Title: DISCOVERING CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN AMERICA

Grade: 11th   Subject: English   Class: Language Arts    

Purpose
Duration of the lesson: Ten to twelve fifty-five minute classes.

Purpose: Students will investigate contributions of diverse cultures to American culture through reading and research. They will then organize their information and write fifty documented and cited facts about a specific culture. Ten of those facts will be expanded into 1-chunk paragraphs using the Jane Schaffer method of writing. Students will then create two visual aides that utilize technology; one of which will be a hand-out for the audience (their classmates). Each student will then prepare and practice an oral presentation that utilizes the information in their report and the two visual aides. Finally, students will give their oral presentation to the class.

Objective
Students will understand the following:
1. Students will read one "Dear America" book and analyze for cultural contributions to American culture.
2. Students will research a specific culture found within the United States through reading books, magazine articles and Internet web pages.
3. Students will organize their research.
4. Students will write fifty facts about the chosen culture, using MLA citation and include a bibliography.
5. Students will develop ten 1-chunk paragraphs using the Jane Schaffer method of writing to demonstrate contributions of their chosen culture to American Society.
6. Students will use technology to create two visual aides, one that will illustrate factual information during the report, and one hand-out.
7. Students will prepare, practice, and present an oral report on their chosen culture that utilizes the two visual aides they have created.

Materials

1. Set of 30 or more "Dear America" series books.
   
2. MS Office, including Word, Publisher, Power Point and Encarta
   
3. PC Computers (minimum of seven; more if available)
   
4. Internet Access
   
5. Sign-out sheet
   
6. Reading Log
   
7. MLA Reference Guide
   
8. Jane Schaffer Formatting examples
   
9. Overhead Projector
   
10. Grading Rubric for each section
    
11. Paper
    
12. Printer(s)
    

Procedures

1. Students will read one "Dear America" book and analyze for cultural contributions to American culture.
   
2. Students will research a specific culture found within the United States through reading books, magazine articles and Internet web pages.
   
3. Students will organize their research.
   
   
4. Students will write fifty facts about the chosen culture, using MLA citation and include a bibliography.
   
   
5. Students will develop ten 1-chunk paragraphs using the Jane Schaffer method of writing to demonstrate contributions of their chosen culture to American Society.
   
   
6. Students will use technology to create two visual aides, one that will illustrate factual information during the report, and one hand-out.
   
   

Questions

1. What culture are you looking at?
   
   
2. What is the setting or where are these people located?
   
   
3. What language do these people speak?
   
   
   
4. What foods do the people eat?
   
   
5. What types of clothing do the people wear?
   
   
6. What traditions do the people have?
   
   
   
7. What are their cultural practices?
   
   
   
8. What specific impacts has this people had on today's American culture?
   
   
   

Assessments

1. Entry Behaviors Test € No test will be given, as most students have little or no obvious training in this subject, and we will begin at the lowest levels.
   
2. Pretest € Students will be asked to brainstorm all they know about cultures other than their own. Discussion of their brainstorming will take place as a class and informal instructor evaluation will take place.
   
   
3. Mid-project evaluations € Reading records are kept that journal daily progress in reading the assigned book.Teacher observation of the reading validates this progress.
   
   
4. Mid-project evaluations € Teacher evaluation will occur as the students work on their projects.A checklist will be given to students in which each step will be checked off by the students and teacher indicating satisfactory progress and completion of each level.
   
   
5. Post-test € The post-test for the reading is the completed four-paragraph paper that indicates contributions of the individual culture to American culture.
   
6. Post-test € The written and typed list of fifty facts and the demonstrations of how ten facts affect(ed) American culture are an assessment of the knowledge acquired by the student through reading and research.
   
   

Extensions

1. The lesson can be modified to fit almost any age level of students, though it is geared for the upper grade levels. Simplifying the criteria may make this fit the middle school level. Adding additional writing assignments and/or research may offer more of a challenge for gifted or hig level students.
   

Readings

• Dear America Series books, by Scholastic
  Additional books beyond the one assigned may be read and evaluated for additional credit. A paper that compares and contrasts the two books can extend that project further.
  

Links

• Multicultural Education Introduction
  http://www.intime.uni.edu/multiculture/intro.htm
  This site has been developed to address multicultural considerations in teacher pedagogy. The issue of multicultural education is of paramount importance in the twenty-first century (Banks & Banks, 2001). Diversity in the United States will become progressively more reflected in the country's schools.
  

Vocabulary

• Culture:  The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious or social group.
  

Standards

1. Language Arts   10-12  
   Standard 2: Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing.
   
   Benchmark 1: Uses precise and descriptive language that clarifies and enhances ideas and supports different purposes (e.g., to stimulate the imagination of the reader, to translate concepts into similar or more easily understood terms, to achieve a specific tone, to explain concepts in literature).
   
   Benchmark 2: Uses paragraph form in writing (e.g., arranges paragraphs into a logical progression, uses clincher or closing sentences).
   
   Benchmark 3: Uses a variety of sentence structures and lengths (e.g., complex sentences; parallel or repetitive sentence structure.
   
   Benchmark 6: Organizes ideas to achieve cohesion in writing.
   
   http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=2
   
   
2. Language Arts   10-12  
   Standard 3: Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 1: Uses complex and compound €complex sentences in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 2: Uses pronouns in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 3: Uses nouns in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 4: Uses verbs in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 5: Uses adjectives in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 6: Uses adverbs in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 7: Uses conjunctions in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 8: Uses conventions of spelling in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 9: Uses conventions of capitalization in written compositions.
   
   Benchmark 10: Uses conventions of punctuation in written compositions.
   
   http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=3
   
   
3. Language Arts  10-12  
   Standard 4: Gathers and uses information for research purposes.
   
   Benchmark 2: Uses a variety of print and electronic sources to gather information for research topics (e.g., news sources such as magazines, radio, television, newspapers, government publications, microfiche, telephone information services, databases, field studies, speeches, technical documents, periodicals, Internet).
   
   Benchmark 4: Uses a variety of criteria to evaluate the validity and reliability of primary and secondary source information (e.g., the motives, credibility, and perspective of the author; date of publication, use of logic, propaganda, bias, and language; comprehensiveness of evidence).
   
   Benchmark 6: Uses systematic strategies (e.g., anecdotal scripting, annotated bibliographies, graphics, conceptual maps, learninglogs, notes, outlines) to organize and record information.
   
   Benchmark 8: Use standard format and methodology for documenting reference sources (e.g., credits quotes and paraphrased ideas; understands the meaning and consequences of plagerism; distinguishes own ideas from others; uses a style sheet method for citing sources, such as the Modern Language Association, €; includes a bibliography of reference material.
   
   http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=4
   
   
4. Language Arts  10-12  
   Standard 5: Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process.
   
   Benchmark 5: Understands influences on a reader€s response to a text (e.g., personal experiences and values; perspective shaded by age, gender, class or nationality.)
   
   Benchmark 6:Understands the philosophical assumptions and basic beliefs underlying an author€s work (e.g., point of view, attitude, and values conveyed by a specific language; clarity and consistency of political assumptions).
   
   http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=5
   
   
5. Language Arts  10-12  
   .Standard 8: Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes.
   
   Benchmark 4: Adjusts message wording and delivery to particular audiences and for particular purposes (e.g., to defend a position, to entertain, to inform, to persuade).
   
   Benchmark 5: Makes formal presentations to the class. Benchmark 6: Makes multi-media presentations using text, images and sound.
   
   Benchmark 7: Uses a variety of verbal and nonverbal techniques for presentations.
   
   Benchmark 8: Responds to questions and feedback about own presentations.
   
   http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=8
   
   
6. Language Arts  10-12  
   Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.
   
   Benchmark 7: Understands how images and sound convey messages in visual media (e.g., special effects, camera angles, symbols, color, line, texture, shape, headlines, photographs, reaction shots, sequencing of images, sound effects, music, dialogue, narrative, lighting).
   
   Benchmark 10: Understands a variety of techniques used in advertising.
   
   Benchmark 11: Understands how editing shapes meaning in visual media.
   
   http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/Benchmark.asp?SubjectID=7&StandardID=9
   
   

Credits

• Roxanne McNerney - December, 2002
  mcnerney@earthlink.net