Multicultural Unit Plan Sam Sather Brogna - WordPress.com

Multicultural Unit Plan Sam Sather Brogna

A: Informational Components

Lesson Title: Similarities and Differences Unit Lesson Plan # 1

Grade Level: 1st Grade

State Standards Connection: Social Studies, standard 1

(Culture): Students will recognize and describe how schools and neighborhoods are

both similar and different. Objective 1

Recognize and describe examples of differences within school and neighborhood. A.

Recognize differences within their school and neighborhood.

English Language Arts

Language Standard 2

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Writing Standard 5

With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and

suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.

Specific Lesson Objective: Given a similarities and differences chart, each student will

compare him or herself to a partner by writing at least five descriptive words or phrases

in each column of the chart.

Essential Question (s): What is Culture?

Do our experiences make us more similar than different to each other?

Vocabulary Focus:

• Similarities

• Differences

• Unique

Materials/Advanced Preparation by Teacher: Get copy of the book What Makes Us Unique? By Dr. Jillian Roberts

Similarities and Differences chart for each student

Determine partners

Anticipated Time Frame: 30 minutes

B: Instructional Procedures

Engage and Launch: Today we are going to talk about similarities and differences. Can anyone tell me one

thing that all of us have in common, one similarity? Can anyone tell me a difference we

all have?

Even though we are all similar in many ways, we are also different. Being different is a

good thing… We can learn from our differences in many ways. I want all of you to listen

as I read a story called What Makes Us Unique? by Dr. Jillian Roberts.

Explore: Read the book. Discuss similarities and differences (access prior knowledge through

grand discussion found in intro.) Have students look around the sharing circle and see

all the differences that each of the students has. Explain to the students that they are

all part of the great country America known as the “melting pot” - (a place where a

variety of races, cultures, or individuals assimilate into a cohesive whole).

Explain/Summarize: After the story: Talk about how this story was about everyone being different and the

same in many ways. Raise your hand if you liked this story? Let us get started on our

similarities and differences project. Today we are going to work in partners. Each

partner is going to have his or her own chart to fill out using descriptive words to

describe the similarities and differences that are found. Model how to fill out the chart.

Emphasize that students need to make sure you have five descriptive words or phrases

on each side of the chart

Elaborate/Extend: Bring the class back together to share their findings. Call up partners and have them

tell about the similarities and differences the found. Point out when a set of partners do

a great job of coming up with descriptive words or phrases to describe their similarities

and differences. Reiterate that we are all different and the same in many ways and that

is what makes each of us special. Just as we are similar and different from each other,

many other things have similarities and differences as well. As we continue talking

about similarities and differences, we will find out how each culture is unique.

Evaluate/Assess: Students will be assessed on the completion of the similarities and differences chart.

They should have at least five descriptive words or phrases under similarities, and five

under differences.

Adaptations for Gifted/Talented, ELL and Special Education: Adaptations/Enrichment:

Student with Gifts and Talents- Have students come up with at least five descriptive

sentences describing their similarities and differences and have them write them on the

chart. The students could also include illustrations if they have left over time.

Students with Learning Disabilities- Students should be paired up with a partner who

can help them in writing their descriptive words if needed. Provide the students with a

list of possible descriptive words that they can refer too for writing.

Students with behavioral disorders- Have these students working with those who get

along with them. Allow these students to go to the corner of the classroom at the

reading station to avoid conflicts with other groups. If problems are severe and the

student cannot work with others, give him or her picture of an individual for him to use

to complete the activity.

Handouts (see attached)

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Lesson Title: Lesson #2 What is Your Culture?


Academic Standard(s): Social Studies, standard 1

(Culture): Students will recognize and describe how schools and neighborhoods are

both similar and different.

Objective 1

Recognize and describe examples of differences within school and neighborhood.

A. Recognize differences within their school and neighborhood.

English Language Arts

Language Standard 2



Writing Standard 5



Specific Lesson Objective(s): Students will begin to understand what culture is. I want

the students to begin to think about the pieces that make up their own cultures.

Essential Question (s): What is Culture?

Do our experiences make us more similar than different to each other?

Vocabulary Focus:

• Culture

• Language

• Celebrations

Materials/Advanced Preparation by Teacher: Get copy of the book What Makes Us Unique? By Dr. Jillian Roberts

My Culture Worksheet for each student

Anticipated Time Frame: 30-45 minutes


Engage and Launch: Gather the students together in a comfortable area. Ask them what they remember

about the similarities and differences chart we filled out last time. Explain to the

students that today they will be exploring all the things that make them unique and

special. Ask each student to share something that makes them special. Ask the

students to think about students who shared similar answers. Ask the students to think

about students who shared different answers.

Explain to the students that everyone is different and that our differences make us

unique and special. Ask the students to think about what the world would be like if

everyone looked, spoke, and acted the in the same way.

Encourage a few students to share their answers with the class.

Show the students the Hello Song! video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjwkMmdqmH4

Briefly discuss the video using prompting questions such as What are the children

saying to each other? and Do the students all speak the same language?

Explore: Tape up a large piece of paper on the white board. In the center of the paper, write

“Ms. Brogna’s Culture.” Point to the word culture. Ask the students

what culture means. Allow a few students to share their ideas, and then explain to them

that someone’s culture has to do with the way they speak, dress, celebrate, play, and

live.

Get out the eight index cards and scatter them on a table or on the ground. Call on a

student to pick up one of the cards. Read the card aloud, for example, “My

Language,” and tape it up on the anchor chart. Draw a line from the culture circle to

the index card, then model thinking about what this index card means. i.e. explain that

my language is what I speak to communicate with others. Mention that I have friends

who speak one language at home and one at school. Draw a picture of myself

speaking to someone next to the card. Continue this process with all of the index

cards, thinking aloud as I explain what the index card means.

During this time find moments to:

Explain to the students that my anchor chart shows all the characteristics of my culture,

many of the things that make me unique and special. Ask a few students to come up to

the front of the classroom. Pick a few cultural characteristics such as “My Family,"

"Celebrations," and "Music and Art.”

Ask the students to share their ideas with the class. For example, students will share the

members of their family, the celebrations they partake in, and their favorite music and

art.

Explain/Summarize: Explain to the students that they will now be creating their own personal cultural

charts/map.

Pass out the My Culture worksheet, coloring materials, and pencils. Project or draw the

worksheet on the whiteboard. Explain to the students that they will be brainstorming &

recording information to create their own culture poster.

Help students to read the words in each box. Sketch a symbol in each box so students

who have trouble reading can figure out where to draw each picture. For example, in

the box labeled “What I eat,” draw a small bowl.

Explain to the students that they will draw a picture in each box using colored pencils

about this aspect of their culture.

Ask students to tell me what they will be doing now. Allow the students to get to work.

Encourage them to use my anchor chart as a reference.

Rotate around the classroom and help students who need support. This will be when I

work, primarily, one-on-one with strugglers.

Elaborate/Extend: Bring the class back together to share. Call the students together as a group and ask

them to bring their culture sheets.

Explain to the students that as you share your pictures, you want them to notice the

similarities and differences between themselves.

Allow students to share their work with their classmates.

Replay the Hello Song!

Evaluate/Assess: At the beginning, I will ask the students what they remember about the similarities and

differences lesson.

As I rotate around the room, I will make note of students who struggle to draw their

pictures. Assist these students as needed.

During our closing I will listen as the children share their pictures and to the discussion

that ensues about similarities and differences.

I will gather the worksheets at the end of the lesson as a form of exit ticket.


Explain to students that if they finish early they can fill out the “I am special because…”

section. Model by reading the next page, “I am special because” and explain to the

students that if they have time, they will think of at least one reason why they are

special and try to write a complete sentence. They can also draw a picture of

themselves in the box at the bottom of the page.

Students with Learning Disabilities- Students can pair up with a partner who can help

them understand where to draw each category and to explain the categories if needed.

Provide the students with a list of possible descriptive words that they can refer too.


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Lesson Title: Lesson #3 Interviewing Lesson


Academic Standard(s): English Language Arts

Language Standard 2



Writing Standard 2

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts

about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

Writing Standard 5



Writing Standard 8

With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather

information from provided sources to answer a question.

Specific Lesson Objective(s): Students will observe an example interview between the

teacher and a classmate. Interview a classmate using a provided form. Bring home a

letter and family interview form. Interview parents, grandparents, or other relatives.

Essential Question (s): Are all people who live in America originally from immigrants?

Vocabulary Focus:

• Interview

• Ancestors

• Immigrant

• Immigration

Materials/Advanced Preparation by Teacher: Get copy of the book Coming to America – The Story of Immigration by Betsy Maestro

Classmate Interview Form

Clipboards

Letter to Parents for Interview

Parent Interview Form

Determine partners



Engage and Launch: Write Immigrant and Melting Pot on the board and ask them if they know what those

words mean. Engage in a quick discussion about the meanings and make the point

that anyone who lives in America came from immigrants. Introduce the word interview.

Gather the students together in a comfortable area and read Coming to America –

The Story of Immigration by Betsy Maestro being sure to pause for

questions/comments/connection/predictions.

After the book discussion, explain to the students that they are going to be

interviewing each other today. Go over collaborative conversations reminding them to

listen to each other, make eye contact and check for understanding as they go along.

Explore: Model an interview by selecting a student volunteer from the class and, using

questions from the Classmate Interview Form, ask the child questions and record his or

her answers. Model three questions and then have the student model asking me three

questions. Project the interview form and have the class read aloud each question –

draw a quick picture by each question that helps serve as a prompt/clue as to what the

question is asking so they can refer to the questions if they get stuck on a question

they are having a hard time reading.

Explain/Summarize: Announce that students will be working together in pairs. Have the students join their

partners. Hand out the clipboards and the Classmate Interview Form. Show the

students where to put their names and names of their partners. Remind them that they

are writing about the other person, not themselves. Have your students interview one

another.

Bring the class back together for sharing time. Have the students share their interview

results in pairs.

Elaborate/Extend: Make sure the students understand the terms "ancestors" and "immigration and post

them in the classroom. Explain that students will be doing two interviews at home.

They can talk to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other relatives. One interview

should be about their moms' families and the other should be about their dads'

families.

Distribute the Cover Letter to Parents and Interview Form for Mom’s and Dad’s

Families. As a class, read these two forms together. Discuss what each question means.

Let the students know they will have the long weekend to complete their interviews,

and show them the dates on a class calendar. Allow time for the students' questions.

Evaluate/Assess: I will know if the lesson is working if children are on-task. I will choose the partners

carefully by pairing a reader with a non-reader. I will circulate constantly to monitor

what’s happening and offer assistance.

The lesson will be considered successful if the students and their families fill in the

interview form.


Explain to students that if they finish early they can rank their top three responses and

provide a few sentences about why they especially like those answers.


them understand each question and to explain the questions if needed.


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Lesson Title: Lesson #4 Read Aloud using Doodle Journal



Speaking and Listening Standard 1

Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics

and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

b. Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others

through multiple exchanges.


Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information

presented orally or through other media.


Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas,

thoughts, and feelings.

Essential Question(s): Do each of us have a direct connection with immigrants?

Vocabulary Focus:

• Immigrant

• Culture

• Melting Pot

Materials/Advanced Preparation by Teacher: Book - All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel by

Dan Yaccarino

Student Daily Journals

Youtube clip of Schoolhouse Rock’s Melting Pot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZQl6XBo64M

White Board



Engage and Launch: Write Immigrant , Culture and Melting Pot on the board and review what the students

know about these vocabulary words. Explain to the students that I am going to be

reading aloud the book All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a

Little Shovel by Dan Yaccarino. Explain to them that I would like them to use their

journals to doodle while I am reading. Explain the term “doodling” and explain that I

want them to doodle the images and thoughts that come to their minds while I am

reading; being sure to make the difference between doodling random images versus

relevant images such as the little silver shovel in the book.

Explore:

Model the doodling and show them the book. Ask the children to pull out their journals

and crayons/pencils/colored pencils. Begin reading the book while walking around the

room taking moments to observe the doodles children are doing. Pause at various

points in the book to talk about the generations of Dan’s family that are being

introduced, what the journey must have been like from Europe to America by ship,

make connections about the little silver shovel and how it’s used by each generation.

Make as many connections to immigrants and their reasons for coming to the U.S. as

possible.

Explain/Summarize: After the book, have a discussion about the book, the shovel and Dan Yaccarino’s

connection to immigrants. Have the children watch the Schoolhouse Rock video about

America the Great Melting Pot. After the video ask the students about the message of

the song. Go over the vocabulary again to see if they have a better understanding and

can make connections about immigrant, culture and melting pot.

Tell the students that our next lesson will be an opportunity to review the family

interview forms and create a clothespin doll that reflects one of their ancestors.

Elaborate/Extend: Have the children share their doodle journal entries and talk about what they were

thinking or imagining during the story.

Evaluate/Assess: I will assess their understanding by the discussions, questions and journal entries.

Adaptations/Enrichment: Explain to students that if they would rather or in addition to doodling, they can write

a readers response to the story. Suggest that they write down connections, questions

and their thoughts to Dan’s story.

Students with Learning Disabilities: Students can choose not to doodle and I will be sure to display the book pages after

reading each page so they can see the artwork.


______________________________________________________________________________


Lesson Title: Lesson #4 Writing Workshop using POW + TIDE writing model



Language Standard 2



Writing Standard 2

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts

about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

Writing Standard 5



Writing Standard 8

With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather

information from provided sources to answer a question.

Specific Lesson Objective(s): Students will use their cultural charts and family

interviews from lessons 2 & 3, students will write five sentences beginning with capital

letters and ending punctuation to describe their personal culture and utilizing POW +

TIDE writing model.

P – pull apart the prompt

O – organize my notes

W - write and say more

T – topic introduction

ID – important details (3)

E - end

Essential Question(s): Do each of us have a direct connection with the immigrant experience?

Vocabulary Focus:

• Interview

• Ancestors

• Immigration

Materials/Advanced Preparation by Teacher: Gather information & interviews from lesson 2 & 3.

Graphic Organizer

Writing paper

Anticipated Time Frame: One or two 35-minute lessons dependent on when the

students are able to produce a graphic organizer and create 5 sentences from it.


Engage and Launch: Write Immigrant and Melting Pot on the board and review what they know about those

words. Engage in a quick discussion about their interviews and lead to the point that

anyone who lives in America came from immigrants.

Revisit schoolhouse Rock Melting Pot video:


After the video have a quick Q&A, Explain to the students that they are going to be

going over their research and information they have gathered and filling out a graphic

organizer. If time allows they will begin their writing.

Explore:

Model the graphic organizer and show the students the information packet they will be

receiving that houses all of the research they have done to-date.

Project the graphic organizer form and have the class read aloud each section – model

each portion using the information I have modeled about myself over the last few

lessons. Draw a green (topic), yellow (important details) or red (end) box around each

section to help remind them about TIDE that helps serve as a prompt/clue as to what

that section is if they get stuck on what to put in that section.

Explain/Summarize: Announce that students will be working for the next 10-15 minutes on their graphic

organizer. Tell the students that if they finish early, to pass off their organizer with me

and then I will have them get started on their sentences. Hand out the organizers and

packets. Have the students get started. I will walk around and assess students as they

are working in addition to helping one-on-one or in small group if needed.

Bring the class back together.

Elaborate/Extend: Have the children share their sentences. Pointing out good use of conventions such as

beginning a sentence with an uppercase letter and ending with the correct

punctuation, spacing, legibility, etc. As the children read their sentences prompt the

children to begin to make the connection that we all come from immigrants or are

immigrants.

Evaluate/Assess: I will know if the lesson is working if children are on-task. I will assess their

understanding by their graphic organizers and resulting sentences. I will circulate

constantly to monitor what’s happening and offer assistance.

The lesson will be considered successful if the students fill out the graphic organizer

and finish with a piece of writing that has a topic sentence, 3 important details and an

ending.

Adaptations/Enrichment:

Explain to students that if they finish early they can sign off their graphic organizers and

begin to write their sentences. Have the student peer edit for the conventions we have

talked about in class.


them understand each part of the organizer and to explain the sentences if needed. I

will also work in small groups to provide support to the students who struggle with

writing.


______________________________________________________________________________


Lesson Title: Lesson #6 Clothes Pin Ancestor Dolls


Academic Standard(s): Visual Arts

Strand: CREATE (1.V.CR.)

Students will generate artistic work by conceptualizing, organizing, and completing

their artistic ideas. They will refine original work through persistence, reflection, and

evaluation (Standards 1.V.CR.1–3).

Strand: CONNECT (1.V.CO.)

Students will relate artistic skills, ideas, and work with personal meaning and external

context (Standards 1.V.CO.1–2).

Standard 1.V.CO.2:

Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen

understanding that people from different times and places have made art for a variety

of reasons.

Specific Lesson Objective(s): Students will create a clothespin doll to represent their

personal culture by reflecting their cultural writings in their artwork.

Essential Question(s): Do each of us have a direct connection with immigrants?

Vocabulary Focus:

• Ancestors

• Culture

• Immigration

• Immigrant

• Melting Pot

Materials/Advanced Preparation by Teacher: Gather all student work from previous lessons and consolidate into a packet for each

student

Clothespins

Materials for dolls - fabric, eyes, markers, pipe cleaners, materials children can use to

create a doll that looks like an ancestor

Glue Gun

Anticipated Time Frame: Two 35 minutes Lessons


Engage and Launch: Write Immigrant, Immigration, Culture, Ancestors, and Melting Pot on the board and

review what the students know about these words. Engage in a quick discussion about

their interviews and lead to the point that anyone who lives in America came from

immigrants.

Show schoolhouse Rock Melting Pot video:


After the video have a quick Q&A, Explain to the students that they are going to be

going over their research and information they have gathered and filling out a graphic

organizer. If time allows they will begin their writing.

Explore: Model the graphic organizer and show the students the information packet they will be

receiving that houses all of the research they have done to-date.

Project the graphic organizer form and have the class read aloud each section – model

each portion using the information I have modeled about myself over the last few

lessons. Draw a green (topic), yellow (important details) or red (end) box around each

section to help remind them about TIDE that helps serve as a prompt/clue as to what

that section is if they get stuck on what to put in that section.

Explain/Summarize: Announce that students will be working for the next 10-15 minutes on their graphic

organizer. Tell the students that if they finish early, to pass off their organizer and then I

will have them get started on their sentences. Hand out the organizers and packets.

Have the students get started. I will walk around and assess students as they are

working in addition to helping one-on-one or in small group if needed.

Bring the class back together.

Elaborate/Extend: Have the children share their sentences. Fascilitate a discussion that underscores that

we all come from immigrants to the U.S. Marvel at each child’s ancestry. The next part

of this lesson is for the children to create their clothespin doll using elements from their

family interviews.

Evaluate/Assess: I will know if the lesson is working if children are on-task. I will assess their

understanding by their graphic organizers and resulting sentences. I will circulate

constantly to monitor what’s happening and offer assistance.

The lesson will be considered successful if:

• the students fill out the graphic organizer and finish with a piece of writing that

has a topic sentence, 3 important details and an ending.

• Create a doll that reflects elements from their family interviews.

Adaptations/Enrichment:

Explain to students that if they finish early they begin.


them understand each question and to explain the questions if needed.


Handouts that accompany lessons to Follow

Name: _______________________________________________________

Partner: ______________________________________________________

Similarities & Differences Chart

Similarities Things we have in common

1. ___________________________

2. ___________________________ 3. ___________________________ 4. ___________________________ 5. ___________________________

Differences Things that make us different

1. ___________________________

2. ___________________________ 3. ___________________________ 4. ___________________________ 5. ____________________________

Class Mate Interview Form

My Name: ____________________________________________________

Today I am interviewing: ______________________________________

1. What is your favorite thing to do? (NOT TV or video/computer games)

______________________________________________________

2. What sports do you like? ____________________________________

3. Do you have pets? __________________________________________

If yes, what pets and how many?________________________________

4. Tell me about your bike. What color is it? Does it have training wheels?

______________________________________________________

5. Do you jump rope? _________________________________________

6. Do you play cards? _________________________________________

If yes, what cards games do you play? __________________________

7. Do you play games like Monopoly, checkers, or chess? If yes, which games do you play?

_____________________________________

8. Have you been on a boat? ___________________________________

If yes, where did you go? ______________________________________

9. What do you want to do when you grow up? ___________________

10. Where will you live when you are grown up? __________________

Letter to Parents for Interview

Dear Parents,

For social studies our class has been learning about culture and that our Nation is

made up of people who came here from many different countries.

Before beginning this unit, the students filled out a very brief questionnaire to gauge

their understandings and ideas about culture. As a class we have gotten to know each

other through similarities and differences activities, brainstormed the vocabulary words

culture and melting pot, and we have read and discussed What Makes Us Unique? By

Dr. Jillian Roberts.

In addition, in music the children are learning Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star in Japanese

and Spanish and there have been opportunities to fortify this unit such as when the

children gathered together to hear the book Whoever You are by Mem Fox. Most

recently, the children have created an initial culture map about their own culture.

This week we will be reading and discussing Coming to America – The Story of

Immigration by Betsy Maestro. If time allows, we will also read Molly’s Pilgrim by

Barbara Cohen and All The Way to America by Dan Yaccarino. We will be introducing

the vocabulary words, immigrant and heritage and making the connection to culture to

the class. The children will then have an opportunity to make a clothespin doll of their

own that represents their cultural heritage in which they will cull ideas for their doll

from an interview that the children will conduct with you.

Today, in lieu of homework as it is a short week, we are sending home two interview

forms so your child can ask you about your families. There is one area on the form for

each side of your family – please feel free to add paper if you need to. The hope is that

you and your child can fill in the forms together, with your child doing the writing.

Please return the forms to school by Tuesday, October 24, 2017.

Thank you very much for your help and we hope you enjoy your UEA weekend!

Sincerely,

Ms. Brogna

Parent Interview Form

Name: _______________________________________________________

About My Family

My Mom’s Family – feel free to use more paper if you need it!

WHAT country or countries did your family come from?

______________________________________________________________________________

Why did they come to the United States? _________________________________________

About WHEN did your family come to the United States? ___________________________

WHERE did your family live when they FIRST came to the U.S.? (city or state)

________________________________________________________________________

My DAD’S Family - feel free to use more paper if you need it!

WHAT country or countries did your family come from?

______________________________________________________________________________

Why did they come to the United States? _________________________________________

About WHEN did your family come to the United States? ___________________________

WHERE did your family live when they FIRST came to the U.S.? (city or state)

______________________________________________________________________________

Additional Information from either parent:

I will be making a clothespin doll to representative of my family heritage, can you think of any

details I should include on my doll? _____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Name: _________________________________________________________

TIDE Planner

Topic

Important Detail Important Detail Important Detail

End

Sam Sather

Daily Unit Reflections

Reflection for Lesson #1 - Similarities and Differences Unit Lesson Plan

1. How and why did you use funds of knowledge data in designing the unit?

I chose to create a unit about multiculturalism for my first grade class. I chose this unit for many

reasons: Our principal, Donna Reid, expressed at the first back-to-school faculty meeting that

the school had a grade-wide goal of incorporating multiculturalism into the curriculum for the

2017-2018 school year, a growing concern in education is that social studies is often bypassed

as an emphasis on instruction time is placed on English Language Arts, Math and Science, and

I am personally interested and invested in creating an inclusive classroom.

To design my unit I gave a pre-assessment to the students to get a better understanding about

what they knew about the concept of culture. After looking at the results of the pre-

assessment, I designed a unit that introduced the students to culture and explored the

essential questions of:

• Whether we are more similar than we are different • If we all have a direct connection to the immigrant experience

2. How and why did you use the research in context data you collected as you designed your unit?

I began to develop a multicultural unit after mining the community that Bonneville Elementary

serves for context data. By taking the time to look at the area surrounding the school –

churches, businesses, houses, parks as well as getting to know the families and staff at the

school I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the students that Bonneville serves. I

began to see opportunities I could take to adjust the curriculum to be more relevant to the

student’s Funds of Knowledge. I realized that there were many ways to introduce the concept

of culture to the class. That our class could not only explore each other’s cultures but that I

could also introduce the students to the diversity present in the community(ies) in which they

live. I also saw opportunities for the student to make connections to his/herself through a

family ancestry project that I hoped would serve to expand his/her knowledge of other cultures

while making connections to his/her own ancestry. Within the unit there are lessons where the

children work together to learn about the similarities and differences they both share, to make

connections to family members who might be living in another country that has a much

different culture than the one they left behind, as well as learn about other cultures that they

don’t have access to…yet.

3. How and why did you use the pre-assessment data of students’ knowledge, abilities, and interests as you designed your curriculum and made instructional decisions? Once I had the pre-assessment data I was able to glean that although the majority of the class

had some exposure to the concepts of tradition and group, that virtually none of them really

understood the term culture or what it means. In addition, just a third of the class had been

exposed to the idea of America as the great melting pot. I saw opportunities to frame the unit

as a way for students to learn about and make connections to themselves with the immigrant

experience as evidenced through a summative ancestry doll project. I felt that the pre-

assessment data gave me greater insight and helped to rid myself of pre-conceived ideas

based on the demographic information I had found about the Bonneville Elementary

community. I learned that many of these students travel for recreation and have been to many

culturally-diverse places. I learned that many of them have family members who are serving

LDS missions in areas where English isn’t the first language and where they are learning and

experiencing other cultures. I also learned that there are more than a few of the students in the

classroom who speak another language (in fact Serbian, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Slovenian

and Croatian are all represented in the class), are from a different country or celebrate holidays

and traditions that their fellow students might not know about. As I developed my unit I was

sure to consider these insights and look for ways and opportunities that I could utilize these

resources to make the student experiences richer.

Sam Sather

Reflection for Lesson #2 What is Your Culture? - Unit Lesson Plan

4. How did you conduct formative assessment and make changes as you taught your lesson?

Throughout the lesson I was constantly assessing student understanding. At the beginning of

this lesson, I asked the students what they remembered about the previous similarities and

differences lesson. During this discussion I was able to gauge what had stuck and what we

needed to review before going forward with this lesson. There were a lot of comments about

hair color (mine is blond and so is theirs), siblings (I have a brother but he doesn’t have any

brothers or sisters) and gender (we are both girls) BUT there were a few answers in which

students reported that one of them celebrated Christmas while the other one celebrated

Hanukah or that one student only spoke English but the person they were paired with spoke

another language in addition to English. This served to be a great discussion for launching into

today’s lesson about what makes up our own cultures.

Once we transitioned to the students working on their culture maps, I rotated around the room

and noted which students struggled to write about their cultures and changed the expectation

to having them draw their pictures that represented their cultures. In addition, I assisted those

students who needed it.

During the closing I listened as the children shared their pictures and to the discussion that

ensued. Finally, I gathered the culture maps at the end of the lesson as a form of exit ticket.

5. What effective teaching strategies and technology did you use?

There were many teaching strategies that I used for this lesson. We have had a few challenges

since the school year started with classroom management and I really tried hard to set

expectations for voice level during the various activities. For instance, a level 0 (which is a voice

that is off) voice when students were sharing as opposed to a level 1 voice when they were

doing partner work. I also had the children use the microphone when sharing so that the other

children could hear clearly as well as not get distracted because they couldn’t hear. When we

were reviewing the graphic organizer, I drew pictures by each question so that when the

students were released to do independent work, they could look at those visuals if they

needed help understanding the question.

For this lesson, the technology I used included the ELMO document projector in order to

project the graphic organizer as well as the Internet to show a song video for the students.

6. Behavior: What were your concerns; what worked; what did not; challenges? I was concerned about this lesson because, as mentioned above, we have had some classroom

management challenges since the start of school and although I have tried a variety of

strategies such as adjusting the seating chart, voicing expectations, proximity,

acknowledging/rewarding correct behavior, behavior contracts and etc. there hasn’t seemed to

be a method that works for the long run and this lesson was to be observed by my supervisor.

It turned out that having the children use the microphone was very helpful and kept the other

children interested. Also, reminders about voice level as well as keeping the pace moving

instead of spending too much time on one area, seemed to be the most effective strategies.

Finally, I had adopted a pluses strategy (rows are given “+’s” when all of the students in that

row are on task) that my supervisor suggested after a previous lesson and which has proven to

be effective.

Sam Sather

Reflection for Lesson #3 Interviewing Lesson - Unit Lesson Plan

7. Academic: What were your concerns; what worked; what did not; challenges?

I was concerned about the length of the book and was right. The students fatigued on the

length even though it was a picture book and age appropriate…and because the content was

very interesting they were super engaged …it was just too long for them to sit so I made the

decision to end it early (and we finished it during another session) and move on to the next

part of the lesson. What really worked well was during the portion of the lesson where I

introduced interviewing, modeled how to do it, and had them practice on each other as

preparation for their homework of interviewing their parents/caregivers about their ancestry.

The students really enjoyed this part and were very engaged in the entire process. They

especially enjoyed sharing their interviews with the class once we all came back together.

8. How would you describe student learning during the unit, based on pre-and post- assessment data?

I would describe the student learning during this unit as very good. When I compare the pre-

and post-assessment data, the students now have a solid understanding of the vocabulary and

concepts of culture, immigrant, and America as a melting pot. In addition, our discussions have

become progressively richer as the unit has gone on and I’ve had student questions during

those discussions that indicate that the students are making connections and applying what

they have learned to the context of their lives. Questions or comments that express that it’s

good that there are differences in the world because it makes life more interesting or

awareness that everyone doesn’t celebrate the same holidays, have the same traditions or

believe the same things and that being ok has been the most interesting and rewarding to me.

In addition, students have asked questions that indicate that they are constructing their own

knowledge through the thoughts and questions they begin to wonder about during the

lessons. One student really began to question what the conditions were like on the ships that

his ancestors came to America in. His questions prompted other students to begin to think

about that journey and whether it was “worth it” to be an immigrant to the U.S.

Sam Sather

Reflection for Lesson #2 What is Your Culture? - Unit Lesson Plan

9. Take one lesson guide and discuss what would be the next steps for students who did not meet your objectives.

For this lesson, the students completed the graphic organizer and almost half of them finished

their personal cultural charts/map early and were able to start on an “I am special because…”

sheet in which they were supposed to come up with four sentences – a beginning, two details,

and an ending – about what makes them special using information from the personal culture

charts/map. When I was really able to look at the charts they handed in, I realized that I would

have liked deeper data rather than topline information such as “brothers and sisters” for family,

or Christmas or birthdays as celebrations. I was really hoping to get more detailed information

that truly illustrated each student’s personal culture. If I had the chance, I would like to revisit

this lesson and spend more time really getting a sense of the parts that make up a person’s

individual culture and then try another activity that allows them to mine themselves for that

information. I would also like to share with each other more as that is a major objective for this

unit – the awareness that comes from getting to know each other better in the classroom and

creating that close community.

10. What will you do the same and/or differently in the future in terms of assessing student learning and using assessments to design curriculum?

In the future I hope to continue to utilize pre and post-assessments. The information I learned

from the pre-assessment and how it drove the design of my unit plan was eye opening. The

post assessments really helped me to know for sure if I met the objectives of my unit and how

much learning the children walked away with. I believe that assessing at every turn is key to

effective instruction. I will always be looking for opportunities to know how each child is doing

throughout a unit.

September 20, 2017

Culture Pre-assessment Results

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

1

CouldIdentifyanexampleofatradition

Coulddefine"Group"

Coulddefine"Culture"

Recognizedthatallfamiliy'sarenotthesame

Understandstheterm"MeltingPot"

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

1

PreferstoWorkAlone

PreferstoWorkWithParnter

PreferstoWorkinagroup

Interests-Reading

Interests-Writing

Interests-Drawing

November 3, 2017

Culture Post-assessment Results

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%


Coulddefine"Group"


Recognizedthatall

familiy'sarenotthesame

Understandstheterm

"MeltingPot"

Post-Assessment

Post-Assessment

November 3, 2017

Culture Pre and Post-assessment Result Comparison

Based on pre-and post assessment data, I would describe the student learning during

this unit as very good. Comparing the pre- and post-assessment data, the students now have a

solid understanding of the vocabulary and concepts of culture, group, tradition, and America

as a melting pot. In addition, the students also have a working knowledge and definitions of

the vocabulary words - immigrant and immigration. Class discussions have become

progressively richer as the unit has gone on and the student questions during those discussions

indicate that the students are making connections and applying what they have learned to the

context of their lives and the world in general. Questions and comments have included that

“it’s good” that there are differences in the world because it makes life more interesting. In

addition, students have asked questions that indicate to me that they are constructing their

own knowledge through the thoughts and questions they begin to wonder about during the

lessons. One student really began to question what the conditions were like on the ships that

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%


Coulddefine"Group"


Recognizedthatall

familiy'sarenotthesame

Understandstheterm

"MeltingPot"

Pre-Assessment

Post-Assessment

his ancestors came to America on. His questions prompted other students to begin to think

about that journey and whether it was “worth it” to be an immigrant to the U.S.

The children’s growing awareness that everyone doesn’t celebrate the same holidays,

have the same traditions or believe the same things and that it being ok and actually as one

student said “more interesting!” has been the most rewarding of the discussions for me.

Culture Unit Bibliography

Morrison, G. S. (2006). Fundamentals of early childhood education (4th ed.). New Jersey:

Pearson Education, Inc.

National Council for the Social Studies. (1988). Social Studies for Early Childhood and

Elementary School Children Preparing for the 21st Century.

http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/

Utah Education Network, (2017). Utah Core: 1st grade social studies, Retrieved on September

13, 2017 from http://www.uen.org/core/core.do?courseNum=6010

Latin American Network Information Center. (n.d.). Retrieved May 22, 2017, from

http://lanic.utexas.edu/

Bringing History Home. (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2017, from

http://www.bringinghistoryhome.org/second/unit-2

(n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2017, from

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=second%2Bgrade%2Bunit%2Bon%2B

immigrants&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#q=second grade lesson unit on immigration

Belsito, Walter John Jr., "The Lived Experience of Brazilian Immigrants in Connecticut and

Crimmigration" (2016). Doctoral Dissertations. 1160.

http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1160

Brazil: Five Centuries of Change. (n.d.). Retrieved May 22, 2017, from

https:// l ibrary.brown.edu/create/fivecenturiesofchange/chapters/chapter-

9/brazi l ians-in-the-u-s/

Golan , S., & Petersen, D. (2002, March). Promoting Involvement of Recent Immigrant Families

in Their Children's Education. Retrieved May 23, 2017, from http://www.hfrp.org/family-

involvement/publications-resources/promoting-involvement-of-recent-

immigrant-famil ies-in-their-children-s-education

Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Guide for Educators and School Support Staff. (2017,

March). Retrieved May 22, 2017, from http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-55-

spring-2017/feature/immigrant-and-refugee-children-guide-educators-and-

school-su

Kerr, B. (2014, April 19). Bob Kerr: An immigrant’s journey from Brazil to Brown University.

Retrieved May 22, 2017, from http://www.providencejournal.com/writers/bob-

kerr/20140419-bob-kerr-an-immigrants-journey-from-brazi l-to-brown-

university.ece

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