LITERACY & SOCIAL SCIENCE

Kindergarten Interdisciplinary African and African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

THEME: Culture, Dignity, and Identity CONCEPT: Lessons from Africa - Living, Learning and Working Together: Connecting people, places, and cultures to develop pride and dignity in who you are CONTENT TOPIC: Exploring literary and historical themes: respect for oneself and others and appreciating ones personal and cultural identity through fiction and nonfiction texts UNIT TITLE: People - The Same and Different Unit Topic: Exploring Individual Culture Development and Identity Unit Description: During this unit, students will be introduced to and explore the relationship between culture and identity through literature, art and media. Students will be able to display their understanding of the cultural identity within themselves, their communities and/or within different Kingdoms out of Africa.
Key Themes: Cultural Identity Length: 5 weeks Enduring Understandings Essential Questions

Students will understand that there is a relationship between culture and identity. Students will develop an understanding of how all cultures resemble one another in specific ways.

Common Core State Standards Primary Secondary

How do culture and identity influence who we are? How do time, culture and history influence works of art and/or the advancement of science and technology? What can I do to positively impact my community? RI.K.3: With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. W.K.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. RI.K.9: With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures). Secondary: Standards Addressed RL.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. RL.K.9: With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories. W.K.2: Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. RI.K.5 Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book. RL.K.3 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. RL.K.4 Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

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LITERACY & SOCIAL SCIENCE

Kindergarten Interdisciplinary African and African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan
RI.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. RF.K.1b Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters. RF.K.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. RF.K.4 Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding. W.K.5 With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed. W.K.6 With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. SL.K.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. SL.K.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail. SL.K.6 Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. L.K.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. L.K.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts. Reading, Writing, and Citing Textual Evidence Essential Idea Informative Writing Comprehension Summarizing Making connections across a diverse selection of texts (short, extended, online, etc.) Building Knowledge through Texts Making connections between our communities and the communities/kingdoms of Africa The development of asking and answering questions Providing textual details to support answers to questions Using learned and relevant vocabulary: culture, customs, traditions, etc. Diagnostic (Pre-Assessment) 1. The teacher will explain to students that the word culture means the way of life or the traditions that we have in our families. Students will draw a picture that dictates what culture means to them. 2. Student will view photos of African culture (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/artsculture/photo-of-the-day/?c=y&date=12/17/2009). In groups, they will discuss how Africas culture is different from their culture. Formative Assessments Reading and writing conferences; dictation, monitoring small group work, writers workshop, group discussions. Summative Performance Assessment During 4 one hour sessions students will use the information gained in the class and information collected doing home-school connect lessons to create a depiction of how their culture is different and/or the same as African culture (Students work for this unit should be

Cognitive Skills

Content

Assessments (D) Diagnostic (F) Formative (S) Summative

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LITERACY & SOCIAL SCIENCE

Kindergarten Interdisciplinary African and African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan
kept in a social studies folder). Students work can be presented in picture form, collage form, verbal form, or any other form that is approved by the teacher. Students will be presented with a list of questions (rubric) that they should answer during their presentation. Anchor Texts Africa Is Not A Country by Margy Burns Knight, Anne Sibley O'Brien A is for Africa by Ifeoma Oneyfulu Living in Urban Communities by Kristin Sterling The History and Activities of the West African Kingdoms by Gary E. Barr Extended Texts Steck-Vaughn Shutterbug Books: Leveled Reader Making a Difference, Social Studies by STECK-VAUGHN Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney The Kids' Family Tree Book by Caroline Leavitt 1. Students will be presented with a kids friendly Differentiated definition of the word culture. Culture means the way Strategies for Varied of life or the traditions that we have in our families. Learning Profiles Students will draw a picture that dictates what culture Work in small means to them. Students will gather on the rug to groups to discuss their drawings. Student will then view photos of practice African culture (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/artslistening and culture/photo-of-the-day/?c=y&date=12/17/2009). In speaking skills small groups, they will discuss how Africas culture is needed to different from their culture. The teacher will explain to develop. students that during the next few weeks, we will be looking at and comparing Africas culture to our own Classroom different cultures. The teacher will display a map or discourse and globe and ask students who can volunteer to locate the use of Africa. Once Africa is located, the teacher will ask visual aids to students to tell weather Africa is a city, country, or engage in continent. Discuss what a city, country and continent is. learning Inform students that Africa is a continent made up of activities. many countries. Then students will color a picture or Facilitate the map of Africa. selection of a 2. Students will be introduced to new vocabulary: culture, text by asking country, continent, customs, traditions, climate, etc. Introduce the text Africa Is Not A Country, by Margy the student to Burns Knight, Anne Sibley O'Brien. Take a picture walk of connect the book. Have an open discussion about the pictures. experiences in Ask students to describe the people (characters) and their lives. setting of the story. How is the setting different from Use strategic the setting where you live and how are the people grouping for different? How is the climate different? (Provide Turn and Talk. students with examples to help them during the Pair quieter discussion.) students with 3. Read Africa Is Not A Country, by Margy Burns Knight,

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Learning Activities

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LITERACY & SOCIAL SCIENCE

Kindergarten Interdisciplinary African and African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan
Anne Sibley O'Brien. Inform students that as they are listening to the story about Africa, we will stop to discuss the different countries in Africa. The information will then be written on chart paper for use during the unit. Revisit the book, Africa Is Not A Country. Review the information on the chart paper. Tell students that today we will listen to the story, Living in Urban Communities, by Kristin Sterling. Before reading the story, ask students to tell you what they think a community is. Inform them that today we will learn about the type of community that we live in (Chicago as a city). During the read a loud, ask students to pay close attention to the setting and characters (people) in the story. After reading the story, on chart paper, write what students note about the setting and the people in the story. Review Africa Is Not a Country and Living in Urban Communities charts with students. Choose a specific thing to model to student how they will select (or the teacher can assign) one specific thing about the urban community to compare to one thing in Africa. Allow students to assist you during your modeling. After the demonstration, place students in groups and assign them one thing from the urban communities and tell them to compare it to the African communities. Teacher will introduce A is for Africa by Ifeoma Oneyfulu. Before reading the text, inform students that the book is a nonfiction text. Show students Africa Is Not A Country, and inform them that this text is fiction. Discuss the difference between fiction and nonfiction texts. As you read A is for Africa, list any new vocabulary words. After reading the text, have students draw a picture to depict their understanding of the new words. Revisit and/or reread the text, A is for Africa. Discuss the text with students. Ask them to tell you the new things that they have learned about Africa from this text, remind them to give details from the text.

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talkative students. Pair students with varying abilities.

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