Dear Global Studies,
आपले स्वागत आहे (Welcome) to another day of class! Today we begun our second unit of the year, "Who We Are: An introduction to Anthropology." Over the course of the next few weeks we'll be learning about culture. It is my firm belief that we are all experts or soon to be experts of culture, since we all have culture, and are actively involved in the cultures of our families, and the diverse groups we all belong to (including our classroom). Because of our intimate participation with culture, we will spend much of this unit learning from one another about the many cultures we all belong to. We will also work on our skill of argument during this unit, specifically practicing our ability to support our claims and arguments with evidence and reasoning. I'm SO looking forward to learning more about our cultures! Here's how we started our unit today:
Learning Targets:
आपले स्वागत आहे (Welcome) to another day of class! Today we begun our second unit of the year, "Who We Are: An introduction to Anthropology." Over the course of the next few weeks we'll be learning about culture. It is my firm belief that we are all experts or soon to be experts of culture, since we all have culture, and are actively involved in the cultures of our families, and the diverse groups we all belong to (including our classroom). Because of our intimate participation with culture, we will spend much of this unit learning from one another about the many cultures we all belong to. We will also work on our skill of argument during this unit, specifically practicing our ability to support our claims and arguments with evidence and reasoning. I'm SO looking forward to learning more about our cultures! Here's how we started our unit today:
Learning Targets:
- I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society (KN 15).
- I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing (CO 1).
- I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group (BLT 3).
- I can identify critical components of culture using specific examples.
- RAP: What is culture? Students began class by writing what they know about culture, citing specific details from their lives. Students then balled up their sheets of paper and threw them in the middle of the classroom, where they then were picked up by classmates. We then read aloud each response in class, then discussed the major themes. I am simply amazed with the amount of knowledge we have in class!
- Me and We, Culture in our classroom: Students then sorted themselves around the room in response to a series of questions related to culture, including: favorite types of food, holidays, professional sports teams, and school. Students then discussed the differences and similarities we saw through the activity. Students drew powerful conclusions, including that there are many things that differentiate and unite us, depending on the issue and our history.
- Culture and Difference: To end class, we discussed the notion of "claim" and "evidence" using questions related to culture. Since students are learning about claim in their English Language Arts classroom, we were able to jump right into the activity. Students responded to the following claims with evidence from their own lives: "No one else is like me," "I have many things in common with the members of my family and community," and "Every person in the world needs some of the same things I need." After responding to these claims, we discussed the differences and similarities between our answers, before then working on this worksheet. BY the end of class, we began considering the question, "Is there an American culture?" We'll return to this question next class and then use the ideas generated from our worksheets to help us develop evidence and reasoning.
- Closing: To end class, we discussed our plan to celebrate Diwali (Indian festival of lights) and Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) this week. I'll send an email out to families later today to help remind you!