Yolanda U. Trapp
Introduction
This project was written with the purpose that teachers and students could explore and enjoy the diversity of cultures when reading selected books. Because the theme is so vast, I have chosen only a few exceptional books for the different grades. The reason why I decided to include all elementary grades in reading was written at the beginning of the unit. The purpose, anyway, is to share multicultural information with social acceptance and respect of the diverse cultures we will explore when reading poems and stories to the students. These books reflect a culture's uniqueness and the universality of human experiences.
Lesson Plan 1
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Subject areas:
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Grades K to 1
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oLanguage Arts
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oSocial Studies
The book for the
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theme:
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Umbrella by Taro Yashima.
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Theme:
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The story of a little American-Japanese girl and her family.
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Aim:
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What is this book about?
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Time frame:
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One day program.
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Goal:
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Incorporation of a different culture.
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Objectives:
General: The students will enrich their knowledge when incorporating Japanese family through listening, reading, writing and other related activities.
Specific: At the end of the lesson the student will be able to:
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Distinguish similarities and differences within the individual classroom among the characters of the book.
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Compare social environments in the story and at home and school.
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Participating in activities related to the story, drawing pictures or constructing umbrellas and boots.
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Book Umbrella and white, brown and red construction paper.
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Scissors, pencils, markers.
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Directions:
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Sample read aloud.
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a.
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Using 20 minutes approximately, the teacher reads part of the story and three students are assigned to reread to the class, a favorite portion of the story.
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b.
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Have students identify the characters, places and plot of the story. Have them identify what they think may or may not happen.
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c.
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After reading the whole story, ask them if they agree or disagree with the decisions made by the little girl before it rains, and why.
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d.
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Let students tell about the story in their own words and write on the blackboard using the Venn diagram or a Semantic Map to find differences or similarities with themselves.
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Follow-up Activities.
Time: Same day or according to school schedule.
Activity:
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1.
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Draw or cut umbrellas and boots for a rainy day. (use construction paper.)
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2.
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Teacher writes on blackboard the different characters (symbols) written in Japanese, and translates them. Children may draw pictures about their meaning, and let them express their feelings about the difference in writing Japanese symbols. Leave the activity open for further ones.
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Evaluating Student Understanding.
Directions:
Diagnose:2
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What do you need to teach?
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What do you need to enrich?
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What are their interests?
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What resources would be best?
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Lesson Plan 2
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oLanguage Arts
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oSocial Studies
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Approximate Time Frame:
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One hour and an extended activity for the next day and others depending where the open-ended activity will lead us to future ones about different cultures.
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The book for the theme: Subway Sparrow, by Leyla Torres.
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Theme: A bird is trapped inside a subway and four different people try to help it escape.
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Country: Multicultural understanding.
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To show how four strangers rise above the language, age, and cultural barriers that divide them.
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Objectives:
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The student will:
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Enrich his/her knowledge about different languages people talk.
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Respect and understand cultural and ethnic differences.
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Distinguish similarities and differences within the protagonists and themselves.
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Directions:
Suggested grouping: The whole class.
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a.
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The teacher reads the book aloud from start to finish without pausing for questions or comments. Letting the voice convey the mood and the tone that the story creates.
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For Character Analysis: Have the children note the situation and how they express themselves about it.
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For identifying tone/mood:
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Share with the children the feelings that evoke to each protagonist. How do they respond? Different? Same?
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For Sequence: Have students note the sequence of the event and how each person reacts to the situation.
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The book uses the city as the backdrop for the story. Ask the children to describe cities to the class. Record, initial, and date these responses. Help the children find some cities on a map. Then, have the children use an encyclopedia to research some information about their cities. How many people live there? Are they different? Are they alike?
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Now have the students draw or write about their cities. They may use magazine photos to make portraits of their city. Let them share these with the class as they share information about their cities and different people that may live there. Ask the children what kind of language they may speak. The same? Different? What would they do if they met people who don't speak the same language?
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Culminating Activity:
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Let the children create a poster with different countries and different people. Discuss the result when finishing the poster.
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Lesson Plan 3
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Subject Areas:
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Grades 3 and 4
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oLanguage Skills
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oESL
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oSocial Studies
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Time Frame:
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This is a one week program.
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Goal: To engage in shared verbal and written reflections about ethnic traditions.
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Place:
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Nicaragua (Central America).
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Book:
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Mother Scorpion Country retold by Harriet Romer. La Tierra De La Madre Escorpion.
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Theme:Legend from the Miskito Indians of Nicaragua in Spanish and English versions for ESL lessons.
Objectives:
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The students will learn about legends of Central America.
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The students will describe differences and similarities of their own background, and compare it with the legend.
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Directions:
ESL Bilingual
Program
Day One: The teacher divides the students into small groups, giving each photocopies of a brief passage from the book selected. The members of each group read their passage in English and Spanish, discuss it among themselves, and prepare six sentences to present on the following day. (Pauker Strategies)
Day Two: The member of each group will describe their passage to the class, giving time for reactions and questions. After all the groups have reported, the teacher raises questions for general discussion.
Day Three: Check the students' comprehension by completing the sheet, in English and Spanish.
Comprehensive Questions for Mother Scorpion Country. (La Tierra De La Madre Escorpion):
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1.
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What is the story about?
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2.
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What happened to one of the protagonists?
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5.
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What happened at the end of the story?
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6.
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Do you agree or disagree with the legend? and, why?
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7.
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Write a different ending.
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ESL Spanish
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1.
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¿De qué trata la historia? (o leyenda)
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¿Que le pasó a uno de los protagonistas?
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¿Cómo se siente el protagonista?
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5.
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¿Qué sucede al final de la historia?
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¿Esta de acuerdo o en desacuerdo de lo sucedido en la leyenda, y por qué?
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7.
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¿Escribe un final diferente de la leyenda.
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Day Four: Extended activity.
Time frame: According to the interest of the students.
Direction: After reading and comparing the questionnaire initiate a discussion about the different answers and feelings of the students.
Day Five: Evaluation.
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Notes
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1.
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Thonis, Eleanor. Reading Begins In The Crib. (P. 154.) Wheatland School District, California. The Power of Two Languages, Tinajero, Flor Ada. McMillan McGraw-Hill copyright Hill School Division. New York, NY 10003. 1993.
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2.
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Trapp, Yolanda. Short Novels, Stories and Poetry of the Latin Americas. (P. 197) Twentieth Century Latin American Writing. Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute. Vol I 1997.
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