Cultures and Languages in Education: Part 2

5-Step Plan: Mexico

In North Carolina, the largest population of ELL students is Spanish-speaking students from Mexico. In order to promote cultural understanding and personal growth of my elementary school class, we will have a unit dedicated to Mexican culture across the curriculum.

What: This unit will cover history, geography, literature, and vocabulary. The unit will begin with students learning to locate Mexico on a map, after which they will learn the major cities, types of terrain, and native plants and animals. Students will take a virtual tour of a Mexican home during class via a Skype interview with a colleague of mine who lives and works in Mexico City. During the tour, students will be asked to make notes of similarities and differences between their own homes and the home they see. After that, we will start our unit on conquistadors and the ‘discovery’ of America. However, instead of focusing on the conquistadors that made it to the United States, we will learn about both those who were in what is now the United States and those who were in Mexico. We will look at the paths different conquistadors took and discuss why they went to different places. While all of this is taking place, we will be reading a different story by a Mexican author out loud in class each day. Students will take turns reading aloud. We will then discuss the stories and how they may have been different if they had been written by an author from another place. Throughout the unit, three students each day will be assigned a Spanish vocabulary word to bring home and define the next day. They will also be asked to draw a picture that shows the definition of the word. Words will range from colors to classroom objects to seasons to animals. Each day, the students will teach the rest of the class their word, we will hang the students’ drawings in our classroom as their Spanish vocabulary grows. At the end of the unit, parents will be invited to a “Spanish Lesson” where there will be multiple stations that parents can attend. One station will be by our Spanish word wall. Students will teach their parents the Spanish words. Another station will be a story station where students will read short stories by Mexican authors out loud to their parents. The final station will be a map of Mexico where students can teach their parents about the geography and history of Mexico.

Who: The teacher will be responsible for administering and running the unit. This is a class of third grade students, so some of their work can be independent, but they will still need some help, especially when looking up the definition of their Spanish words. Parents will need to help students look up their words, so the teacher will sent home newsletters before, during, and at the end of the unit letting parents know what we are doing and inviting them to our “Spanish Lesson.” The “Spanish Lesson” will be overseen by the teacher and a few parent volunteers.

When: This will be a three-week unit at the beginning of March. Each day, students will learn about Mexico and, starting in the second week, read one story in class. The virtual tour will take place on the third day of the unit. Additionally, vocabulary words will be assigned each day, so by the end of the unit, there will be at least 40 new words. The “Spanish Lesson” will take place on the last Friday of the unit at 9am and will last for an hour and a half.

Where: All instruction will take place in the classroom. The only part of this unit that will take place outside the classroom is the vocabulary word homework assignment which is to be completed at home.

How:

1) Before the unit begins, teacher will send home a newsletter explaining the unit and inviting parents about the “Spanish Lesson.” Teacher will ask for three parent volunteers to help run the “Spanish Lesson.” Teacher will continue to send home newsletter updates throughout the unit.

2) Teacher will explain the unit to the class and introduce Mexican geography. The first set of vocabulary words will be assigned to three students, and this will continue each day of the unit. Starting on day two, students will begin teaching the class their assigned vocabulary words. The word wall will begin on day two. The virtual tour will also take place on day two.

3) Students will begin learning about conquistadors at the beginning of Week Two. This unit will end with the making of maps of where the conquistadors went. The map-making project will take up days one and two of Week Three. Each day, beginning on the first day of Week Two, the class will read one story by a Mexican author out loud.

4) The final two days of the unit will be setting up and practicing for the “Spanish Lesson” for the parents. Students will be able to teach the material to their parents by the end of the unit.

5) “Spanish Lesson” will begin at 9am on the final Friday of the unit. Teacher will run the event with the help of the above mentioned parent volunteers. Each parent will help run one of the three stations. Once the lesson is done and parents leave, teacher will discuss the day with students and wrap up the unit by telling the students how much their parents learned from them.

5-Step Plan: Egypt

The second largest population of ELL students in North Carolina is Arabic-speaking students, most of whom are from Egypt. To bridge the cultural gaps, this unit will focus on the value of collectivism rather than rewarding students for individual achievement.

What: Because Egypt is a collectivist culture and students from Egypt may not be used to the high value Americans place in individual achievement, we will do a two week unit where the students are rewarded collectively for their achievements. This will be a cross-curricular unit, and it will involve a lot of group work and students teaching each other. For example, in math, students will be split into groups to complete each day’s assignment. When the first group finishes, those students will be split between the remaining groups so they can help each other finish the work. This will continue until all of the groups are done. The entire class will be rewarded for their hard work by getting ten extra minutes of playtime if the whole class finishes before the end of math. In English, we will read a short chapter book during this unit. Every day, we will read a few pages out loud as a class. Everyone will read at the same time, which will give non-native speakers a chance to practice their English without feeling like everyone is listening to them. Additionally, students will be given homework that previews what we will be discussing in one of our subjects. The homework will be something relatively general. For example, if we are learning about different animals native to North Carolina, the homework would have pictures of a few different native animals. Students would be asked to tell the teacher about a time that they saw one of these animals. If they have never seen one, they can ask a family member to tell them about one of the animals. This helps celebrate the idea that experiences that students have had are just as valuable as scientific facts. Students will be invited to share their stories at the beginning of class the next day. As a “grade” for the unit, students will be given a collective score each day (i.e. “All 20 of you did your homework! 20 points!”). If, by the end of the two weeks, the students get a total of at least 300 points (a very attainable goal), the students will get to have a small party on the last day of the unit. The party will include candy provided by the teacher and an episode of “The Magic School Bus.”

Who: The teacher will be responsible for running the unit and assigning points. This is a class of third grade students, and although the students may need some teacher involvement, much of this unit will rely on the students working together to teach them the value of collectivism. Parents will be kept in the loop via the class’s weekly newsletter.

When: This will be a two-week unit in December, right before winter break. This unit will lead up to the end of the semester.

Where: All instruction will take place in the classroom. The only part of this unit that will take place outside the classroom is any homework assignments that the kids must complete at home.

How:

1) Before the unit begins, teacher will send home a newsletter explaining the unit.

2) Teacher will introduce the concept of collectivism to the students and will explain the difference between that and individualism. 

3) Students will begin group work in math, group reading, and the above-mentioned homework assignments right away. Students will be rewarded points based on the group’s performance. The teacher will add up the points at the end of each school day.

4) Students will be invited to share their homework each day. Students will not be required to share, but instead will be encouraged.

5) At the end of the unit, the students will be rewarded for the number of points they received with a small party. The teacher will provide candy, and the class will watch “The Magic School Bus.”