Customs and Cultures around the World

Hannah Stevens

EDTC 645

Dr. Derby

Summer 2017

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Introduction

Global learning allows for students to widen their view of the world around them. In

creating a module to encourage global learning and perspectives, teachers are supporting their

students as they work to become global citizens, prepared to enter the diverse workforce and

world of today. When students graduate, they will be expected to work across great distances

and collaborate with colleagues via complex technologies (Curran, 2016, para 2).

The first grade curriculum lends itself well to global learning and collaboration. The

entire second quarter of social studies focuses on culture, specifically the customs and traditions

of the students families and communities. Taking these objectives and turning them into global

collaboration projects allows the students to gain a deeper understanding of their own customs

and those of others around the world. It helps the students to learn how to respectfully discuss a

wide range of topics with others from all over the world.

Global collaboration projects can teach valuable skills like digital citizenship,

communication and collaboration, and research and information fluency (ISTE, 2015, para 1).

The following module on culture allows first graders to research and discuss their culture and the

culture of others by sharing videos and emails with other students from around the world.

Students will gain a deeper understanding of culture and will be better prepared to interact with

all students. Global collaboration is an essential tool to prepare students for the world they will

find outside of their school experience.

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 Global Classroom Module: Pre Planning Template (Previously Submitted)

Summary:

Students will be able to describe and compare aspects of cultures and traditions from all

over the world. Students will research and discuss food, school, clothing, holidays, music, and

other customs and traditions from around the world. Students will be able to define the terms

traditions and customs. Students will be able to compare their customs and traditions with those

of others from around the world.

Background concerning the school and the group you are working with:

I will be working with first grade at Lucy V Barnsley Elementary school in Rockville,

MD. According to Lucy V. Barnsley ES at a Glance (2016) there are 712 students, with 93

enrolled in first grade. At the school 13.2% of the students are ESOL and 31% are FARMS.

33.8% of students are White, 34.1% are Hispanic, 10% are Black, 14% are Asian, less than 5%

are American Indian or Pacific Islander, and 7.7% are Multiple Races (Lucy V. Barnsley ES at a

Glance, 2016).

Time frame: Over a six-week period divided into two units of three weeks each.

Subject And Grade level: First Grade Social Studies

Proposed Topic and Rational:

The focus of the entire second quarter of first grade social studies is culture and

traditions. Students learn about the food, clothing, holidays, music, and other aspects of cultures

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all over the world. This topic lends itself well to global collaboration. Students will learn about

their own cultures and share that learning with other students around the world. Students from

around the world will share details about their customs and traditions with my classroom as well.

In this way students are learning how to interact respectfully with similarly aged students from a

different country, collaborating with them to share and learn about various cultures.

Global Network You Plan to Use:

For the first unit I plan to use iEARN Global Food Show and Tell. For the second unit I

plan to use the ePal network to connect my classroom with a classroom in England, allowing

students to connect with a pen pal.

Key Challenges:

The main challenge will be in finding a classroom of similarly aged students in England

to connect with. To give myself the best chance of achieving this I will post to the ePal board

immediately in the hopes that I can connect with another teacher prior to the school year

beginning so we can have time to coordinate. If I am unable to connect with someone prior to

the start of the school year I will begin to email and reach out to specific primary schools in

England in the hopes that I will be able to connect with another teacher. If this also does not

work I will use the ePals website to connect with a teacher and students from a different

European country. By giving myself plenty of time prior to the start of the second quarter I

believe I will be able to connect with other teachers.

Prior Knowledge:

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 This builds on the students knowledge of their own cultures. Students know how they

celebrate holidays and the foods they eat but might not know the terminology of culture,

tradition, and customs. Through the unit students will learn the terminology needed to succeed.

Students will build upon their knowledge of their cultures by exploring other cultures from

around the world. I plan to informally assess students on their knowledge of their own customs

and traditions through discussions and anecdotal notes.

Standards and Key Concepts

Content Standards:

Maryland Social Studies Standards:

2.A.1.a Observe and describe ways people in their school and community meet human needs

for food, clothing, shelter, and other commonalities, such as recreation, music, and stories

(Using the State Curriculum, 2006).

2. A.1.b Discuss and respect traditions and customs of families in the community (Using the

State Curriculum, 2006).

2. B.1.a Identify how families choose to share and borrow traditions from other cultures

(Using the State Curriculum, 2006).

National Education Technology Standards for Students NETS:

2. a. Students interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a

variety of digital environments and media (ISTE National Education Technology Standards,

2007)

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2. b Students communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a

variety of media and formats (ISTE National Education Technology Standards, 2007)

2.c Students develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of

other cultures (ISTE National Education Technology Standards, 2007)

3.b Students locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from

a variety of sources and media (ISTE National Education Technology Standards, 2007)

Pre-Lesson Steps:

To connect with a classroom in England I need to search through the posts and/or create

my own post on the ePal website describing our project and age group. Should this fail I will

begin to email primary schools in England in the hopes of finding a teacher who would like to

collaborate.

Technology Use:

Technology will be used in a number of ways for this module. For the first unit students

will use computers and programs such as PebbleGo to research their own culture; specifically

food. Students will also use technology to create a video presentation of their learning. For the

second unit, students will use ePals to connect with students in another country. They will video

chat with or email the students in the other country.

Essential Question(s): What are customs and traditions? Compare one of your customs with a

custom from another country/culture.

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Differentiation of Instruction:

For the first unit, when students are researching and writing their scripts about their food

for their video there will be different versions of the research gathering worksheet and the script.

Students who are strong writers will have to create all their own sentences while students who

are weak writers will have a worksheet with fill in the blanks. For the second unit, the emails

will be similarly differentiated, with some students creating all their own sentences and others

working on filling in the blanks.

Starting Activity for Module:

To introduce the unit to students I will share some of the videos already created and

shared on the iEARN website that describe food from other countries. From there we will begin

to discuss the terms culture, customs, and traditions.

Lesson Plans:

Summary of Two Lesson Plans:

The first lesson falls toward the end of the first unit, during the third week after students

have discussed and understand the terms culture, customs, and traditions. In groups students will

create a script describing what food is traditionally eaten for a specific holiday. They will find

pictures online of the food to show during their video.

The second lesson falls in the middle of the second unit. Students will work on creating

an email to their pen pal, describe a school day in the United States, as well as the food they eat

and the clothes they wear. They will also create questions asking their pen pal about their school

day and customs. Students will work to type up their letter.

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Summative Assessment:

The final summative assessment will be a short paper where students will write sentences

describing a custom from the United States and comparing it with a custom from a different

country. To differentiate, some students will draw pictures and orally explain their answers.

Lesson Plan Template #1

Lesson Title Food Around the World

Grade Level/Subject Area First Grade Social Studies

Concept/Topic Culture: Customs and Traditions Around the World

Length of Lesson 1 hour

Standards Addressed Maryland Social Studies Standards:

(Local or National 2.A.1.a Observe and describe ways people in their school and

Standards) community meet human needs for food, clothing, shelter, and

other commonalities, such as recreation, music, and stories

(Using the State Curriculum, 2006).

National Education Technology Standards for Students

NETS:

2.a. Students interact, collaborate, and publish with peers,

experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments

and media (ISTE National Education Technology Standards,

2007)

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 3.b Students locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize,

and ethically use information from a variety of sources and

media (ISTE National Education Technology Standards, 2007)

Lesson Goals The goal of this lesson is that students, in small groups, will

work together to create a script describing a traditional holiday

meal, utilizing the new vocabulary they have learned. This

lesson will lead into another lesson where students will record

and share their video about tradition foods with others around

the world.

Performance Objectives By the end of this lesson students will be able to:

define the terms culture, traditions, and customs

create a script describing a traditional holiday meal

Introduction Together students will review and discuss the definitions of

important terms (traditions, customs, and culture) that have

been discussed in previous lessons.

See appendix A for a screenshot of the flipchart used.

Step-by-Step Procedures After reviewing and discussing the terms traditions, customs,

and culture students will:

1. View two videos from students around the world who

have posted to the iEARN forum about food. Students

will discuss with a partner about what important

information was included in the video and what

information they should include in their own videos.

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 2. Once students have had a chance to view and discuss

the videos from other students posted to the iEARN

forum we will work as a class to create a requirements

list for their scripts and videos.

See Appendix A for a screenshot of the flipchart used to discuss

and determine the necessary components of the scripts about

traditional food.

3. Students will share their ideas about what should be

required for the script and they will be added to a class

list on the promethean board.

- Things that need to be on the list include:

- defining one or more of the terms (culture,

tradition, and customs)

- describing the holiday that corresponds with

the dish or meal

- each group member must have a part in the

script

- each video should include at least two

pictures, found online, that show the dish or

meal

4. After discussing the requirements, show students the

script template (groups may choose to use the template

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 or to create their own script from scratch, as long as

they have all the requirements they can do either)

See Appendix A for the fill in the blank script template that

groups may use.

5. Students will split into groups based on holidays.

(Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and two Christmas groups;

one focusing on dinner and one on deserts)

- Note: previous to this students will have studied

many different holidays and the food associated

with them

- Student names will be pulled one at a time to

choose the holiday they would like to work on,

there will be about four students per group

6. Groups will be given a laptop which they can use to do

some final research on their holiday and to look for

pictures of their food.

- to research their holiday students will use

PebbleGo

- to search for pictures of their food students will

ask the teacher to search on Google images

- once pictures of the food are found the teacher

will help students to print them

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 7. While students are working together to complete their

scripts the teacher will walk around collecting anecdotal

information, checking students understanding of the

vocabulary words, their holiday, and their food/dish

8. When groups have finished writing their scripts they

will bring them to the teacher who will conference with

the students to correct any mistakes.

9. The class will return to the carpet and share a fact they

learned about their holiday, food, or define the terms

discussed at the beginning of the lesson

Technology Requirements Laptops and Internet access

Smart board/projector

Color printer

Resources https://pebblego.com/

Related URLs https://iearn.org/cc/space-2/group-326/about

Assessment Based on Students will be asked to orally define customs and traditions

Objectives and to give a fact about their holiday and the food that matches.

Anecdotal notes of the conversations will be used to determine

student proficiency.

See Appendix B for the anecdotal recording sheet that will be

used as the assessment for this lesson

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Follow-Up After students have revised their scripts and practiced they will

film their videos and the teacher will post them to the iEARN

forum for other students around the world to view. Each group

will view videos from students around the world discussing the

same holiday that they created a video for and students will

describe any similarities or differences in the food people eat

for the same holiday all over the world.

Classroom Management Students will be reminded about the rules for working well with

a group. Students will also be reminded of the rules for using

the laptops. Positive behavior will be reinforced with class and

individual Barnsley Bucks which earn students prizes based

on the amount they earn per month.

Accommodations Students can rely on members of their group to aid them with

reading and writing while working on the script. Groups may

choose to create a script from scratch or use the provided

template. PebbleGo, used for research on the holiday, can read

the information out loud to students.

Comments/Notes The laptops used will be the ones that are used for math and

reading centers within the classroom.

The color printer is in the library. The teacher will have to

retrieve the pictures later.

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 Lesson Plan Template #2

Lesson Title Sharing our Customs and Traditions

Grade Level/Subject Area First Grade Social Studies

Concept/Topic Culture: Customs and Traditions Around the World

Length of Lesson 1 hour

Standards Addressed Maryland Social Studies Standards:

(Local or National 2. A.1.b Discuss and respect traditions and customs of families

Standards) in the community (Using the State Curriculum, 2006).

National Education Technology Standards for Students

NETS:

2.a. Students interact, collaborate, and publish with peers,

experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments

and media (ISTE National Education Technology Standards,

2007)

2.b Students communicate information and ideas effectively to

multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats (ISTE

National Education Technology Standards, 2007)

Lesson Goals The goal of this lesson is for students to understand the

differences of cultures, customs, ad traditions found around the

world. The goal is also for students to understand how to

respectfully discuss customs and traditions with other.

Performance Objectives By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

describe their personal customs and traditions

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 ask questions about others customs and traditions

Introduction Read the book, Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue

Kostecki-Shaw. This book shows two pen pals, sharing about

their lives with each other. Have students turn and talk to a

partner about what customs and traditions they could describe

to a pen pal.

Step-by-Step Procedures 1. After students have listened to the book, Same, Same

but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw explain to

students that they will be writing an email to a student in

England. Explain to students that they will be writing

back and forth with this student to learn about each

others countries and customs.

2. After explaining about the ePal program, discuss what

they could write about to their own pen pals. Students

will work as a class to create a list of possible topics for

their emails.

- see Appendix C for a screenshot of the flipchart

used for this discussion

3. As a class discuss what each letter needs

- an opening

- a closing

- the date

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 - explaining at least one custom with at least two

details

- asking at least two questions about their pen pals

customs/traditions

4. Students will be given the option to create a letter on

their own or to use a fill in the blank template

- See Appendix C for the letter template

5. Students will work on their own to complete their

letters. The teacher should walk around and aid the

students in their spelling and grammar.

6. Once students have completed their letter the teacher

should work with them to create the final draft.

7. When students have a final draft they will type up their

letter on the laptop.

8. The teacher should preview the letter one final time

before helping the students to send the letter to their

ePal.

Technology Requirements Laptops and Internet Service

Smart boards/projector

Resources Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

Related URLs http://www.epals.com/#/connections

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Assessment Based on Students will be assessed on their email to their ePal. Within

Objectives the email students must include information about at least one

of their customs or traditions. Students must also ask questions

about their ePals customs and traditions.

Follow-Up Students will continue to correspond with their ePals, sharing

more about their customs and asking their ePal about their own

customs. At the end of the entire module students will have a

final summative assessment in which they will describe the

similarities and differences between their customs and those of

their ePal.

Classroom Management Students will be reminded of how to act during writing time.

Students will put up their owl folders (privacy folders that

have a mini word wall inside to help student write).

Students will also be reminded of the rules for using the

laptops. Positive behavior will be reinforced with class and

individual Barnsley Bucks which earn students prizes based

on the amount they earn per month.

Accommodations Template letters will be provided for the students who would

like to use them. Students may also create a letter from scratch.

Word banks based on different topics should be created to help

those students who struggle with spelling.

Students who struggle with typing can have help from the

teacher.

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Comments/Notes Prior to starting this lesson the teacher must find a teacher with

similar needs on epals or create a new post looking for classes

of first graders to become epals with.

Students can write about any customs and traditions they like,

including:

- food

- the school day

- clothes

- birthdays

- holidays

The template given is only for the school day, if students

choose one of the other topics the teachers should help them

organize their letter.

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Appendix A: Lesson One Materials

Screenshot of flipchart used to review terminology discussed in previous lessons

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Screenshot of flipchart used to determine what is needed within each groups videos on

traditional food.

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Names of Group Members: ________________________________________

Holiday: _________________ Food: ________________________

Hello. My name is _______________________, ______________________,

_______________________, ______________________.

We are going to tell you all about _____________________ (your

holiday) and the food you eat.

First lets talk about some important words.

Culture means

__________________________________________________________________.

Customs are

__________________________________________________________________.

Traditions are

__________________________________________________________________.

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Some facts about ___________________________ (your holiday) are

1. _____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

For this holiday people eat _______________________________________.

It is made with

__________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________.

Here are some pictures of ____________________________ (your food).

Conclusion (how would you like to let the viewer know you are done

with your video)

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

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Appendix B: Lesson One Assessment

SWBAT: define and describe customs and traditions surrounding holiday food

Subject: Social Studies Measurement Topic: Culture

Student Name: Student Name: Student Name: Student Name:

Custom/Tradition: Custom/Tradition: Custom/Tradition: Custom/Tradition:

Holiday: Holiday: Holiday: Holiday:

Food: Food: Food: Food:

Student Name: Student Name: Student Name: Student Name:

Custom/Tradition: Custom/Tradition: Custom/Tradition: Custom/Tradition:

Holiday: Holiday: Holiday: Holiday:

Food: Food: Food: Food:

Student Name: Student Name: Student Name: Student Name:

Custom/Tradition: Custom/Tradition: Custom/Tradition: Custom/Tradition:

Holiday: Holiday: Holiday: Holiday:

Food: Food: Food: Food:

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Appendix C: Lesson Two Materials

Screenshot of the flipchart used while discussing what to include in the emails to the students

ePal.

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 _________________
(Date)
Dear ___________________,

Hi. My name is ______________________. I am _____ years old and in

______________ grade.

I am going to describe the school day here in the United States.

First _________________________________________________________________________.

Then _______________________________________________________________________.

We have _________________________________________________________ and

_____________________________________________________________________________.

My favorite part of the day is _________________________________________________.

We ________________ wear school uniforms.

One question I have for you is

______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________?

Another question I have is

______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________?

I hope to talk to you again soon!

From,

___________________

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 References

Curran, B. (2016, April 29). Four Steps for Jumpstarting Global-Collaboration Projects.

Retrieved July 17, 2017, from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/04/15/ctq-curran-

global-collaboration.html

ISTE (2015, November 23). 7 steps for starting a global collaboration project. Retrieved July 17,

2017, from https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=608

ISTE National Educational Technology Standards. (2007). Retrieved July 02, 2017, from

http://www.smsd.us/webpages/swilliams/files/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards1.pdf

Lucy V. Barnsley ES at a Glance. (2016). Retrieved July 02, 2017, from

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/curr

entyear/schools/02505.pdf

Using the State Curriculum: Social Studies, Grade 1. (2006, June 20). Retrieved July 02, 2017,

from

http://mdk12.msde.maryland.gov/instruction/curriculum/social_studies/standard2/grade1.

html

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