*Lesson 4: Cultural Traditions in America
*Arts Integrated Lesson
Essential Questions for Unit:
Guiding Questions
Standards:
Objectives:
Materials:
Lesson Development:
I DO -
WE DO
YOU DO
Assessment
Informally assess the students by listening to student responses during turn and talk and group work. Walk around and check student responses when they are working in groups to complete their connections to the text. Formally assess the students by collecting and checking the responses in writer's notebook. Their individual quilt square will also be graded as a formal assessment of their understanding of cultural traditions and heritage.
Essential Questions for Unit:
- What is the definition of immigration? What are some reasons why people immigrate?
- Why is America a popular destination for immigrants?
- What is culture? What are cultural experiences?
- What are some experiences that immigrants face?
- How does immigration provide cultural diversity?
Guiding Questions
- What are some learning experiences that immigrants face when adjusting to a new life in America?
- How do immigrants preserve their culture when migrating to a new country?
- What are some different cultural artifacts/experiences that immigrants bring into the United States?
Standards:
- Essential Standards - 3.C.1 – Understand how diverse cultures are visible in local and regional communities.
- Essential Standards - 3.G.1 – Understand the earth’s pattern by looking at the 5 themes of geography: location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and regions.
- Common Core ELA Standards - RF3.4c – Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
- 3.V.3 - Create art using a variety of tools, media, and processes, safely and appropriately.
Objectives:
- Students will learn about cultural experiences from Russia.
- Students will learn about traditions and heritage.
- Students will study their own tradition and heritage background.
- Students will create a class quilt that represents the cultural diversity in the classroom.
Materials:
- "The Keeping Quilt" by Patricia Polacco
- Writing Notebooks
- Construction Paper (8 inch squares)
- Hole Puncher
- Ribbon
Lesson Development:
I DO -
- Teacher will show a cultural artifact to students (ex. Coconut Rice Bowl from the Philippines). Explain that cultural artifacts are important in showing the traditions and heritage of a certain culture. Have students turn and talk to their neighbor about a cultural artifact that they have or have seen from their culture or another culture. Introduce that the read aloud "The Keeping Quilt", will introduce aspects of Russian culture.
- Read the first 10 pages of "The Keeping Quilt". While reading, model making connections to the text by writing down quotes from the text. Model this by writing on a writer's notebook, and displaying the writing on the document camera. Split the page down the middle. On the left side will be quotes from the text, while the right side will have connections (text - text, text - self, text - world). Have 3-5 examples of connections.
WE DO
- Read the second half of "The Keeping Quilt." Allow students to work in partners, as they make connections to the second half of the book. While students are working together, walk around to ask student pairs about the connections they have made to the text.
- Have the students gather back at the carpet. Have 3-5 pairs share their responses from their Writer's Notebook. Explain to students that they will know have the opportunity to take their connections to "The Keeping Quilt" in making a class quilt. Have students go back to their seats to brainstorm a list of 3-5 objects or ideas that represent their own culture.
YOU DO
- Distribute 8-inch squares of white or light-colored construction paper. Using markers or collage materials, have students create an image on their square that represents their family culture.
- Introduce the art term: collage - a piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric onto a backing
- Reinforce the squares with cardboard if necessary. When all the squares are ready, use a hole punch to make holes around the edges. Lace the quilt panels together with yarn.
- Have a discussion when the quilt is done about the importance of cultural diversity, and that we all bring something unique about our culture into the classroom.
Assessment
Informally assess the students by listening to student responses during turn and talk and group work. Walk around and check student responses when they are working in groups to complete their connections to the text. Formally assess the students by collecting and checking the responses in writer's notebook. Their individual quilt square will also be graded as a formal assessment of their understanding of cultural traditions and heritage.