I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Cultural Artifacts

Essential Question:

What can I learn about myself by studying Chinese culture?

Bridge:

A Chinese Artifact

Content:

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: Students will recognize that various pupils have different holiday customs, eating habits, religions, histories, etc.
Activity: Assign each child to bring in an item depicting her/his cultural background. All items are displayed with labels.
Evaluation: Student involvement.

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: Students will share and discuss items with class.
Activity: Students show and talk about their item with the class. Teacher leads discussion about the importance of each item and the similarities and differences amongst family cultural backgrounds.
Evaluation: Group discussion and student participation.

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: Students will identify and use chopsticks.
Activity: Provide each student with a pair of chopsticks. Draw symbol for chopstick on board and demonstrate how to use the chopsticks. Discuss differences and similarities between the Chinese and American eating utensils. Students experiment with chopsticks as they play a game. Provide students with a napkin and a cup full of popcorn. Students empty popcorn on napkin then use chopsticks to place as much popcorn as they can back in the cup during one timed minute. Students eat the popcorn that was put in the cup.
Evaluation: Quality of involvement and discussion.

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: Students will identify various aspects of Chinese culture.
Activity: Teacher reads to class “The Great Wall” and the story of “Chinese Tangrams.” Provide students with a set of Tangrams puzzles to solve. Show and discuss the filmstrip “Bicycling in China”. Read and discuss text book and other resources.
Evaluation: Attentiveness and participation in discussions.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: Students will practice Chinese writings, complete worksheets and quizzes.
Activity: Students make traditional Chinese hats (skullcaps with a queue) and decorate them with a dragon as a review of material learned. Groups create a Great Wall within the classroom and complete worksheets and quizzes reviewing and practicing material presented.
Evaluation: Quality of created products and accuracy of worksheets and quizzes.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: Students will explore areas studied.
Activity: Students create a learning placemat like those seen in restaurants. The placemat should contain learning games about the Chinese culture. Placemats with word puzzles, math games, hidden pictures, etc. can be shown as examples. Class brainstorms some possible ideas and records them on the board. Placemats must contain at least four learning puzzles and will be laminated so that crayons can be used to solve the puzzles them wiped off.
Evaluation: Selection of ideas for placemat.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: Students create a learning placemat.
Activity: Students design, critique, and create their placemats and answer the essential question, “What can I learn about myself by studying Chinese culture?”
Evaluation: Quality of research and project.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: Students will share projects.
Activity: Students help plan and carry out a Chinese dinner. Students wear their hats and their created placemats are placed on desks for other students to solve puzzles during dinner.
Evaluation: Participation in sharing and solving puzzles.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: