Lesson 5 Culture

 Reflection on Lesson

WHAT?

What happened? What went well? What was an area of weakness?

Which objectives were met?  What is the evidence? Give specifics from your formative assessment data. Which students did not meet objectives?  Which students exceeded objectives?  Why?

This fourth-grade lesson on New York City's diverse cultures begins by establishing a clear structure with a visual agenda and fostering a positive classroom environment through an icebreaker activity and a review of behavioral expectations. The lesson then introduces the core concepts through a compare and contrast anchor chart and defines key vocabulary such as culture, ethnicity, community, tradition, and heritage. A read-aloud with dialogic reading techniques engages students with the topic before the class collaboratively compares and contrasts the similarities and differences between Italian & Greek cultures and Chinese & Puerto Rican cultures using Venn diagrams, exploring aspects like music, food, and values. To provide a hands-on cultural experience, students will then create Chinese lanterns, connecting to the Mid-Autumn Festival tradition. Finally, the lesson concludes with a journal entry where students reflect on the similarities and differences between two chosen cultures, solidifying their understanding of cultural comparison.The students loved the ability to create lanterns they were able to be creative and make their own lantern designs. The students understood the concept of comparing and contrasting cultures they found it very interesting how each culture has their own values. One student exceeded and really grasped the understanding of comparing and contrasting.

  

SO WHAT?

What was learned from this experience? Evidence of teacher candidate learning

One thing I learned I would have made the compare and contrasting of the culture facts bigger for the Venn digram for the students to read and see on the trip fold poster board. 
                                                                

NOW WHAT?

How will this experience influence my professional identity? 

How will this experience influence how I plan/teach/assess in the future?

I learned about my own students cultures as well, this was a great way to get to know my students. They were all excited to share their own cultural background.