student.
Sharing the swing with Ali is being kind to his friend. That is part of being a friend.
Putting his socks in the laundry basket helps his family at home. That is part of being a son.

Coat at school → student. Sharing the swing → friend. Socks in the basket → son.

Roles are part of who you are

Your roles help make up your identity. When Maya says "I am a big sister, I play soccer and I love my dog," she is telling you about who she is.

Everyone's roles are different, and that is great. Some children live with one parent, some with two, some with grandparents, and some in other kinds of families. Every family counts.

Maya's roles hand: one role on each finger and her name in the palm. One person can have many roles at the same time.

Hands-on activity

My roles hand

You need: paper, a pencil and crayons.

Trace your hand on the paper.
In each finger, draw or write one of your roles (for example: son, sister, student, friend, helper, swimmer).
In the palm, write your name.
Tell a grown-up one responsibility for each role.

Math and talk link: count your roles. Who in your family has the most roles? Ask a grown-up to make a hand too and compare!

Your turn

What is a role?

Name two roles you have.

What is a responsibility?

Lily is a student. Name one responsibility she has at school.

Omar has a goldfish. What is one responsibility Omar has?

Can one person have more than one role? Tell how you know.

Draw yourself doing one of your responsibilities at home. Tell a grown-up about it.

More practice: warm-up

🏫 Is student a role or a place?

True or false: Only grown-ups have roles.

Which role goes with this responsibility: "Listen when the teacher is talking"? student or soccer player

🐶 Name one responsibility of a dog owner.

Say this sentence and finish it: "At home, one of my roles is ___."

More practice: on your own

Mr. Chen is a teacher, a dad and a hockey coach. How many roles did we name for him?

Match the responsibility to the role: "Pass the puck and play fair." Is it hockey player or librarian?

Zoe is a big sister. Give one way she could help her baby brother.

Why does a responsibility matter? What happens if nobody feeds the class fish?

Name one role you have at school and one at home. Are they the same?

Challenge

Your grandpa is a grandpa, a dad and a neighbour. Is he a dad? Whose dad is he?

Make up a new role for yourself in your classroom (like plant helper). What would your responsibilities be?

Kai says, "I am a friend, so I never have to share." Do you agree? Explain.

Check your understanding

Quiz

What is a role?

Which is a responsibility of a student?

Mrs. Patel is a doctor, a mom and a neighbour. How many roles is that?

Which responsibility goes with the role pet owner?

True or false: A child can have only one role.

Leo puts his boots on the boot tray at school. Which role is he doing that job for?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: People have many roles (son, daughter, student, friend, teammate), and each role comes with responsibilities. Our roles are part of our identity, our sense of who we are.

How to help at home:

Name your own roles out loud: "Right now I'm being a cook. At work I'm a cashier. I'm also your mom and Grandma's daughter."
Give your child one small, regular household responsibility (feeding a pet, setting out spoons, sorting socks) and connect it to their role: "Because you're part of this family, you help with..."

Common difficulties:

Mixing up a role with a place ("my role is school"). Ask: "Who are you at school?"
Thinking only adults have responsibilities. Point out the things your child already does that others count on.
Families look very different. Make sure your child knows every kind of family counts, including one-parent, two-parent, grandparent-led, foster, adoptive and blended families.