Week 13 : Lesson Plan

Grade Level: 9
Class: Utah Studies
Time Period: 2 weeks- 4- 90 min class periods
Standard # 5: Students will understand the diverse nature
of Utahs peoples and cultures.
Content Objectives (s): Asses the cultural diversity of
Utah by researching ways that people maintain and
preserve their cultural identity for example; through
language, customs, holidays, traditions.
Language Objective(s): ELP Standard 5- Language of
Social Studies
Define what cultural identity is. (speaking/ listening)
Review and give examples of the various ways people pass
on culture. (speaking)
Write a short interview for a community member about their
culture. (writing/listening)
Use the interview to create a final project that summarizes
the interviewees culture.
Analyze all of the possible ways to pass on/share culture.
Key Vocabulary

Culture
Immigrants
Pioneer
Refugee
Diverse
Identity
Supplementary Materials
Piute Eagle Dance Video
Slide show of barrier canyon rock art images
Photo Album
Tai Chi or Yoga Examples
Frida Khalo Art
Lyrics to a Pioneer hymn
Images of various Religious celebrations
Poem written in a different language other than English
Lesson Sequence:
1. Cultural Energizer:
- Write the word culture on the board, talk about what it
means
-Break up into groups brain storm ways that culture or
tradition is shown in physical form.
-I will create stations in the classroom that illustrate
various ways people pass on their culture for example; jazz
music talking about hard times, a video showing Native
American dance, a primary source account of a pioneer
holiday celebration, Day of the Dead skulls, images of rock
art from Southern Utah, a poem written in a language other
than English, images of various religions, examples of Yoga
or Tai Chi. Students will go from station to station exploring
these methods.
-Brainstorm: Ask students, What are other ways that
people can preserve their culture and pass on ideas?
2. Community Collaboration:
-Students will then be required to write a short

interview for a local community member about their culture.

-After the interview they will summarize what they
have learned about this persons cultural identity by
choosing out of an array of multimedia options. This will
encourage students to speak as well as listen, and then take
what they have heard and analyze it. These are critical skills
for ELLs, they will even have the opportunity to express what
they have learned in ways other than just writing. This gives
the freedom for students who may not benefit from the
traditional methods in the classroom or for those who are
still struggling with English.
3. Connections/ Conclusive Dialogue:
-All of the students will come together and present
their project to the class. There will be a variety of styles for
example; dance, song, slide show, art project, story, photo
collage.
-After the presentations I will ask the class, Why is it
important for us to recognize diversity where we live?
How do the people that live somewhere make it unique?
What are some things that different cultures contribute to
our state? Does understanding the people that live
somewhere help you understand the place more?
-This project will be displayed in the school in order to
educate other students on the diverse cultural background of
our state. This will foster achievement in ELL students
because they will feel confident that they are able to
communicate ideas to a larger group besides their
classroom.
-Ask students what they enjoyed about the project, and what
they did not like so much. Give them the opportunity to give
you new ideas for altering the plan.
4. Reflection:
- I feel that I may run into difficulties when asking kids to
write interview questions without educating them on
techniques about asking interview questions.
-I also think that the project might work better if I give
students more clear direction on what type of final project I
am expecting, I may have left it too open so students are
unable to focus in on one way to present culture.
-For the final assessment I may have to make it more in
depth in order to be sure that students learned how
important the diverse population of Utah is in making it
unique.

-I would like to expand the distribution of the projects to

other schools and community programs instead of just
displaying it within the school.