Lesson 14 - Cultural Differences

🕐 Lesson Overview

Bellringer
Read: Chapter 14 & 15
Video: Cultural Differences

⭐ Objectives

I can make text-to-self connections.
I can practice empathy and respectful curiosity.
I can recognize cultural differences between South Sudan and America.

📏 Standards

🗽 NYSNGSS

7R2:
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; summarize a text.
7R9:
Use established criteria in order to evaluate the quality of texts. Make connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, and personal experiences.
7SL1:
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners; express ideas clearly and persuasively, and build on those of others.

💖 SEL

2A.3a:
Practice perspective-taking to infer understanding of others’ thoughts, feelings, and intentions.
2A.3b:
Practice respectful curiosity to better understand others’ lived experiences.
2B.3c:
Reflect on the role of bias against individual, social, and cultural differences in bullying, stereotyping, prejudice, and microaggressions.

🗒️ Lesson Plan

Anticipatory Set

Students will engage in a Turn & Talk inspired by the following prompt:

Imagine you had to leave tomorrow to live in a new country without any friends or family. What changes would this cause in your life? What adjustments would you have to make?

As students discuss, the teacher will take attendance then circulate to monitor conversations. After sufficient time has passed, the teacher will invite pairs to share their responses with the whole class. The class will then review the agenda and objectives.

Developmental Activity

The class will then read aloud Chapter 14 and 15. The teacher will use the Equity Sticks strategy to select readers on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis. The teacher will pause the reading to check for understanding, introduce new vocabulary, or explain unfamiliar concepts. In particular, the teacher should show examples of the Arabic alphabet and Arabic writing to help students visually understand the differences between the two.

Closure

Time permitting, the teacher will show an excerpt from Lost Boys of Sudan, a documentary that follows a group of boys in a similar situation to Salva. This excerpt highlights the difficult cultural adjustment that people encounter when moving to a new country, especially as refugees.

⚙️ Modifications

If in a co-taught class, a co-teacher may pull a small group of students and read with them in a smaller group setting where more individualized reading interventions may be used.