INDIA CULTURAL STORY BOX

Benchmark Final Assignment by Hannah Lorona

 Rational
Our cultural story box theme was based off of the country of India. For this assignment,

Yvonne and I worked very closely when creating the WOW invitation. Unfortunately, because

we did not have the same grade level, we did most of the unit and lesson planning separate.

However, we did work together on brainstorming ideas for the unit plans but we did have to

tweak the activity or lesson for the proper age level. These unit plans and lesson plan were

designed for children ranging from 3-5. I am working with four and five years old at The School.

India’s culture is a melting pot of many different cultures. India is a completely different

country then America. Since most of these children have only experienced a small amount of

the world around them, we thought this was going to be a great learning opportunity for them.

India is unique because it is made up of many different languages, religions, foods and more.

There is no set culture in India as it differs from region to region. I learned most of what I know

about India through my trip there this summer. India has an extremely unique culture. With

their vibrant and lively music, art, architect, and food. No matter the religion, India takes their

customs, rituals, and traditions very seriously.

When creating our WOW invitation we came up with an art activity relating to the book

Rangoli. One of the activities in the unit plan is to read the book as a group and then go outside

and using sidewalk chalk the children can design their own Rangoli’s. This activity relates to AZ

Early Learning Standards Strand 4: Creativity. This is because also the children can get ideas

from the book, these Rangoli’s are the time when they get to sketch freely on the sidewalk. This

activity relates to our cultural story another activity included in the unit plans is for students to

get an opportunity to use different pre-cut shapes to make an elephant mask. There will be
jewels in different shapes, construction paper cut in circles, squares, triangles, stars, stripes and

ovals, there will also be paper plates to use as the face. This relates to AZ Early Learning

Standard Math Strand 4: Geometry Shapes. This is because students will be identifying different

shapes to create their own elephant mask.

Students will also be doing an activity for social studies were they learn and practice

saying “hello” and “thank you” in Hindi. Every morning my teacher uses a song that the children

sing along to. The lyrics of the song say hello in many different languages. Because they enjoy

this song so much, it only made sense to include this in a lesson. This activity relates to Create

Principle 1 Valuing the funds of knowledge within diverse cultural communities. This activity

relates in the sense that children will value learning how to greet and appreciate people in a

language that is native to India. Children will also be in a weeklong activity that will be adding

letters to trace to the word INDIA. This is a way to practice their writing and alphabet and at the

same time use repetition to remember the word India. As the week begins students will start

on I and then grow into I-N, then I-N-D and so on. This relates to AZ Early Learning Standards,

Language and Literacy, Strand 2 Emergent Literacy, Alphabet Knowledge. Children will

demonstrate their knowledge of the Alphabet by writing and tracing the letters to spell out

India.

Each child brings an abundance of education and cultural experiences into school. The

goal of my cultural story box and the unit plans is to develop, create and plan out ways to

engage children in the world around them (emphasizing India). I chose each and every one of

these activities because they tied in well with not only the literature in the box but also because

they were engaging and educational. These activities correlate with different standards as well.
My goal as a teacher is to encourage my students to move beyond his or her level of

understanding. This will relate to NAEYC Standard 4C: Using a broad repertoire of developmentally

appropriate teaching/learning approaches because I will know and understand that as a teacher I

need use a variety of ways to teach children that best enable their success.
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Retrieved November 30, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpDcYXO8Ec4

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numbermatch/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&u

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T. (2014, June 21). Yoga for Kids - Children's Yoga - Brain Breaks - Kids Songs by

The Learning Station. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from

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challenge-day-9/
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E. (2016, May 06). Raindrop Suncatchers. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from

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Ravishankar, A., & Scanziani, E. (2007). To market! To market! Chennai, India: Tara Pub.

Ananth, A., & Jain, S. (2011). Rangoli: discovering the art of Indian decoration.

London: Frances Lincoln Childrens Books.

Rao, S. (2010). My mothers sari. London: Soma Books Ltd.

Ravishankar , %. (n.d.). One, Two, Three! .

Sheth, K., & Jaeggi, Y. (2007). My dadima wears a sari. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.

Sheth, K., & Jaeggi, Y. (2008). Monsoon afternoon. Atlanta: Peachtree.

Kostecki-Shaw, J. S., & Adam, V. (2015). Same, same, but different. Westport, CT.: Weston

Woods.

Jain, M., & D. (2014). Mahavira: the hero of nonviolence. Bloomington, IN: Wisdom Tales.

Aboff, M., & Moore, F. (2006). India ABCs: a book about the people and places of India.

Minneapolis: Picture Window Books.

Cleveland, R., & Wrenn, T. (2007). The drum: a folktale from India. Atlanta, GA: August House

Story Cove.
 AZ Early Learning Standards:

 Social emotional Standard: Strand 2: Relationships

 Attachment-The teacher will be there to support and encourage the children and build

a positive relationship with every child

 Social Interactions –Children will develop the skills to work in partners, small and large

groups positively

 Respect-Children will learn how to treat others and the classroom including materials

with respect.

 Approaches to Learning Standard:

o Strand 1: Initiative and Curiosity

 Initiative- Children exhibit the ability to make their own choices over activities including

but not limited to the Rangoli art activity and the passport collage

 Curiosity-Children engage in activities and class discussions, can think, predict and

question

o Strand 4: Creativity

 Creativity- Child can express their own sense of self through activities such elephant masks,

making their own traditional Indian clothing

 Language and Literacy:

o Strand 2: Emergent Literacy

 Concepts of Print- Children will first practice writing India out and then using each letter to

learn new vocabulary words relating to the country

  Book Handling Skills- Children will learn and understand how to properly handle, respect

and care for books

 Phonological Awareness-Children develop skills to pronounce words into syllables

 Alphabet Knowledge-Children will demonstrate knowledge of the alphabet by reading India

ABCs: A Book about the People and Places of India by Marcie Aboff

 Comprehension-Children can gain comprehension skills by reading and verbal

communicating

 Math: Strand 4: Geometry

 Spatial Reasoning- Children will learn how to understand positional terms by participating in

yoga

 Shapes-Children will participate and demonstrate knowledge of shapes by doing a raindrop

number activity and a scenic shape hunt of India.

 Patterns- Children will learn about patterns by participating in math matching games like the

monkey graph and ocean and fish counting activity

 Science: Strand 1: Inquiry and Application

 Exploration, Observations, and Hypotheses- Children will observe and explore the India sensory

bin, they will participate in many exploration activities including exploring the difference between

fresh and salt water and more

 Investigation-children will learn how to make predictions in different experiences, such as the

results in the activities Storm in a Jar and Estimating how much rice is in the jar

 Analysis and Conclusions-Children can come to conclusions with their projects and understand

why the results ended up that way.

  Communication-Children can engage in discussions about their results and why their storms in

a jar could be different.

 Social Studies:

o Strand 1: Family

 Understands Family-Children will learn the basis of family by listening to examples in books

such as My Mother’s Sari By Sandhya Rao

o Strand 2: Community

 Understands Community-Children will demonstrate their knowledge of community by

comparing and contrasting Tucson and India

 Rights, Responsibilities and Roles within Community-Children will participate in classroom

jobs and responsibilities

 Geography-Children will learn about India geography by participating in activities such as

the passport activity using passports, travel plans and stamps.

o Strand 3: Historical Thinking

 Understands Time – Past, Present and Future- Children can discuss and participate in

calendar time and understand there is a school and classroom schedule

 Physical Development, Health, and safety: Strand 1: Physical and Motor Development

 Gross Motor Development- Children can participate and show gross motor skills by

during dance, play time, sports and yoga.

 Fine Motor Development- Children will develop fine motor skills by practicing and

handling paint brushes, pencils and more.

 Create Principles

 Principle 1: Valuing the funds of knowledge within diverse cultural communities.

o Children will learn about the places, food, music, religion, language, animals and more about

India

 Principle 2: Encouraging story as a meaning-making process to understand self and world.

o Children will use the books from the literacy unit plans to learn about India’s culture and to

understand that there are different cultures

 Principle 3: Celebrating the significance of family literacies in literacy learning

o Children will be learning about family stories revolving around India family life through the

books in the culture story box and more

NAEYC Standards

 Standard 2: Building Family and Community Relationships

o As a teacher, I will invite an encourage families to be involved in class. I will work with

families and the class to immerse ourselves in the community around us as well as learn

about India’s community.

 Standard 4A: Understanding positive relationships and supportive interactions as the foundation of

their work with young children:

o I will demonstrate building positive relationships with students, families and the community. I

will encourage and support positive social interactions as an observer.

 Standard 4B: Knowing and understanding effective strategies and tools for early education, including

appropriate uses of technology:

o I will bring tools into the classroom that are beneficial to the children’s learning experience.

 Standard 4C: Using a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate teaching/learning approaches:

o I will use a variety of teaching strategies to best suit each student to ensure they are

successful

 Standard 4D: Reflecting on own practice to promote positive outcomes for each child:

o I will regularly check to ensure I am doing my very best to support and guide a successful

child. I will work to educate them all on cultural diversity in India as well as anything else

 Standard 5: Using Content Knowledge to build meaningful communications

o I used my knowledge of education, India and the world to create unit plans that best suit the

curriculum

EXTRA:

 Ideas for Future Growth: Using the lesson plan “Around the World (to India) We Go” expand

the lesson plan into a unit plan. Focus on a country a week to ‘travel’. Use literacy, math, science,

social studies and art and implement them into learning about a different country. The class will

be cultural educated and get an opportunity to explore the world.

 Field Trip Ideas: Trips to the zoo and aquarium will give children an education chance to

compare and contrast different sea life and animals seen in local areas versus places like

India. An idea for a field trip about India: Take a class trip to a yoga studio and work with

the group on learning about spirit, meditation, culture and more.

 Plans for high interest students: Work with the family on implementing encouraging ideas and

opportunity to travel. Individually engage in discussions about travel and India. Give opportunities

for extended learning about traveling, India and the world. Create vocabulary lists, writing games,

maps, geography activities like workbook pages, fact sheets, literacy books and more.
 WEEK ONE LESSON PLAN
Theme: Country of India Age Group: 4-5 year olds

Week One Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Literacy: Market! To Market! Rangoli By Anuradha My Mother’s Sari One, Two, Three! By My Dadima Wears
By Anushka Ananth By Sandhya Rao Anushka Ravishankar a Sari. By Kashmira
Ravishankar & Sirish Rao Sheth

Math: Using Indian Repeat from yesterday Count 1-10 using Using the literacy book Students will get a
currency ( rupee & to review and learn symbols (1- above students will “Monkey Graph”
paise) to count to how to say “one” in elephant, 2- count along and of 5 different color
five ( money is just a Hindi (main language monkeys, and so practice 1-10 monkeys and then
symbol for each in India) “EK” on) will randomly be
number not actual handed ten mixed
currency amount) monkeys. They will
coordinate the
graph based on
number of
monkeys per
color.

Science: Begin a science Continue and finish Children will work Continue and finish Learn about the
experiment dying experiment. on another two day India sensory bin Himalayan
and growing crystals experience by mountains
to learn about making a India
India’s gem history. Sensory Bin

Writing: Practice writing and Practice writing and Practice writing and Practice writing I-N-D- Review in
identifying I and i identifying N and n and identifying D and d I-A letters uppercase and
reviewing I and reviewing N lowercase I-N-D-I-
and I A
Social Talk about local Learn about India Compare and Learn about Indian Learn how to say
animals and then geography- Focus on contrast Traditional traditions like holidays Hello and thank
Studies: show and learn India Ocean and Indian clothing ex: Diwali ( festival of you in Hindi
about animals found animals in the ocean compared to their lights) include the Taj
in India clothing (texture, Mahal, Sacred Cows,
color, style) etc.

Art/ Freeze dance to Relating to the book Watercolors of the Using 7 mason jars Given long lengths
traditional Indian create an outdoor Indian flag create a rainbow color of fabrics recreate
Drama/M music sidewalk chalk activity in each jar traditional Indian
usic: creating symbols from attire “Sari” and
India “Dhoti”

Extra: Outdoor play time For relaxing/break Cricket (sport Learn classical Indian Watch a Indian
background music time students will game) large in India dance moves during child production
could include learn yoga students can play outdoor or music time
traditional Indian with cricket balls
Music (no bats)
 WEEK TWO LESSON PLAN
Theme: Country of India Age Group: 4-5 year olds

Week One Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Literacy: Monsoon Afternoon Same, Same But Mahavira: The Hero India ABCs: A Book The Drum: A
by Kashmira Sheth Different by Jenny Sue of Nonviolence about the People and Folktale from India
Kostecki-Shaw by Manoj Jain Places of India by Rob Cleveland
by Marcie Aboff

Math: Independently count Students will look at Using geometric Students will make an Small group fish in
and color raindrops pictures of scenic India basic shapes, Elephant mask using ocean number
using a worksheet (mountains, rice fields, students will play a shapes that include match game. Have
Raindrops up to 9. forests, etc.) and work matching game paper plates, a blue ocean like
The numbers will not in small groups to between the name construction paper cut sheet with 1-20
be in chronological identify shapes that of shapes and the like triangles and numbered on
order. they see shape itself. jewels of different them and then use
shapes. cut out fish with
the same numbers
and the children
will match them.

Science: Began a science Continue and finish As a class, create a Complete rainbow rice Make salt water to
experiment on experiment. rainbow rice activity by creating resemble ocean
creating a monsoon sensory bin. Rice different color water. Have the
in a jar fields cover much combinations in children test the
of India, the different jars and bins difference
children will get to for the rainbow rice between fresh
experiment by activity. water and salt
working together to water.
dye rice different
colors. Requires a
day of drying in the
sun.

Writing: These week will be Letter N: LETTER D: LETTER I: LETTER A:

focused on learning
new vocabulary NATIVE DANCE IGUANA ACTIVITY
words. We will be
spending each day NATURE DIVERSITY ICE ADVENTURE
learning two new
words that start with
 I-N-D-I-A that have
to do with India’s
culture and
geography.
Letter I:
Learn the words
INSECT
INSTRUMENT

Social Passport Geography Use collected pictures, Discuss what Look at an enlarged Close out social
lesson split into two newspapers and more capitals are. Learn map and have the studies and India
Studies: days. Today: Receive about or from India to about India’s students come up with by comparing and
passports and learn create a picture capital as well as ways to sail to from contrasting all that
about traveling and collage of what their Arizona’s and Tucson to India. they learned
distance between demonstration of India America’s. about India to all
India and Tucson. is. They will begin that they know
Learn about why discussions of why about their home
they need passports they choose what to in Tucson.
to travel from place put in the collage.
to place.

Art/ Paint using water Dramatic play: Find a rock outside Create raindrop Make bracelets
color different and paint it one catchers. Using precut and necklaces like
Drama/ flowers including After showing a music solid color and then raindrops in white the traditional
Music: daisies, lotus flowers video from Bollywood with guidance pick students can use jewelry and
and more.3 children can act out one word to different paints, glitter bangles they could
how they would describe one thing and jewels to design see in the markets
perform in the video. or place you hope raindrops to hang up in India.
to see or go when in the classroom on
you travel (ex: the window.
sand, monkey)

Extra: Color the world map Learn a traditional India coloring and Guess how many Make sand art
Indian children’s song fact page pieces of rice are in a using white pieces
big clear jar of paper, sand and
clear glue.
 Social Studies Lesson Plan
Ages: 4-5

TITLE “Around the World to India We Go!”

Rationale This lesson will investigate and explain the geography of India. As a class we will briefly learn
about traveling using “passports” and the continent of Asia using an enlarged world map .
Students will learn about India’s people, culture, environment, animals and more by collecting
images from National Geographic kids and other newspapers and magazines than creating a
collage (simple collages 4-5 pictures) that will be inserted into their “passports”.
Objective Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of what “travel” means. Students will be able
to show their creative abilities as well as their understanding of India’s culture and geography
with a picture collage and an engaging discussion. By the end of this lesson, students should
express knowledge and interest in India as well as traveling the world.

Materials:  Imitation Passport books and airline ticket

 Enlarged World Map
 Magazines and newspapers from or about India
 Construction paper
 Pencils
 Glue
 Scissors
 Print out of India passport stamp
Procedures 1. Set Up-Prepare passport books, have materials ready at the craft stations at each
table and have the enlarged world map hung at the circle mat.
2. Introduce the passport books. Explain traveling in planes and show them a premade
plane ticket. Discuss passports and that when people travel to different countries and
passport is required. Explain and demonstrate that when you travel in and out of a
country you receive a stamp of proof. Instruct children to add their names to the
booklets and put in their cubbies.
3. Motivate the children by gathering at circle time to start a discussion about traveling
and India. We will show examples of India using newspapers, magazines and
printouts pictures. Announce that the children will receive a stamp of India in their
booklet once we finish our “travel plans”. We will discuss and show the enlarged map
and show the map distance between AZ and Asia. Discussion about how AZ is located
in North America and India is located in Asia.
4. Show examples of India collage and explain what each picture is and why I chose to
include it. Then students will proceed with guidance and instructions to their “Travel
Plans”- at craft stations students will quietly cut and search through papers to
 demonstrate India’s culture from the examples. In small groups students will raise
their hand with one picture they picked to represent India (elephant, ocean,
mountains, cow). Students will then regroup and discuss what differences they
noticed between their home country and the one they saw in pictures.
5. Closure-Allow enough time for craft ( 20 min) and regroup/discussion (15 min ). Once
discussion is completed, we will instruct the students it is time to travel back home.
Students then will grab their passport booklets and come back to their seats. I will
demonstrate and instruct asking for a student volunteer to assist me, student will
hand me my plane ticket and stamp my passport, I will say thank you and then go
back to my craft station to then glue my collage inside my passport. Students will
then one-by-one being called on come up to me and I will hand them a plane ticket
“thank you for traveling to India, I hope you enjoyed your fun filled journey to other
country!” and stamp their passport.
6. After-To assess if this activity was a success, I will regroup after all passports are away
in cubbies. As a class, I will ask open ended questions like “what did you see in India”,
“what did you hope to see but did not”, “what do you think about a place different
then Arizona”? This passport lesson could lead to learning about all countries.

Assessment/ -Children seem engaged and intrigued. The discussion and activity involving passports
Evaluation promoted the idea that it is possible to see many other places just a plane ride away.
This discovery caused curiosity and eagerness in students to receive more “stamps”
by learning or “traveling” to a different place. The engaging class discussions about
India showed that not every place is the same and that there are differences and
similarities. Students discovered a new place and learned about the culture and
geography by allowing them to independently select photos of what they think
represents India from what they previously learned about India during circle time.
-Next step would be to revise what lacked. (What lacked could potentially be to much
independent activities, or requiring more individualized tasks for those who may be
lacking certain skills or abilities. Next would to build off of “Around the World” and
create lesson plans involving the passports and traveling to different countries to
learn about the world.
 Reflection

What this engagement taught me the most is about my teaching technique. At the WOW event, there was

many families and children of all ages. Even though my teaching technique is still far from being done developing, this

event showed me how to approach an interact learning engagement with children without losing focus of the lesson.

Our engagement was a chalk drawing, we wanted to make sure the children understood what the activity have to do

with India before completing the activity.

It was very successful because they listened and were curious about the activity. They wanted to understand

what “Rangoli” meant. We had a great location for our table and a lot of artifacts. The artifacts were both great for

children and adults. The display board was mainly for adults because it talked more about India and how to bring India

into a classroom. We got the opportunities to discuss with teachers about art activities relating to India. We worked

together in brainstorming art activities from ink stamp art to recreating color patterns in cloth design. What really

helped was when I got the chance to interact with a few children who were extremely interested in the activity, I tried

to engage with them deeper. By asking them questions about their home life and then answering questions about India,

I learned how to improve this activity in the future. I learned about to better introduce the story of Rangoli’s before

introducing the activity. That was the main missing factor in the engagement because they we didn’t get to read the

book to everyone at once, it was harder to explain the activity without any background.

When brainstorming how to bring these unit plans into older classrooms, I thought that the most reasonable

way would be to include India facts and overviews about different subjects in India. Instead of focusing on more

interactive social activities like freeze dance and group projects. If I were to change this curriculum for first grade, I’d

look at the Arizona Social Studies Standards Strand 2: World History Concept 1: Research Skills for History PO 1. Place
important life events in chronological order on a timeline. PO 2. Retell stories to describe past events, people, and

places. PO 3. Use primary source materials (e.g., photos, artifacts, maps) to study people and events from the past. This

would tie into the core of my unit plans because a lot of what I would do is to use photos and artifacts to physically

show and teach all that India is about. Each section of the unit plans would have to be modified to fit the first grade

curriculum. An example of a modified lesson that can be used when relating back to the Arizona Social Studies Standard

Strand 2 World History would be revamping the passports project. Students in first grade could work together to

research and collaborate a certain section about India to teach to the rest of the class. Using computers, books, stories,

pictures and artifacts students could make a theme timeline about India’s schooling, jungles, animals, food, clothing,

religions, tourists and more. This would be more challenging for an older age group and would allow the class to learn

and discuss India’s history and current events.

The WOW event and this whole assignment taught me a lot about lesson planning and preparation for

teaching. It made me very eager to bring this into my classroom after we come home from break. My mentor teaching

and I are going to use the Winter break to bring up a discussion about traveling and adventure and use that theme to

introduce India. I have lead the class in a few story times and activities about India but since they were on the subject of

oceans, my mentor teacher and I decided to just introduce a few India lessons and create a whole unit about traveling

and India once I am full time in the classroom. I am really excited and ready to bring these ideas and unit plans into my

classroom to get an opportunity to lead teach.