Cultural Context

Lesson Plan #4 Goal: 4. To stand up for oneself and others in the face of bias. Example: Lesson Title: Who Am I? Curriculum Content: Social/Emotional Estimated lesson length: 15-30 minutes (depends on attention span) Goals: #1 To develop positive, knowledgable, and confident self-identity within a cultural context. Materials: File folder (or card stock), 4-6 color markers, die, index cards Teacher preparation: Draw a 2-inch wide path, winding back and forth on construction paper. Mark one aside as “START” and the other end as “FINISH”. Write questions about culture and family on the index cards: 1. Do you have any brothers or sisters? 2. What is your families favorite meal? 3. Do you have relatives that do not live in this country? Where do they live? 4. Are there special holidays you celebrate? Describe what you do. 5. Do you speak any other languages? Does anybody in your family speak other languages? 6. Do you have a pet? If not, what animals do you like? 7. Who lives in your house? 8. Have you ever traveled to another place? Where? What was it like? 9. Is there special music that your family listens to? 10. Are there special clothes that you, or people in your family, dress in for special occasions? If so, describe them. 11. How are you similar to your family members? 12. How are you different than your family members? 13. What kinds of things do you do with your family on the weekends? 14. Share something about you or your family that is special? Directions: 1. Gather a small group of children (4-6) at a table. Tell them they are going to play a game to get to know each and themselves better. Remind the children of what the word culture means (taught in a previous lesson): We all have families, and they are all unique. Culture is what makes your family special. 2. Show them the game board, point to the path, and show them the direction they will move in, hold up markers that are all different colors and let them pick which one they want (ask by first name in alphabetical order if they disagree or compete over a color). Then hold up the card stack and tell them these are the question cards. Place them on the table face down next to the game board. 3. The teacher goes first to model how the game is played. Roll the die, pick a card, if you can answer the questions, you can move that many spaces forward, and mark it with your marker. 4. Child to the right of the teacher goes first. They roll the die, the teacher reads the card, if the child can answer they move forward the number of spaces they rolled, and mark it with their color marker. 5. Keep playing rounds until somebody wins. The deck can be cycled through as many times as necessary, as long as the child doesn’t get the same question twice. Assessment: Summative assessment – as children are playing, the teacher can take note of their level of comprehension and ability to answer the question. Formal assessment – at the end of the game, or the next day, the teacher can ask individual children some of the questions from the index card to check for comprehension and retention. Cultural Relevance/Anti-Bias: 1. Children begin to identify with aspects of their culture and family. 2. Children get to describe their family and culture with comfort and acceptance. Family Involvement: Create a handout with the questions from the index cards. Send it home to families with directions to discuss them with children at home. Reflection: Some of the children were not able to answer the questions. Perhaps it would be better to send the questions home first to discuss with the family, and then they would be more prepared when it is time to play in class. Also, this game does not benefit from being competitive. I think just the cards and a conversation would work just as w