Promoting Cultural Values Through Alphabet Books

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

3, 4, 5

Overview

Diversity is celebrated in this lesson in which students embark on a cultural research project by first reading a variety of alphabet books about world cultures, including D is for Doufu: An Alphabet Book of Chinese Culture by Maywan Shen Krach. They then select a culture to study and work in groups to conduct research into the history and symbols of their selected culture. The unit includes tools for conducting primary interviews and other research techniques. The project culminates with each group writing and illustrating a cultural alphabet book based on their research. Groups share their work with the class and invited guests during a Diversity Celebration.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.R3

Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

UP:ELA21.3.R3

Vocabulary

  • Background knowledge
  • Vocabulary
  • Discussion

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Relating experiences through discussions, reading, and writing will help build background knowledge and improve vocabulary.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Connect new concepts to prior experiences to increase background knowledge through discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Construct the meaning of words through discussions, reading, and writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Background knowledge can increase by relating experiences to new ideas, topics, and words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Vocabulary will increase by constructing the meaning of words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.1

Contribute meaningful ideas to discussions with groups and peers utilizing agreed upon rules.

UP:ELA21.3.1

Vocabulary

  • Contribute
  • Meaningful ideas
  • Discussions
  • Peers
  • Agreed upon rules

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Strategies to actively engage in meaningful discussions utilizing agreed upon rules.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Contribute meaningful ideas to a discussion with groups and peers.
  • Appropriately participate in discussions with groups and peers utilizing agreed upon rules.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Good conversations occur when participants actively listen, build on others' ideas, and ask clarifying questions.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.39

Gather and evaluate information about a topic from a variety of sources, including digital sources, and utilize it to create a project, report, or presentation.

UP:ELA21.3.39

Vocabulary

  • Gather
  • Evaluate
  • Information
  • Topic
  • Sources
  • Digital sources
  • Utilize
  • Project
  • Report
  • Presentation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Information can be gathered from print or digital sources.
  • Strategies to gather and evaluate information.
  • Relevant information about a topic should be added to a project, report, or presentation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Gather information about a topic from a variety of print and digital sources.
  • Evaluate the relevance of the information to the topic.
  • Use information to create a project, report, or presentation.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The first step in creating a project, report, or presentation is gathering and evaluating information from a variety of sources.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.R1

Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

UP:ELA21.4.R1

Vocabulary

  • Active listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • How to engage in discussions and conversations in a variety of settings.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules which help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.33

Use research to produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

UP:ELA21.4.33

Vocabulary

  • Research
  • Clear
  • Coherent
  • Development
  • Organization
  • Task
  • Purpose
  • Audience

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Research happens when you look up information about a topic.
  • Clear and coherent writing is organized into a text structure and develops ideas with the addition of details.
  • Writing styles can vary depending on the task, the purpose, and the intended audience.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Gather research information about a topic.
  • Create writing that is clear, coherent, and appropriate to the task, the purpose, and the audience.
  • Organize writing into a particular structure and develop ideas using details.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Before writing an informative text, they should gather information through research.
  • There writing should always be clear and coherent, but the style may change depending on the task, purpose, and audience.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.R1

Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

UP:ELA21.5.R1

Vocabulary

  • Active listening
  • Discussion
  • Conversation
  • Rules
  • Participation

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Active listening skills.
  • How to engage in discussions and conversations in a variety of settings.
  • Agreed-upon rules for participation.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings.
  • Converse in pairs, small groups, and large groups.
  • Practice the agreed-upon rules for participation.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Conversations and discussions follow agreed-upon rules which help us actively listen and gain understanding.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.37

Write about research findings independently over short and/or extended periods of time.

UP:ELA21.5.37

Vocabulary

  • Research findings
  • Independently
  • Short periods of time
  • Extended periods of time

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Researching a topic begins by finding information from multiple sources.
  • Independent writing skills.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Find information on a particular topic from a variety of research sources.
  • Independently write about research findings over short and extended periods of time.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can share information they have learned about a topic through writing.
  • Some writing projects will last a short time, while others may take longer to complete.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.38

Gather information on a topic or question, and share the results through various modes of writing, including projects and presentations.

UP:ELA21.5.38

Vocabulary

  • Topic
  • Question
  • Results
  • Modes of writing
  • Projects
  • Presentations

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Effective research skills.
  • Transferable writing skills applicable to many modes of writing.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Research information from a variety of sources to explain a topic or answer a question.
  • Share information learned through research in various modes of writing, including projects and presentations.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can share their research findings through multiple modes of writing, including presentations and projects.

CR Resource Type

Lesson/Unit Plan

Resource Provider

ReadWriteThink
http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/promoting-cultural-v…

Custom License Type (URL)

http://www.readwritethink.org/util/legal.html

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

raulstoncg
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