Culture Studies Learning Research Skills and Valuing Home

Culture Studies: Learning Research Skills and Valuing Home Cultures in One Project Presented by: Brandie Shumate & Amy

About our Classroom Please note…. this is a ‘make belief’ classroom Mrs. Amy and Mrs. Shumate have a rainbow of students from 4 different cultures. These cultures include: African American Asian Hispanic Indian

The Lesson: ‘CULTURE WEEK’ v Objectives of this Lesson: The students understands two important factors of CULTURE: The definition & what makes up a culture. v A better understanding about other cultures v Team Work v Research Strategies v Relationships Length of Lesson: (from beginning to end) ü 2 weeks (1 for research/1 for culture week) Preparation: (Prior to the lesson being taught) • Do our own research of each culture that will be covered, with an emphasis on: families, clothing, food, music, celebrations, and the language. • Creating and sending a note home to parents and families explaining ‘Culture Week’. • Making phone calls to parents and families or other individuals within the community that may want to be a part of this lesson.

Strategies • Find an age-appropriate project Our lesson is geared towards a 1 st grade class, but could actually be modified to be taught in any grade. • Set up the goals and parameters This lesson focuses on 4 different cultures that are in our ‘make belief’ classroom. Therefore, we designed the majority of the research and activities to be done in 4 groups (one for each culture). There will be some individual work. • Make expectations clear Modeling is an important factor in teaching. The week before the students begin their research, we plan to share many facts about our own culture. Each and every component that we are asking our class to do, we plan to do the same. We also plan to send a letter home to each family, making them aware of what our ‘culture week’ lesson is about, how they can help, and even join in with us during this exciting lesson.

Strategies (cont. ) • Plan the culminating activity Each day of the week is designated to one of the four cultures. Parents, as well as any family member, is invited to be a part of their child’s ‘culture day’. At the end of the week, there will be an ‘Around the World’ celebration to bring all the cultures together in order to celebrate our ‘Classroom Community’! • Assess student growth and progress While the students work in groups, we will be able to observe the children’s social skills, language interactions, their understanding of what the lesson is about, as well as their research skills. We can also take the time to have a teacher/student conference throughout the week to assess these things, and to find out what involvement their parents or families are having with this project. A summery, including anecdotal notes, will be put in the child’s portfolio. Reviewing each child’s PASSPORT will be helpful in our assessments. • Adding technology Each group will have the opportunity to use the computers as a research tool for their culture. We will also provide the students will a list of websites where they can find songs that can be played during their special culture day.

Main Focus of their Research What kind of clothes do they wear? What kind of food do they eat? What kind of music do they listen to? What kind of celebrations do they have? Integrated Curriculum Music & Art Social Studies Reading & Writing History

THEIR VERY OWN PASSPORT Each student will be provided with a blank passport at the beginning of ‘Culture Week’. The children will have the opportunity to bring in a photo of themselves to put on the front of this passport, or they can draw a picture of themselves. When this exciting week begins, we will ‘stamp’ their passport to represent the beginning of this journey, and they will receive a ‘stamp’ in their passport each day when a new culture is introduced. At the end of each day, the students will have the opportunity to reflect on what they learned that day about the culture presented. They can write a story, draw a picture, or make a journal entry. Students will have choice in what they choose to do. On Friday, the day we have our ‘Around the World’ celebration, the students will be able to complete their passport, take it home, and share their journey with their own families.