Cultural unit by sarah Lee

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Slide Notes

This cultural unit will give students the opportunity to learn about their heritage and celebrate where they come from (Connell, n.d). At the end of the unit, students will participate in Diversity Day where parents and families can come in to share their stories and expertise (Connell, n.d). Students will display their heritage projects at this festival as the classroom and community enjoy their time sharing their cultural dishes and their cultural heritage.

Cultural unit

Published on May 26, 2018

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Cultural unit

To help students get in touch with their roots

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Lessons in this plan

Discovering your heritage (Connell, n.d)
A trip to homeland (Connell, n.d)
Heritage project (Connell, n.d)

The three lessons that will be used in this unit are as follows: Discovering your heritage, A trip to homeland, and Heritage project. All of these lessons are based on Connell's (n.d) unit plan titled Celebrate your heritage.

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Discovering your heritage

Students interview families about their cultural heritage, map their journeys to America, and create a family tree (Connell, n.d)

In this lesson, students will learn more about their history and what brought their ancestors to America by interviewing a family member. Students will read aloud and discuss a book about immigrating to the United States. They will also discuss a poem by Jimmy Carter and talk about the differences between a "mosaic" and "melting pot." Other activities in this lesson include building a family tree, discussing family traditions and keeping a recording of their family's oral history to preserve it for generations to come. Students will also develop interview questions as well as compare and contrast cultural traditions and influences among classmates In addition, students will develop mapping and charting skills as they use a map to chart the path their parents, grandparents, and ancestors took to come to the United States from their country of origin. The map will end at the student's hometown, resulting in a map of how the student got to where she or he is now.

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A trip to homeland

Students will learn about their countries of heritage and take an imaginary trip to that country by developing a travel log and booking mock travel reservations (Connell, n.d)

In this lesson, students will use resource books and the internet to research a country from their heritage. This activity will be an excellent opportunity for students who have a multicultural background to explore all the countries their ancestors came from. Furthermore, students will gain geographical and cultural knowledge of various countries through this research. In addition, students will become aware of specific cultural differences that exist between the United States and the country they study.
After students complete their research, they will take an imaginary trip to that country and write a travel log, using what they have learned. Students will also create passports that will serve as a self-assessment tool.

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Heritage project

Students assemble the pieces together from the first two lessons into an attractive display (Connell, n.d)
Classroom celebrates the culminating event, Diversity Day, as students display their heritage projects (Connell, n.d)

There are two parts to this last lesson. In the first part of the lesson, students will assemble the pieces from the first two lessons into an attractive display and showcase it at the Diversity Day Festival. Students will also locate flags from each country in their family background and reflect on what they have learned from this project.

For part two, in the morning, students will have the opportunity to hear parents and guest speakers share information about cultures from around the world. These special guests could speak about their country, do multicultural projects with the students or share artifacts or cultural icons with the class. In the afternoon, students and their families will be able to celebrate their differences during the Heritage Day Food Festival as they share multicultural dishes from around the world, provided by each family.

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Foci for project

to foster cultural awareness and improving cultural competence (Lynch, 2015)
to get in touch with one's root
To break down cultural walls

This project will focus on three concepts: fostering cultural awareness and improving cultural competency (Lynch, 2015), helping students get in touch with their roots, and breaking down any potential cultural walls. Lynch (2015) writes in his article, "A multicultural society is best served by a culturally responsive curriculum. Schools that acknowledge the diversity of their student population understand the importance of promoting cultural awareness" (para. 1). This cultural heritage project will help promote cultural awareness by helping students become aware of their own culture and the culture of others, thus, building cultural competency as well. Moreover, students will be able to foster a trusting relationship with their classmates as they actively research their cultural backgrounds and share what they have learned with the class (Lynch, 2015).

This project will also help students get in touch with their roots and see the roots of their peers, hopefully preventing any potential walls that may have been present. In her article, Wallace (2017) shares her opinion about how Ben Affleck may have never imagined that one of his ancestors was a slave owner. Getting in touch with one's roots may feel uncomfortable for some and even make one shameful of what his or her ancestors have done (Wallace, 2017). However, these roots can help students chart their own course and help them learn that they are part of something bigger than themselves (Wallace, 2017).

Teaching students that they are just a link in a chain (Wallace, 2017) and a part of a massive world will also help break down potential walls because they will be able to see that the world and all the cultures are connected an intertwined with each other. As Gogichaishivili (2013) notes, according to Confucius, all people are the same; it's only their habits that are different. This cultural project may not only help students find where they are from, but it can also open their eyes to how each culture may be the same.

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Rationale for chosen focus

Cultural heritage an expression of identity (Hilgert, 2017)
Allowing students to understand and connect with their origin is huge part of forming and shaping their identity (Webb, 2017)
Beneficial for children if exposed to their native culture (Lulu from Massachusetts in Webb, 2017)
Every story and every child is different (Carina from Pennsylvania in Webb, 2017)

There were several rationales for choosing the foci for this project. One was as Hilgert (2017) states, "... cultural heritage is an expression of identity for any community..." (para. 11). Everyone has an identity.Although Hilgert (2017) also states that cultural heritage can also serve as a material expression for distinguishing people who do not belong in the community, it is a part of their identity whether they like it or not. Since "culture is a defining feature of a person's identity..." (Racism No Way, n.d), this educational project will serve as a means for shaping and forming their identity (Webb, 2017). It will also help ELL's keep their identity by incorporating their culture into the curriculum (Freeman & Freeman, 2011).

Not many students may wonder who they are or question their identity like Webb did. However, such adoptees like Webb will benefit from this project, and it may also benefit non-adoptees as well. The reason is as Carina from Pennsylvania states, "Every child and every story is different" (Webb, 2017, 8). Students will see people who look and talk like them and think that they may be from the same cultural background as they are. Two blonde-haired students, for example, may start this project thinking that they are both from Northern Europe, since it is mostly associated with those type of people, only to find out that one is actually from Oceania while the other is from Africa (Harvey, 2016). In other words, this project may help students discover that their friend who has the same color hair and eyes may actually be from a culture that has been extinct.

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rationale continued

Raises self-esteem (Wallace, 2015)
An opportunity for parents and children grow closer as children become interested in history

Another rationale for this project is raising self-esteem. In a study conducted at Emory University, "the authors found that the more children knew about their family history, the higher their self-esteem..." (Wallace, 2015, para. 19). They were also able to deal with stress better (Wallace, 2015). One possible reason why they were able to do so may be because they were able to understand who they are in the world as their sense of identity developed.

One last rationale is that this project gives parents the opportunity to spend more time with their children as they tell family stories and read about their ancestors. In addition, finding out that they are related to a historical figure like Albert Einstein or Laura Ingalls Wilder, for example, can help students become interested in history by making it personal (Wallace, 2015).

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How rationale supports the three foci

Students become aware of their cultural identity and the identity of others through research and presentations
Students get in touch with their roots through discovering their cultural heritage
helps break down walls by bringing the learning community together (Towner, as mentioned in Roach, 2015)

How my rationales support the three foci add up to three ideas: Through research and presentations, students will become aware of their culture, their cultural identity and the identity of others; students will also get in touch with their roots by discovering their cultural heritage; most importantly, it will help break down walls by bringing the learning community together. Many families in the community may not be able to interact with each other for several reasons. However, through the culminating event of this project, they will be able to take a break from life and hopefully be able to interact with families from other cultures and enjoy being in a multicultural community.

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Cultures and languages involved

All of the cultures and the languages that are present in the classroom
Possibly other cultures and languages that aren't present in the classroom

The cultures that this project will focus on will be the cultures and languages of all the students. It could be possible that students could be from cultures whose ancestors used a language that has died out. Therefore, students may not only explore the cultures and languages present in the classroom but also of those that aren't present.

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ELP covered

For grades grades 3: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.9, and 3.10 (Oregon Board of Education, 2014)
For grades 4-5: 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10 (Oregon Board of Education, 2014)

After going over the lesson plans provided by Connell (n.d), I have discovered almost all the ELP standards are covered. Therefore, I have included all except two.

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