Content Description

Table of Contents:

Holliday Lesson
This is an exploratory lesson to get students to start thinking about other cultures
around the world and the holidays they celebrate. To start the lesson, we will have with
an engage activity, this is to assess their prior knowledge of what holidays occur in the
winter months. Next is the explore activity, this is a card game that will allow the
students to learn about multiple holidays in a fun hands on way. The explain aspect of
the lesson consists of a worksheet where they can draw all the holidays they have
learned about. The extend aspect of the lesson is to go home and figure out what winter
holidays your ancestors celebrated. The evaluate is the next day have all the students
write a paragraph about the holiday they learned about at home the night prior. The
overall goal of this lesson is learn about other holidays celebrated around the world and
how some of these holidays may even be celebrated by their own schoolmates.

What is Culture?
This is an introductory level lesson on getting students to start thinking about what
culture is. To start students will watch a quick video explaining a few different common
customs and how they vary around the world. Then, students will participate in a culture
or not activity where they will have to begin categorizing things on whether or not they
think they are part of culture. This acts as a pre assessment to find out where students
are at prior to the unit. Now, we will go through and discuss in a variety of settings
(whole group, small group, and partners) to begin explaining our thoughts on why things
are or are not part of culture. Students will complete this lesson. Y creating their own
culture circles to identify elements of their individual culture and have a working
knowledge of what culture is.

Food Around the World

This lesson's goal is to have students understand that there are many different cultures
around the world. There are similarities and differences in culture and the students will
be able to relate to different cultures. Students will be able to compare and contrast
what different foods are available and not available to them where they live. This will
also give them an opportunity to see the quality of the foods and the pricing and how it
differs from country to country.

Andy Warhol and Frida Kahlo Art Exploration

Students will explore how people express their culture through art. They will study Andy
Warhol-an American Artist, and Frida Kahlo, a female mexican artist and discuss how
their culture shows through in their art. They will then create art pieces, inspired by
Warhol and Kahlo. Lastly, they will compare and contrast Kahlo and Warhol to
understand how cultures can be vastly different and still have similar core connections.
Throughout the lesson, we will focus on respect for all different art forms, whether or not
we like them or not.

Folktales
Students will examine an American Folktale and an Ancient Greek folktale to compare
how heros are a common cultural theme throughout history. We will read the story of
Paul Bunyan ( tall tale) and a story of Hercules’ labors( myth). Students will make a
simple compare and contrast graphic organizer and then perform a readers theater
covering a fable.

Folk song
This lessons goal is to expose students to music from around the world and highlight
what purpose music serves ( entertainment, religious, communication, etc.). Students
will explore centers with different musical instruments in them and a short fact card
about the culture they come from. They will write in their journals one thing they learned
from the experience.
Rational:
Enduring Understandings:
● Students will be able to identify the different elements of culture.
● Students will become aware of cultures outside of their own
● Students will understand what folktales are and how stories play a role in culture.
● Students will be able to recognize different cultures in their communities.
● Students will be able to compare elements of local communities with
communities from different parts of the world.
We are teaching this unit because culture is a complex subject that is so ingrained in our
everyday lives. Everything we do, say, wear, eat, and so on is part of our culture. It is important
to recognize this and be able to identify these different elements of culture, because it gives us
a platform in which we can then identify similarities and differences in other cultures. Our world
is becoming smaller everyday through globalization. This makes it all the more necessary to
teach students how to be aware, respectful, and understanding of other cultures. Students need
to know this information because it is part of their own identity as well. Students at this age are
learning about themselves as well as those around them. It is so important for kids to be able to
be self-aware while also being able to look beyond to others. Overall, there are a couple key
ideas for students to remember from this unit. We want students to start having a baseline
understanding of what is culture. This is a large and encompassing topic so we want to start
teaching students the basics of what elements can be found in culture. It is also important that
students start thinking beyond themselves to global communities. We will be showing them a
variety of different cultures through different lenses of art, language, religion, and food. This
models for students the different ways to look at culture and compare it to what they know in
ways that are appropriate and respectful. Finally, we want students to understand that culture is
ever changing. The elements we look at may stay the same but can be represented in different
ways depending on how the community evolves.
 Unit Description
Standards:
Standard 2
Students will understand cultural factors that shape a community.
Objective 1
Evaluate key factors that determine how a community develops.

a. Identify the elements of culture (e.g. language, religion, customs, artistic

expression, systems of exchange).
b. Describe how stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as
expressions of culture.
c. Compare elements of the local community with communities from
different parts of the world (e.g. industry, economic specialization )
d. Identify and explain the interrelationship of the environment (e.g. location,
natural resources, climate) and community development (e.g. food,
shelter, clothing, industries, markets, recreation, artistic creations).
e. Examine changes in communities that can or have occurred when two or
more cultures interact.
f. Explain changes within communities caused by human inventions (e.g.
steel plow, internal combustion engine, television, computer).
Objectives:
The objective for this unit is to teach the students about culture and
community. This unit will have students understand the concepts in
multiple ways. Such as, holliday's, food, customs, art, religion, and
mannerisms. This unit is essential to our students education in
order to broader their understanding of cultures around the world.
Essential Questions:
a. What are the different holidays celebrated around the world?
b. What are similarities and differences between Andy Warhol and
Frida Kahlo?
c. "Why is art important to culture?"
d. “What are some major cultures that have food
e. we are familiar with?
f. What do some cultures have in common
g. when it comes to food?”
h. How do folktales show what was important to the cultures that
wrote them?
Unit Evaluation

Pre Assessment: Students will watch a video about what different aspects of culture
(linked in the first lesson plan) then they will place sticky notes that have different
aspects of culture listed on them into two different categories-culture or not culture. This
will assess the student’s current knowledge of culture and what aspects the teacher
may need to focus on more heavily throughout the unit.

Post Assessment: The students will be given a menu of final assessment options that
tie into the different aspects of culture they have learned about. These projects give
students the options to show their understanding in multiple ways. Some students may
be very strong in report writing and prefer that over more creative exercises. Some
students may be very strong in writing so a folktale would be a great way for them to
show their understanding. Still other students may be more inclined by the visual arts so
creating an art piece would be a great way for them to show their understanding. Each
student has to write about what they learned about the culture through doing the project
so that I can ensure that they understand the different aspects of culture that were
taught in the unit.

● Create a poster and report about a culture that is different from your own. Ensure
that you include the different aspects of culture we talked about (art, language,
clothing, food, holidays).
● Write a folktale. You can write one inspired by another culture, or based on your
culture. Write a small summary about what you learned about culture by writing
this folktale.
● Create an art piece inspired by an artist from another culture. Write a small
summary about what you learned about this artist’s culture by doing this piece.

I will evaluate my success as a teacher if the projects students turn in, clearly make
connections to what they learned. If they don’t understand it they will struggle to write a
summary about what they learned and I will know that I will have to be more detailed in
discussing how each aspect we learned relates to culture. Also, in regards to each
assignment if the students struggle to respond to the class discussions, I’ll know that I
need to back up and do a review of prior knowledge and take more time to teach each
lesson and show more examples that relate to them and their culture because they
know that well.

Lesson Plans
 Social Studies Holiday Culture Lesson
Taylor Hekking
A. Informational Components
Lesson Title: Holidays Across the World
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
State Standards Connection:
Standard 2
Students will understand cultural factors that shape a community.
Objective 1
Evaluate key factors that determine how a community develops.
a. Identify the elements of culture (e.g. language, religion, customs, artistic
expression, systems of exchange).
c. Compare elements of the local community with communities from different
parts of the world (e.g. industry, economic specialization)
Integrated Standard:
Writing Standard 2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly.
a. Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations
when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect
ideas within categories of information.
d. Provide a concluding statement or section.

EU: That every culture celebrates different holidays.

EQ: What are the different holidays celebrated around the world?
Vocabulary Focus:
Holiday
Culture
Materials:
Card Game
Worksheet
Writing utensil

B. Instructional Procedures

Engage
Does anybody know the exciting event that is about to happen this month?
Wait is that the only holiday that happens in this month?

Explore -
I will start by dividing up the room into groups of four. I will give each group six cards. In front of
each of you there is a set of cards. On each card there is a holiday that occurs in the winter
months. First I want each of you to get you're your groups and read over all the cards. Now we
will be playing Go Fish with your holiday cards. The only difference is that you can not say do
you have Christmas; you have to describe the holiday in three details. Now let’s get in a circle
and play Go Fish. Every fifteen minutes we will be switching sets of cards. Remember before
you start to play go over your cards again.

Explain -
Here is a sheet that has a list of all the holidays we have studied and a space to draw a picture
that represents it. Be sure to have key aspect of the holiday in your picture.
Extend -
Now I want you all to go home and talk to your parents about the holidays your ancestors
celebrated. Once you know the holiday find five facts about it and bring the information back to
class tomorrow.

Evaluate -
Now if everyone will clear your desk. I want everyone to pull out a piece of paper and write a
paragraph about their new favorite winter holiday.

Adaptations for ELLs, SPED, and GT students (early finishers):

ELLs
Define vocab and have students draw pictures for each word, speak slowly, pair
them with a student who could help,
SPED
Complete chart instead of sentences, provide a graphic organizer, use pictures to
explain vocab words.
GT
I wonder statement, I wonder if any of these theories are right

Reflections:
Taylor Hekking
Why are units important?
Units are important because it allows teachers to plan out the trajectory of
learning. This basically means that it allows for the teacher to plan out
lessons that all go together and the arrangement of the lessons enhances
the learning process.
What did you learn about writing units with this project?
I learned a lot about how you need to create a flow of your unit. Your unit
needs to all go together and builds off of the lesson before. The concepts
need to start at the beginning and build their knowledge in order to go to
the next lesson in the unit.
How did you feel about your group’s efforts?
Our group did amazing work together. We had to put forth a collaborative
effort in order to get this project done. Alison was an amazing leader that
made sure each aspect of the lesson was complete and gave us each a
task that interested us and allowed us to use our skills. Each one of us did
our best to contribute equally and put together amazing lesson plans.
Individual efforts?
For the individual efforts, I struggled a lot. With just having my concussion
the lesson wasn't done exactly how I would have liked it to turn out as well
as how I conducted it. I forgot a bunch of essential elements as well as
edits I was going to make. However, with how well cognitively I am doing I
think I pulled it off the best I could.
Jessika Satterfield’s Reflection
Why are Units Important?
Units are important to have because the unit itself gives you an overall
idea of what you will be learning, and the individual lessons allow you to go more
in depth with what you should know. Since the Utah Common Core has the
standards laid out, it gives you, as the teacher, guidelines to follow and you get to
decide what is most important to teach the students within those guidelines.
What did you learn about writing units with this project?
After finishing this project, I learned that the order of the lessons is very
important because you have to be able to make sure the unit flows and each of
the lessons build on one another. The unit and every lesson should live up to the
highest expectation, and this is possible if you make the unit flow and execute
each of the lesson plans.
How do you feel about your group’s efforts?
Overall, I believe our group did the jobs that needed to be done, and did it
well. When it came down to crunch time, everyone was dedicated to the
assignment and was more than willing to do their share of the work. I know
everyone has a busy life, especially with this unit being so close to finals, but I
think everyone in the group did the best work they could potentially do.
How do you feel about your individual effort?
I believe I put in a lot of effort for the items I was assigned. I feel like I did
them well and was able to execute the assignments at hand even with everything
else going on, school work or otherwise. I put a lot of effort into this project and I
am happy with the work I did. I worked collaboratively with my team members
when they needed something from me, and I think that is also something that is
very important.
Resources:
Teacher Resources:
Abdulla, F. (2017, September 27). 10 Fantastic Frida Kahlo Art Projects for Kids.
Retrieved from Artsy Craftsy Mom:
https://artsycraftsymom.com/frida-kahlo-art-projects-for-kids/

Learning Liftoff. (2017, December 4). 9 Winter Holidays Around the World. Retrieved
from Learning Liftoff:
https://www.learningliftoff.com/9-winter-holidays-around-the-world/

Mackie, L. (2013, January 3). From Christmas to Diwali: Winter Holidays around the
World. Retrieved from United Planet:
https://www.unitedplanet.org/blog/2013/01/03/from-christmas-to-diwali-winter-
holidays-around-the-world

Themes, K. (2018). Warhol Cat. Retrieved from Art Projects for Kids:
https://artprojectsforkids.org/portfolio/warhol-cat/

Winter Celebrations. (2017, August 23). Retrieved from Kids National Geographic:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/winter-celebrations/#WH-Solstice.jpg

Student Resources:
Bill Balcziak, P. G. (n.d.). Paul Bunyan.

Cerasini, M. (n.d.). The Twelve Labors of Hercules.

Stories, C. (2015, January 27). The World's Family (An Embracing Culture Story)
kid's/children's podcast. Retrieved from youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni_at59TzMA

Time Staff. (2016, May 20). Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. Retrieved from
time.com: http://time.com/8515/hungry-planet-what-the-world-eats/