Thematic Unit

Thematic Unit Title:
Who Am I?: Exploring Culture and Identity
Team Members Names & Collaboration Form:

Jennifer Aceves, Matilda Bunch, Yessica Cancino, Baley Westberg
Thematic Unit Topic/Theme/Issue/Problem:

The topic of this thematic unit is identity and culture. We want students to explore their own
identities and culture while also becoming more aware of other values and cultures to help them
become more understanding and caring individuals.
Grade Level:
4th Grade
Rationale/Goals (Purpose):
The purpose of this unit is to think deeply and critically about personal identity and culture by
analyzing various characters and cultural events in texts and making connections to themselves.
This unit supports each student’s ability to empathize, connect, and collaborate with a diverse
group of peers -- skills that are of increasing importance in our multicultural, global society.
Students will explore their own identities and personal experiences with their culture, traditions,
celebrations, and family structures. This unit is relevant and important because it will help
students become more aware and understanding of the unique differences and values of their
peers. Students will become more empathetic and caring towards others. It is important to teach
students the power of kindness and we can do this by teaching students how to celebrate
diversity and be accepting of different cultures. Students will be able to learn more about their
own identity, values, and culture, while also learning more about the world around them and the
different things that their peers value and celebrate.
Content, Scope & Sequence Chart/Table: (Abbreviated/Paraphrased SWBAT)
Day 1: What is Day 2: Who am Day 3: What do I Day 4: What do I Day 5: Where do
identity/ I? like to do?/ What like to do?/ What we come from?
Culture? do my peers like do my peers like
-Read aloud to do? to do? -Journal
-Read aloud -Discussion -Collage
-Journal -Identity Map -Read non-fiction -Read non-fiction SWBAT...journal in
-Discussion text on topic of text on topic of response to
SWBAT….create
SWBAT… journal interest interest questions about
an identity map where they come
in response to -Draft of writing -Final draft of
SWBAT… from
questions about SWBAT… research writing
participate in class a topic of interest SWBAT… research SWBAT… create a
identity and culture
discussions on topic SWBAT… write a topic of interest collage
SWBAT… of read-aloud about a topic of SWBAT… write
participate in class interest about a topic of
discussions on topic interest
of read-aloud
Day 6: What is Day 7: What is Day 8: What are Day 9: What do I Day 10: What are
my family like? my family like? different celebrate? different
How are families celebrations celebrations in
different? -Family Tree around the -Brainstorm a the class?
world? favorite
-Read aloud SWBAT… create a celebration/tradition -Poster
-Journal family tree -Read aloud -Poster -Gallery walk
-Discussion -Research SWBAT… create a -Journal
SWBAT… journal -Anchor Chart poster on a favorite SWBAT… create a
in response to -Present celebration/ poster on a favorite
SWBAT… tradition celebration/
questions about
research, create and tradition
families
anchor chart, and SWBAT… journal
SWBAT…
present on a in response to
participate in class
celebration around questions about
discussions on topic the world celebrations
of read-aloud
Day 11: What are Day 12: What are Day 13: Why is Day 14: Sharing Day 15: What
different cultural different cultural celebrating about our have I learned
norms and cuisines? diversity identities/ about culture
customs? Explosion box important? cultures and identity
Explosion box workday Explosion box
workday workday -Present explosion -Present explosion
-Read aloud boxes boxes
-Read aloud -Journal -Read aloud -Class Party
-Journal -Explosion Box -Journal SWBAT… present
-Explosion Box SWBAT… journal -Explosion Box their explosion SWBAT… present
SWBAT… journal in response to SWBAT… journal boxes to the class their explosion
in response to questions about in response to boxes to the class
questions about cultural cuisines questions about SWBAT… journal
cultural norms SWBAT… create celebrating diversity in response to
SWBAT… create an explosion box SWBAT… create questions about
an explosion box an explosion box what they learned
Common Core State Standards:
Reading:
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.1-Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining
what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2-Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is
supported by key details; summarize the text.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.4.4-Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support
comprehension.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.4.4.a-Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
Writing:
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3.d-Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to
convey experiences and events precisely.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1-Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of
view with reasons and information.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1.a-Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and
create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the
writer's purpose.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.4-Produce clear and coherent writing in which the
development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-
specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2-Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and
convey ideas and information clearly.
Language:
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.2-Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.3-Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing,
speaking, reading, or listening.
Social Studies:
● SSS2.4.2- Identify the main ideas from a variety of print and non-print texts.
Speaking and Listening:

● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1-Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and
texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.c-Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow
up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the
remarks of others.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.d-Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own
ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.4-Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an
experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive
details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
World Languages:
● 3.2 Acquiring Information and Diverse Perspectives: Learnings access and evaluate
information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and it’s
cultures.
The Arts:
● (VA: Cr2.2.4)-When making works of art, utilize and care for materials, tools, and
equipment in a manner that prevents danger to oneself and others.
● (VA:Cn 1 0.1 .4)-Create works of art that reflect community cultural traditions.
Learning Objectives:
Reading:
SWBAT… read a non-fiction text on a topic of interest and summarize the text
SWBAT… read non-fiction texts with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
of their topic
SWBAT...read grade-level texts with purpose and understanding to help them write a paper on
an interest/hobby
SWBAT… refer to specific details and examples in a nonfiction text when explaining or inferring
main ideas from the text
SWBAT… read grade-level texts with purpose and understanding to help them understand
different family dynamics
Writing:
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of identity and culture in a journal
format
SWBAT… write personal journal responses with supported reasons and information that reflect
their own point of view
SWBAT… create and produce an identity map with coherent writing that is organized and
developed appropriately
SWBAT… produce a clear piece of writing that informs and explains their topic of
interest/hobby
SWBAT… explain in piece of writing why they like their selected hobby/interest with the support
of reasons and information
SWBAT… write about a hobby or interest in an organizational manner by clearly introducing
the topic, grouping their related ideas, and stating why they like the hobby or interest
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of “where I come from” in a journal
format
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of families in a journal format
SWBAT… create and produce an family tree with coherent writing that is organized and
SWBAT… create an anchor chart with written information on a celebration around the world
clearly
SWBAT… select and use concrete words, phrases and sensory details to convey their favorite
family celebrations or traditions
SWBAT… write clearly and coherently in an organizational manner appropriate for the task
SWBAT...create an organized poster that introduces a family celebration/tradition
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of celebrations/traditions in a journal
format
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of cultural norms and customs in a
journal format
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of cultural cuisines in a journal
format
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of celebrating diversity in a journal
format
Language:
SWBAT... correctly use standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when creating
their identity maps
SWBAT… correctly use conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing their piece of writing
SWBAT… use knowledge of language and its conventions when creating their anchor chart,
presenting their anchor chart, and listening to their peers
Social Studies:
SWBAT… identify main ideas from a variety of print and non-print texts while researching about
world celebrations
Speaking and Listening:

SWBAT… express and share their thoughts and ideas based on their journal responses to
specific posed questions with the class during a discussion
SWBAT...listen to other students remarks or ideas respectively and link their own ideas to
contribute to the class discussion
SWBAT… listen to peers share their identity maps and build upon their ideas by effectively
expressing their own ideas clearly
SWBAT… collaborate effectively in a discussion from a read aloud by building off of peer ideas
and expressing their own clearly
SWBAT… effectively collaborate with their peers
SWBAT… present their groups anchor chart on a celebration in an organized manner and
speaking at a clear, understandable pace
SWBAT… present their explosion box in an organized manner and speaking at a clear,
understandable pace
World Languages:
SWBAT… learn about diverse perspectives through language and it’s cultures
SWBAT… learn about diverse perspectives through their peers presenting about their individual
cultures
The Arts:
SWBAT… effectively utilize and care for materials while creating their collages
SWBAT… create a collage that reflects their community and cultural traditions
SWBAT… effectively utilize and care for materials while creating their family trees
SWBAT… create an explosion box that reflects their individual culture and traditions
SWBAT… effectively utilize and care for materials, tools, and equipment in a manner that is safe
while creating their explosion box
Fifteen Days’ Worth of Lessons/Activities
Day 1- Main Idea: What is identity/ culture?
Introduction- prior to starting this unit, we will have sent home a letter to parents. (see
attached under heading “introduction”)
Goal: This lesson will introduce the unit on Identity and Culture. Students will reflect on what
identity and culture means to them as well as any prior knowledge they have on this topic. The
teacher will explain what their main project for the unit will be, which is the explosion box.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1-Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-
on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building
on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.c-Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on
information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of
others.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.d-Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and
understanding in light of the discussion.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1-Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view
with reasons and information.
Objectives:
format
SWBAT… write personal journal responses with supported reasons and information that
reflect their own point of view
Overview:
1. The teacher will begin by introducing the topic of the unit: Identity and Culture.
2. The teacher will then begin by reading The Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson
aloud to the class.
3. Teacher will then have prompted questions written on the whiteboard for students to
reflect and journal on silently on their own.
4. Students will respond in a journal to the following questions: What is Identity and what
does it mean to you? What is Culture and what does it mean to you? What is one way
you feel different than most people around you? How can people support you? How
could you support your peers?
5. When students are done, the class will come together as a whole class and share out
their responses so that students can hear different perspectives on definitions of
identity and culture. Teacher will lead a discussion, guiding students to understand
that identity and culture is personal to each individual.
6. The teacher will explain what the main project (explosion box) for the unit will be.
During this time the teacher will talk about the explosion box and what will be
expected from the students.
Materials:
- The Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson
- Personal student journals (composition or spiral notebook)
- Video: Explosion Box Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B3mdq0lX1w
Instructional Strategy:
- Introducing unit
- Class read aloud
- Individual journaling
- Class discussion
Day 2- Main Idea: Who am I?

Goal: This lesson will have students reflect on the question “who am I?”. They will use an
identity map to deepen their understanding of themselves and their values. Sharing their own
identity maps with peers can help students build relationships and break down stereotypes.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.4-Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and
organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for
writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.2-Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Objectives:
SWBAT… collaborate effectively in a discussion from a read aloud by building off of peer
ideas and expressing their own clearly
SWBAT... correctly use standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when
creating their identity maps
Overview:
1. Recap on what we did on day one: what identity and culture means to each individual.
2. Read aloud :The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi- Possible discussion questions: Would
you change your name to fit in? What makes you unique? Does your name have special
meaning to who you are?
3. Teacher will explain the goal for the day and introduce their activity for the day: an
identity map. Teacher will explain what an identity map is/ share a personal example.
4. Teacher will lead a class brainstorm session where students come up with categories
that help define their roles. Ex: roles in the family, hobbies, interests, backgrounds
(religion, race, ethnicity, nationality, hometown etc.), physical characteristics.
5. Students will then begin by creating their identity maps.
6. After they have created their identity maps, students will partner up and share their
maps with a peer.
7. Teacher will end with a wrap up that addresses these ideas:
a. Some aspects of our identities are consistent over our lives; others change as
we gain skills and have different roles in life.
b. Some aspects of our identities feel very central to who we are no matter where
we are; others might feel more like background or depend on the situation.
c. Some identities are labels that others put on us, While others see us as having
that identity, we don't.
Materials:
- The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
- Paper/small posters for identity map
- Markers/colored pencils
- Scratch paper for brainstorming
- Class read aloud
- Individually brainstorm
- Share maps with peers
Day 3- Main Idea: What do I like to do?/ What do my peers like?
Goal: This lesson will allow students to explore an interest or a hobby of theirs by researching
and writing a short piece on the topic. Students will find a text/ book on their hobby or
interest, summarize the text in their writing piece while also explaining why they like that
hobby/interest and what it means to them. After writing their piece, students will share out one
golden line either from the book that they chose or from their writing piece. This allows
students to develop a deeper understanding of their peers and foster caring and respect
towards each other and their differences.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2-Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported
by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.1-Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the
text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.4.4-Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support
comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.4.4.a-Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
Objectives:
SWBAT… refer to specific details and examples in a nonfiction text when explaining or
inferring main ideas from the text
SWBAT… read non-fiction texts with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support
comprehension of their topic
an interest/hobby
Overview:
1. Teacher will give instructions: students will be going to the library to choose a book
that represents a hobby or interest of theirs. They will read the book and take notes in
preparation for writing one paragraph piece of writing that summarizes the text and
explains why they like that hobby/interest.
2. Students will take a short field trip to the library to choose a book of interest that
reflects their hobby/interest.
3. Students will come back to class and will read the book chosen and will
brainstorm/take notes on the topic.
4. Students will begin outlining and drafting their piece of writing. This activity will carry
over to the next day.
Materials:
- Book of their choice
- Sticky note/ note taking paper
- Students choose a book from library
- Individually take notes and start outlining their paper
Day 4- Main Idea: What do I like to do?/ What do my peers like?
Goal: This lesson will allow students to explore an interest or a hobby of theirs by researching
and writing a short piece on the topic. Students will find a text/ book on their hobby or
interest, summarize the text in their writing piece while also explaining why they like that
hobby/interest and what it means to them. After writing their piece, students will share out one
golden line either from the book that they chose or from their writing piece. This allows
students to develop a deeper understanding of their peers and foster caring and respect
towards each other and their differences.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2-Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey
ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1.a-Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an
organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer's purpose.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.2-Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Objectives:
interest/hobby
SWBAT… explain in piece of writing why they like their selected hobby/interest with the
support of reasons and information
Overview:
1. Students will continue to research their hobbies/interests.
2. Students will then write one paragraph on their hobby/interests.
3. After students are done with their pieces of writing, they will share a golden line from
their book or their piece of writing to the class.
Materials:
- Book of their choice (non-fiction on a topic of interest/hobby)
- Paper for final product of writing or chrome book to type
- Individually writing a paragraph
- Students share a golden line from book to class
Day 5: Main Idea: Where do we come from?
Goal: This lesson will allow students to explore where they come from and reflect on their
culture deeper. Students will represent where they come from in a collage which allows
students to show their culture in an artistic representation. This activity will allow students to
see unique differences in their lives and their peers lives.
Standards:
(VA: Cr2.2.4) - When making works of art, utilize and care for materials, tools, and
(VA:Cn 1 0.1 .4) Create works of art that reflect community cultural traditions.
3.2 Acquiring Information and Diverse Perspectives: Learnings access and evaluate
information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and it’s cultures.
Objectives:
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of “where I come from” in a
journal format
Overview:
1. Students will journal in response to the prompt: “Where do I come from? What are my
origins?” This could be anything from their hometown, their families origination,
specific family events, any details that describe “where I come from”.
2. Teacher will explain that students will be creating a collage that represents where they
come from. Teacher will share a personal example.
3. Teacher will give instructions on what materials to use and the size of their collages.
Teacher will explain that students can use magazines from the class collection or print
out specific images or phrases that represent where they come from.
4. Students will work on their collages and turn them in when finished. Teacher will hang
up collages for the rest of the class to see after they are all complete.
Materials:
- Magazines
- Chromebooks
- Printer
- Scissors
- markers/color pencils
- Glue sticks
- Construction paper
- Individual Journaling
- Individually creating a collage
Day 6: Main Idea: What is my family like? (How are families different)
Goal: This lesson will allow students to develop a deeper understanding of different family
structures. The purpose of this lesson is for students to reflect on and acknowledge differences
in their peer’s families as well as understand that their own family is unique.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.c-Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on
information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of
others.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.d-Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and
understanding in light of the discussion.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.4.4.a-Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
Objectives:
SWBAT… .read grade-level texts with purpose and understanding to help them understand
Overview:
1. Teacher will begin by reading aloud A Chair for My Mother by Vera B.Williams
2. Students will then journal to the following prompts: What does family mean to you?/
What is your definition of family? Who do you consider as part of your family? How
can families be different?
3. When students are done, class will come together as a whole class and share out their
responses so that students can hear different perspectives on definitions of family.
Teacher will lead a discussion, guiding students to understand that families are
personal to each individual.
Materials:
- A Chair for My Mother by Vera B.Williams
- Personal writing journal (composition or spiral notebook)
- Class read aloud
- Individual reading
- Individual Journal/Reflection
- Class Discussion
Day 7: Main Idea: What is my family like?
Goal: This lesson will provide students an opportunity to create a visual of their family
connections through a family tree. This activity will help to show students that they are all
unique and come from many different cultures and family histories.
Standards:
organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
(VA: Cr2.2.4) -When making works of art, utilize and care for materials, tools, and equipment
in a manner that prevents danger to oneself and others.
Objectives:
Overview:
1. Students will be shown example family trees
2. Class will make a family tree on white board based on a fictional family
3. Students will be given instruction, supplies and time to work on their own family tree.
4. Students who would like to can share their family tree.
Materials:
-Large paper and markers/colored pencils or chrome book to create family tree
-Example family trees to share around the room
- Individually create family tree
- Students can individually share family trees
Day 8: Main Idea- What are different celebrations around the world?
Goal: In this lesson students will research different celebrations that happen within different
cultures. They will get the chance to gain knowledge on other culture’s celebrations as well as
become aware of them. This will help the students get to know the potential culture
celebrations of their classmates and how they might celebrate differently or are similar.
Students will have the opportunity to become “experts” on a specific celebration and “teach”
their peers.
Standards:
SSS2.4.2 -Identify the main ideas from a variety of print and non-print texts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.3-Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing,
speaking, reading, or listening.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey
ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.4-Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in
an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main
ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Objectives:
SWBAT… identify main ideas from a variety of print and non-print texts while researching
about world celebrations
SWBAT… create an anchor with written information on a celebration around the world
clearly
SWBAT… use knowledge of language and its conventions when creating their an anchor
chart, presenting their anchor chart, and listening to their peers
Overview:
1. Teacher will begin with a read aloud Let's Celebrate!: Special Days Around the
World by Kate Depalma
2. Students will be put into groups of 2-3 and will pick from a list of celebrations from the
read aloud:
-Kodomo no Hi (Japan)
-Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) (China)
-Matariki (New Zealand)
-Inti Raymi (Peru)
-Carnival (Brazil)
-Midsummer (Sweden)
-Nowruz (Iran)
-Passover (United States)
-New Yam Festival (Nigeria)
-Novy God (Russia)
-Eid al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan) (Egypt)
-Día de Muertos (Mexico)
-Diwali (India)
3. Each group will become an expert on their selected celebration and create an anchor
chart of information about that celebration.
4. Students groups will then “teach” the class about their selected celebration.
5. Students will be required to ask each group two questions about their celebrations.
Materials:
- Chromebooks
- Post-it Super Sticky Easel Pad paper
- Markers
- Let's Celebrate!: Special Days Around the World by Kate Depalma
- Class read aloud
- In a group pick a celebration
- In groups create an anchor chart
- Groups present
Day 9: Main Idea: What do I celebrate?
Goal: In this lesson students will dive into their family culture and reflect on the importance of
a particularly special event that they celebrate.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3.d-Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey
experiences and events precisely.
Objectives:
Overview:
1. Students will brainstorm about their favorite family celebration/tradition.
2. Students will create a poster about their favorite family celebration/tradition.
Materials:
- Poster paper
- Markers/color pencils
- Individually brainstorming and reflecting on a favorite celebration/tradition
- Individually creating a poster
Day 10: Main Idea: What do I celebrate? What are different celebrations in the class?
Goal: In this lesson students will continue developing their personal celebration product and
then the class will take time to learn about other celebrations around the class. By increasing
student knowledge on various celebrations based in different cultures, student cultural
awareness and sensitivity will grow.
Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3.d-Use concrete words and phrases and sensory

details to convey experiences and events precisely.
Objectives:
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of celebrations/traditions in a
journal format
Overview:
1. Students will finish creating their posters of a favorite family celebration or tradition.
2. After students finish their posters (15-20 minutes at the beginning of class), students
will hang up their posters around the class and the students will do a gallery walk,
viewing their classmates favorite celebrations/ traditions.
3. After the gallery walk, students will journal and reflect on what they learned about
their peers. Students will respond to the following prompts: What did I learn about my
classmates? Is it important to respect different celebrations/traditions? Why?
Materials:
- Poster paper
- Markers/color pencils
- Reflecting on a favorite celebration/tradition
- Individual poster
- Whole Class Gallery walk
- Individual Journaling
Day 11: Main Idea: What are different cultural norms and customs?
Explosion Box Work Day
Goal: In this lesson students will reflect on different cultural norms and customs so that they
can become aware and appreciate the differences in people's cultures around the world. As the
unit wraps up, students are creating an explosion box that reflects on their identity and
culture. This will allow students to become more aware of who they are and learn to
appreciate the diversity in their peers.
Standards:
Objectives:
journal format
SWBAT… effectively utilize and care for materials, tools, and equipment in a manner that is
safe while creating their explosion box
Overview:
1. Teacher will begin by reading This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven
Kids from Around the World by Matt Lamonthe to the class aloud.
2. Students will journal and reflect on the read aloud with the following prompts: What
does a day in the life of you look like? Include things like what you wear for school,
what you eat for breakfast, how you get to school, how you study, how you help your
families, how you play (etc). How does a day in your life look different than some of
the kids we read about?
3. Students will have the remainder of the time to work on their explosion box which will
reflect their identity and culture
Materials:
- Various paper types (construction, printer, cardstock etc.)
- Glue
- Tape
- Markers, Colored Pencils, Paints
- Magazines
- Chromebook/Printer
- Scissors
- This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World
by Matt Lamonthe
- Class read aloud
- Individual journal and reflection
- Individual work time with support from the teacher
Day 12: Main Idea: What are different cultural cuisines?
Goal: In this lesson students will reflect on different cuisines around the world to help them
learn more about different cultures and appreciate their differences. As the unit wraps up,
students are creating an explosion box that reflects on their identity and culture. This will
allow students to become more aware of who they are and learn to appreciate the diversity in
their peers.
Standards:
Objectives:
format
Overview:
1. Teacher will begin by reading Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley
2. Students will journal and reflect on the read aloud with the following prompts: How
does your family use rice in meals? What are some of your special/favorite dishes your
family eats? Is food an important part of an individual's culture? Why?
Materials:
- Glue
- Tape
- Magazines
- Scissors
- Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley
- Class read aloud
Day 13: Main Idea: Why is celebrating diversity important?

Goal: In this lesson students will be challenged to think about why celebrating diversity is
important and why it is important to be culturally sensitive and understanding of differences
around the world and in their peers. As the unit wraps up, students are creating an explosion
box that reflects on their identity and culture. This will allow students to become more aware
of who they are and learn to appreciate the diversity in their peers.
Standards:
Objectives:
format
Overview:
1. Teacher will begin by reading Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown
to the class aloud
2. Students will journal and reflect on the read aloud with the following prompts: Should
we be proud of our differences? Why? How would you feel if people made fun of
something unique to you? How can we celebrate diversity?
Materials:
- Glue
- Tape
- Magazines
- Scissors
- Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown
- Class read aloud
Day 14: Starting Explosion Box Presentations
Goal: By presenting their own explosion boxes, students will gain a deeper understanding of
their own personal cultures, as well as those of their classmates. Students will also gain
experience presenting to a class and listening respectfully and attentively.
Standards:
Objectives:
understandable pace
SWBAT… learn about diverse perspectives through their peers presenting about their
individual cultures
Overview:
1. Students will have the opportunity to volunteer to share their explosion box first
2. Once there are no more volunteers, names will be drawn at random
3. Approximately half of the class will share their explosion boxes, one at a time, while
the rest of the class is a respectful audience.
Materials:
- Explosion boxes
- Notebook paper and writing utensil to take notes
- Individual presentations
- Individual note-taking
Day 15: Ending Presentations & Class Party- Reflecting on what we learned about identity
and culture.
Closure- to wrap up our unit we will have a class party (see attached more information
under heading “closure”)
Goal: By presenting their own explosion boxes, students will gain a deeper understanding of
their own personal cultures, as well as those of their classmates. Students will also gain
experience presenting to a class and listening respectfully and attentively.
Standards:
Objectives:
understandable pace
SWBAT… learn about diverse perspectives through their peers presenting about their
individual cultures
format
Overview:
1. Names of the remaining students will be drawn at random to share their explosion
boxes.
2. Approximately half of the class will share their explosion boxes, one at a time, while
the rest of the class is a respectful audience.
3. Once all the presentations are done, the class will reflect on the presentations through
a journal prompt: What have I learned by creating this explosion box? What was my
favorite part of the creation process? Why? What have I learned about identity and
culture?
4. Once reflections are completed, we will have a class celebration with snacks and
decorations from various cultures.
Materials:
- Explosion boxes
- Notebook paper and writing utensil to take notes
- Journal
- Celebration supplies
- Individual presentations
- Individual note-taking
- Individual Reflection within their journal
A Table of Daily Schedule/ Connection to Other Content Areas:
Time: Activity: Relation to Unit:
8:00-8:15 SEL N/A
8:15-9:30 Mathematics Geometry Unit.

Throughout this mathematical unit, we will
draw connections between the shapes we are
creating for posters, explosion boxes, etc.
9:30-10:15 Specials (Spanish, Art, Music, N/A

Drama, Computers)
10:15-10:45 Read Aloud For read aloud time, we will be choosing

books that have been linked into our unit.
Our books will relate to the topics of the day
(culture, identity, celebrations, etc.) These
books are incorporated into our unit outline
above.
10:45-11:45 English/Language Arts This is when we will be delivering the main
content of our unit as outlined above.
11:45-12:10 Remediation/Enrichment During our first enrichment break, students

will be offered mainly science/mathematics
enrichment tasks to give them a break from
ELA.
12:12-12:45 Lunch N/A
12:45-1:00 Recess N/A
1:00-1:30 Remediation/Enrichment Cont. After recess, students will be given menu

options for ELA/Social Studies enrichment
activities. These may be extra stories or
articles to read that relate to our unit, or
possibly fun group activities that touch more
on culture and identity.
1:30-2:15 P.E./Library N/A
2:15-2:55 Science/Social Studies Social studies will also be relating back to

our unit as much as possible. We will make
sure to include topics such as identity,
culture, and celebration from within our
social studies unit.
3:00-3:15 Prepare for Dismissal N/A
Introduction:
We will be sending the following letter to parents/guardians of our students to introduce our new
unit. This will be sent out the weekend before starting the unit:
Dear parents/ guardians,
We are very excited to announce that for the next few weeks we are going to be learning
about our identities and culture as well as cultures around the world in the class! We will be
practicing some writing skills like expressing opinions and ideas backed by reason and
information. Our class will be doing a lot of reflective journaling and classroom discussions to
practice listening to each other and being able to build off of each other's expressed ideas. We
think this is a wonderful unit for the class to learn more about the world around them and the
people who occupy it. We aim to teach students not only key writing and reading skills, but also
how to care about their peers and celebrate their unique differences. In the coming weeks, we are
encouraging families to talk to their child about their unique family history and culture. We look
forward to learning more about your child and further creating an accepting, diverse classroom
community! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Thank you so much!

Ms. Aceves, Ms. Bunch, Ms. Cancino, Mr. Westberg
Closure:
As our unit wraps up, we will ask students to bring in a special treat that is unique to their
family on the last day of the unit (friday). After students are finished with their explosion box
presentations, we will have a class party with games, fun multicultural music, and delicious
treats (proper measures will be put in place for those with allergies) to really celebrate the
diversity in our class, and around the world!
Reading & Writing Materials/Resources:
Day 1:
Book: The Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson

Woodson, J. (2018). The Day You Begin. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
Angelina has curly hair and brown skin and as she starts a new school year, she feels a
little out of place, a little different. But it’s okay to be different whether it's what you eat, how
you look or talk, where you’re from, or anything else. It is hard to take the first steps to letting
someone new learn who you are, but Angelina takes the leap and shares a little bit about her
story on the first day of class. We picked this book to read aloud on the first day of our unit to
introduce identity and culture. This is a good book for students to reflect on what identity and
culture means to them. Everyone is different and that is okay. What makes us different is what
makes us special. We thought this would be a great book to break the ice on our unit topic
because it is also the first day of school and the title is “The Day You Begin”.
Journal Prompts:
What is Identity and what does it mean to you?

What is Culture and what does it mean to you?
What is one way you feel different than most people around you?
How can people support you?
How could you support your peers?
Day 2:
Book: The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
Choi, Y. (2001). The Name Jar. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
This story follows Unhei, a young girl who has just moved to America from Korea. She
misses her home and is having a hard time adjusting to her new one. Her classmates have a hard
time pronouncing her name, and after being made fun of, she decides she needs to pick an
American name. Her new classmates help her by creating a name jar where they put in their
ideas for her new name. One friend, Joey, notices Unhei’s name stamp and then the next day her
jar is missing. At this point, Unhei decides that she should keep her name and she finds out that
her friend Joey stole the jar so that she would keep her own name. We chose this book for the
second day of our unit. On the second day of our unit we ask the students to reflect on who they
are and create an identity map. Some things, like our name, are part of who we are, are part of
our identity. We shouldn’t change the things that make us who we are, we should embrace them
and let everyone see how individualistic and unique we are.
Discussion Questions:
Would you change your name to fit in?
What makes you unique?
Does your name have special meaning to who you are?
Identity Map Instructions: (Each activity/project will be introduced with verbal instruction
and examples. Written instructions are for references afterwards.)
1. Start by brainstorming characteristics about yourself that make you who you are.
2. Write your name in the middle of a piece of paper.
3. Use a graphic organizer/ web to share the aspects of who you are by connecting them
back to your name in the middle .
Your identity map may look something like this:
Day 3:
Hobby/ Interest Paper Instructions:(Each activity/project will be introduced with verbal
instruction and examples. Written instructions are for references afterwards.)
1. Pick one hobby or interest that you enjoy.

2. We will go to the library as a class. You will pick one non-fiction book on your
hobby/interest.
3. Read your selected book.
4. Write one paragraph on this topic that includes information about the hobby/interest and
why you enjoy it.
Day 4:
Hobby/ Interest Paper Instructions:(Each activity/project will be introduced with verbal

1. Pick one hobby or interest that you enjoy.

2. We will go to the library as a class. You will pick one non-fiction book on your
hobby/interest.
3. Read your selected book.
4. Write one paragraph on this topic that includes information about the hobby/interest and
why you enjoy it.
Day 5:
Where I’m From Collage Instructions: (Each activity/project will be introduced with verbal
1. Think about where you come from and how you could represent that with pictures.
2. Begin by selecting images from magazines or the internet and cutting them out.
3. Glue each of your images together on a piece of construction paper to create a collage of
“where you come from?”
Journal Prompts:
Where do I come from?

What are my origins?
Day 6:
Book: A Chair for My Mother by Vera B.Williams
Williams, V. B. (1982). A Chair for My Mother. New York, Ny: Scholastic.
This book is about a young girl and her hardworking single mom, a waitress. Every day
her mom brings home some more tips to put in a jar in hopes that they can save up enough for a
new chair. All of their old furniture burned up in a fire and since then, they have been trying to
fill up the apartment. Everyone in their neighborhood helped them decorate their new place by
bringing tables, rugs, curtains, and more. They finally have enough money to buy a chair, so they
go out and buy one for their apartment and the story wraps up with the girl, her mom, and her
grandmother spending time together in their new chair. We chose this book for a read aloud on
our sixth day of the unit. The main idea for this day is diverse families. Not only does this young
girl live with a single mom and her grandma, students may also see that family can be more than
just blood relatives. Everyone in the neighborhood helped them furnish their apartment, showing
that they love and care about them. All families can look and feel different, and that is okay.
Journal Prompts:
What does family mean to you?

What is your definition of family?
Who do you consider as part of your family?
How can families be different?
Day 7:
Family Tree Instructions: (Each activity/project will be introduced with verbal instruction
1. Make a list of all of your family members

2. Start with drawing yourself at the bottom, then draw in your siblings next to you if you
would like
3. Then draw your parents above you
4. Then draw your grandparents above your parents
5. Use lines to connect your family members to show their relationship
See example for help:

Day 8:
Book: Let's Celebrate!: Special Days Around the World by Kate Depalma
Depalma, K. (2019). Let’s Celebrate!: Special Days Around the World. Cambridge, MA:
Barefoot Books.
This book is a fun book to show different celebrations around the world. With rhyming
text and an introduction of 13 different holidays celebrated in 13 different countries, we thought
that this would be a great book to read aloud to our class before they research these celebrations
further. Students will pick from a list of these 13 holidays and become “experts” on their holiday.
We thought that this was a great way to show different cultural celebrations around the world as
students explore cultures and identities.
List of Celebrations:
-Kodomo no Hi (Japan)
-Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) (China)
-Matariki (New Zealand)
-Inti Raymi (Peru)
-Carnival (Brazil)
-Midsummer (Sweden)
-Nowruz (Iran)
-Passover (United States)
-New Yam Festival (Nigeria)
-Novy God (Russia)
-Eid al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan) (Egypt)
-Día de Muertos (Mexico)
-Diwali (India)
Become an Expert Anchor Chart Instructions: (Each activity/project will be introduced with
verbal instruction and examples. Written instructions are for references afterwards.)
1. You and a partner sign up for one of the 13 celebrations from our read aloud: Let's
Celebrate!: Special Days Around the World by Kate Depalma.
2. Use the chromebooks to further research your selected celebration.
3. Create an anchor chart with key information and details about your selected celebration
and become an “expert”.
4. After your anchor chart is finished, prepare to “teach” the class about your selected
celebration.
Day 9:
Favorite Tradition/ Celebration Poster Instructions: (Each activity/project will be

introduced with verbal instruction and examples. Written instructions are for references
afterwards.)
1. Think about a personal family celebration or tradition that you enjoy.

2. Create a poster with words/pictures/symbols to help explain what this celebration or
tradition is and why it is your favorite.
3. When your poster is completed, find a spot on the wall and hang up your poster for a
gallery walk.
Day 10:
Favorite Tradition/ Celebration Poster Instructions: (Each activity/project will be
introduced with verbal instruction and examples. Written instructions are for references
afterwards.)
1. Think about a personal family celebration or tradition that you enjoy.

2. Create a poster with words/pictures/symbols to help explain what this celebration or
tradition is and why it is your favorite.
3. When your poster is completed, find a spot on the wall and hang up your poster for a
gallery walk.
Discussion Questions:
What did I learn about my classmates?

Is it important to respect different celebrations/traditions? Why?
Day 11:
Book: This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World by
Matt Lamonthe
Lamonthe, M. (2017). This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around
the World by Matt Lamonthe. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
This book follows an average day in the life of seven kids around the world. This book
compares daily life from different cultures around the world; things like what kids where for
school, what they eat for breakfast, how they get to school, how they study, how they help their
families, how they play. Readers can see how each kid lives so differently while getting a taste of
cultural differences. We thought that this would be a great read aloud book for day 11 of our unit
when we are exploring different cultural norms. Cultural norms are standards that we live by.
Each culture has unique ways of living and learning about them can help us realize that though
we are different, we are also very similar.
Journal Prompts:
What does a day in the life of you look like? Include things like what you wear for school, what
you eat for breakfast, how you get to school, how you study, how you help your families, how
you play (etc).
How does a day in your life look different than some of the kids we read about?
Explosion Box Instructions: (Each activity/project will be introduced with verbal instruction
1. As we work our way through this unit, be thinking about what you could include in your
explosion box that represents parts of your identity and culture. Things to include may
be, pictures of your family, recipes for your favorite meals, something that represents a
hobby/interest, or anything else that you want to include.
2. Create an explosion box. Each flap of the explosion box, front and back, should have
something on it. Watch tutorial video as a reference.
3. Add personal items or pictures to help represent your identity and culture.
4. Prepare to present your explosion box to the class on the last day of the unit.
Video: Explosion Box Tutorial

Day 12:
Book: Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley
Dooley, N. (1991). Everybody Cooks Rice. New York, NY: Scholastic.
This multicultural book follows Carrie as she goes neighbor to neighbor looking for her
brother. While she is going around the neighborhood, she notices that each family is making
some sort of rice dish for dinner even though they are all from different countries. This book is a
great peek into how different cultures eat. Yet, readers will still see some similarities, like rice, a
common household food for many. We thought that this would be a great book for day 12 of our
unit because we wanted students to get a glance into different cuisines from various cultures
around the world. Food is a huge part of culture and kids will be able to reflect on what foods
they eat while getting to know the foods of their “neighbors”.
Journal Prompts:
How does your family use rice in meals?
What are some of your special/favorite dishes your family eats?
Is food an important part of an individual's culture? Why?

Day 13:
Book: Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown
Brown, M. (2011). Marisol Mcdonald Doesn’t Match. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book
Press.
Marison Mcdonald loves her unique red hair and her brown, freckled skin. She eats PB&J
burritos and loves to wear polka dots and stripes together. Her peers really don't understand her
and tease her for never “matching” and one day Marisol’s confidence diminishes and she decides
to conform, and fit in with the rest of her peers. After an inspiring, positive note from her
teacher, Marisol realizes that she likes to stand out and not match. This book is great in that it
teaches its readers to celebrate our differences and be accepting of others. We thought this would
be a great book for our final read aloud because it shows how important it is to accept who we
are, embrace our individual identities and culture and celebrate them.
Journal Prompts:
Should we be proud of our differences? Why?
How would you feel if people made fun of something unique to you?
How can we celebrate diversity?

Day 15:
Journal Prompts:
What have I learned by creating this explosion box?
What was my favorite part of the creation process? Why?
What have I learned about identity and culture?
Universal Design for Learning/Accommodations:
Accommodations for ELLs:

There are many accommodations that can be used for ELL students but some possible
accommodations that would align to our lessons are the following: We will give students visual
instructions alongside verbal and written instructions. For example, we will share examples of
activities (family trees, explosion box etc) and we will share a tutorial video for the explosion box so
that students have another form of understanding. We are also having read alouds with picture
books so ELL students can visualize the stories. They will have first access to the physical book after
the read aloud (a second copy of the books may be given to them to follow along).We can pre-teach
read alouds and have discussions prior to the whole class read aloud so they potentially have better
comprehension. ELL students will have one-on-one check-ins with the teacher throughout the
course of the unit. ELL students may be paired with other students during activities. For students
who are still struggling to understand instructions, google translate will be on hand for scaffolding.
Cultural vocabulary will be used during lessons to help ELLs connect with the lesson.
Accommodations for Gifted and Talented:

Students who are gifted and talented will have preferential grouping/pairing. Extension assignments
or tiered assignments will be offered. For example, researching more and adding more detail and
length to their interest/hobby paper(paragraph) or add another hobby/interest, add a written
response in addition to their “Where I am From” collage, access to higher grade level books/texts to
read after class activities for further extension etc. Students will be able to use multiple means of
expression beyond the original assignment/activity.
Accommodations for SpEd:

Accommodations will be adjusted according to each student’s needs and IEP’s/504s. Ex: extra time,
one-on-one goal/plan for amount of finished work, priority seating, speech to text computer
programs and other tech accommodations, preferential pairing for group work, larger prints,
frequent breaks etc.
Assessments:
Pre-Assessment:
Prior to this unit, we will give students a Culture and Identity Pre-Assignment where we will be
assessing where students are at as far as prior knowledge and their understanding of identity
and culture so far.
Culture and Identity Unit Pre-Assignment
Name:____________________
Instructions:
Read carefully and answer the following questions to the best of your ability. If you are unsure
of the answer, please write down your best guess!
1. What is a culture?
2. Do you think that all of your classmates have the same cultural beliefs?
3. What factors are important to your own identity?
4. What is your favorite family celebration and why do you celebrate it?
5. Why might it be important for you to be aware of other cultures?
6. What is something that you are really proud of?
7. What are some activities that you enjoy doing with your family?
Formative Assessments:
Journal Responses Participation Chart

For all of our journal prompts and journal responses, we will be assessing students on their
thoughtful responses and effort/participation. We will use students' journal responses as
formative assessment to see if students are understanding aspects of culture and identity. The
following objectives will be assessed with the following chart:
format
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of “where I come from” in a journal
format
SWBAT… respond to specific questions posed on the topic of celebrations/traditions in a journal
format
journal format
format
format
SWBAT… write personal journal responses with supported reasons and information that reflect
their own point of view
Journal Responses Participation Chart
Student Name: {insert journaling objective}

+ - students will receive a + for thoughtful journal responses
and effective participation
- - students will receive a - if they do not have thoughtful
journal responses and/or no response
Discussion Participation Chart

For all of our class discussions, we will be using the following chart to assess students ability to
effectively collaborate with peers. Students will be given a + or - based on participation in class
discussions. The following objectives will be assessed with the following chart:
SWBAT… collaborate effectively in a discussion from a read aloud by building off of peer ideas
and expressing their own clearly
Discussion Participation Chart

Student Name: {Insert speaking and listening objective}
+ - students effectively contributed to class discussions in a
respectful manner. Students participated and listened well
to their peers.
- - students did not contribute to class discussions and were
being disrespectful to their peers.
Daily Class Activities:

We will be using this generic rubric for various in class activities like the identity map, interest/
hobby writing piece, Where I am From collage, family tree, and anchor chart and posters. We
will be using these activities and rubric as formative assessment to gauge student understanding
on aspects of culture and identity. We will be assessing the following objectives with the
following rubric:
SWBAT… read non-fiction texts with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
of their topic
an interest/hobby
SWBAT… refer to specific details and examples in a nonfiction text when explaining or inferring
main ideas from the text
SWBAT… read grade-level texts with purpose and understanding to help them understand
interest/hobby
SWBAT… explain in piece of writing why they like their selected hobby/interest with the support
of reasons and information
SWBAT… create an anchor chart with written information on a celebration around the world
clearly
SWBAT... correctly use standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when creating
their identity maps
SWBAT… use knowledge of language and its conventions when creating their anchor chart,
presenting their anchor chart, and listening to their peers
SWBAT… identify main ideas from a variety of print and non-print texts while researching about
world celebrations
Generic Rubric For Class Activities
Name:_______________________ Date:________________
Student demonstrates knowledge on 1 2 3 4

activity
Student is on task 1 2 3 4
Student shows effort 1 2 3 4
Completeness of work 1 2 3 4
Correct use of : Capitalization, 1 2 3 4

Punctuation, and Spelling
Summative Assessments:
Explosion Box:
We will have students create an explosion box that represents aspects of their culture and
identity. This will be used as a summative assessment because it will display their overall
understanding of the unit. The following objectives and following rubric will help us assess their
understanding:
SWBAT… effectively utilize and care for materials, tools, and equipment in a manner that is safe
while creating their explosion boxSWBAT… present their explosion box in an organized manner
and speaking at a clear, understandable pace
SWBAT… learn about diverse perspectives through their peers presenting about their individual
cultures
Explosion Box Rubric
Name:___________________ Date:_________________
Each flap is covered 1 2 3 4
Explosion box has images 1 2 3 4
Creativity is shown 1 2 3 4
Student shows effort 1 2 3 4
Explosion box neatness 1 2 3 4
If words are used: grammar and 1 2 3 4

conventions are used correctly
Size is about 4in by 4in 1 2 3 4
Minimum of 2 layers 1 2 3 4
Overall student shows understanding of 1 2 3 4

aspects of identity and culture and is
easily represented within the explosion
box
Average Score:
Pre-assessment assignment:
We will use the same worksheet that was completed for the pre-assessment for summative
assessment. This will allow the teacher to determine the student's growth between the beginning
of the unit to the end of the unit.
Culture and Identity Unit Pre-Assignment
Name:____________________
Instructions:
Read carefully and answer the following questions to the best of your ability. If you are unsure
of the answer, please write down your best guess!
1. What is a culture?
2. Do you think that all of your classmates have the same cultural beliefs?
3. What factors are important to your own identity?
4. What is your favorite family celebration and why do you celebrate it?
5. Why might it be important for you to be aware of other cultures?
6. What is something that you are really proud of?
7. What are some activities that you enjoy doing with your family?
Student Voice:
Exit Slips:
We will be interchanging these two exit slips between the main topics/ideas of activities. Exit
slips are important because they provide teachers with information such as how well the
students understood a topic or lesson. They also help the students reflect on what was taught and
what they learned throughout the lesson or topic. Exit slips allow students to communicate what
they are thinking about the information they are being taught.
Student letter to parents:
Students will be asked to write a letter to parents about what they have learned throughout the
course of this unit. This will allow students to write about what they had already known about
identity and culture as well as write new information about what they learned from this unit.
This is a good way for students to communicate with parents on what they are learning.
Journaling:
Students will be journaling throughout the course of this unit. On top of using journaling as
formative assessment, students are also able to reflect on what they have learned through
journaling. Journal prompts are listed above in the 15 days of lessons table and in the materials
section.
Helpful Websites:
https://newsela.com/about/content/browse-content/
NewsELA is a great resource for our unit because it lets students explore various news stories
focused on events both in our country and other countries that could help to solidify ideas on
other cultures.
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
National Geographic Kids is a great site that shares a lot of cultural images and stories that
may be useful for students to reflect on and learn more about.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/globaltrek/
Scholastic offers “global trek”. This is an awesome site that allows students to explore the world
without leaving the classroom. There is a lot of opportunities to explore people from their native
cultures.
Teacher-Created Enrichment Activities and Materials
For student enrichment, students can read a short chapter book that focuses on culture or
identity. These books will need to be cleared with the teacher first or chosen from a class list.
Upon finishing the book, students will write a short summary and explain what they have
learned from the book.
In addition to the read aloud books, we will also have a collection of other easy reads that relate
to the unit topics. These books will be available for students to read during
enrichment/remediation time and to check out for the night if students want to broaden their
understanding of a given topic. When they check out a book, students will be asked to do an
artistic response on what they learned. This could be in the form of a drawing, an analogy, a
playlist, or anything that they can reasonably defend.
Chapter Books:
The Dreamer, by Pam Munoz Ryan
One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
Love, Amalia, by Alma Flor Ada
The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
This is Just a Test, by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
Picture Books:
Harlem, by Walter Dean Myers
Mela and the Elephant, by Dow Phumiruk
Someone New, by Anne Sibley O’Brien
Ten Cents a Pound, by Nhung N. Tran-Davies
I am Human, by Susan Verde
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, by Traci Sorell
Teacher-Created Remediation Activities and Materials

At the beginning of the unit we will give students a calendar of events. This will include what we
will be doing each day as well as the day's activity. Students will be able to mark off the tasks
they complete as we go through the unit. If a student doesn't finish the activity that day, they may
work on it throughout the three weeks or are able to take it home. It will all be due at the end of
the unit. For students struggling to finish, they may work on some activities with a partner.
Culture and Identity Unit Calendar
Objects in bold are required to be done. If not finished on time, talk to me about it and we can
make a plan for when you can turn it in.
Day 1: What is Day 2: Who am Day 3: What do I Day 4: What do I Day 5: Where do
identity/ I? like to do?/ What like to do?/ What we come from?
Culture? do my peers like do my peers like
-Read aloud to do? to do? -Journal
-Read aloud -Discussion -Collage
-Journal -Identity Map -Read non-fiction -Read non-fiction
-Discussion text on topic of text on topic of
interest interest
-Draft of writing -Final draft of
writing
Day 6: What is Day 7: What is Day 8: What are Day 9: What do I Day 10: What are
my family like? my family like? different celebrate? different
How are families celebrations celebrations in
different? -Family Tree around the -Brainstorm a the class?
world? favorite
-Read aloud celebration/tradition -Poster
-Journal -Read aloud -Poster -Gallery walk
-Discussion -Research -Journal
-Anchor Chart
-Present
Day 11: What are Day 12: What are Day 13: Why is Day 14: Sharing Day 15: What
different cultural different cultural celebrating about our have I learned
norms and cuisines? diversity identities/ about culture
customs? Explosion box important? cultures and identity
Explosion box workday Explosion box
workday workday -Present explosion -Present explosion
-Read aloud boxes boxes
-Read aloud -Journal -Read aloud -Class Party
-Journal -Explosion Box -Journal
-Explosion Box -Explosion Box
References:
Brown, M. (2011). Marisol Mcdonald Doesn’t Match. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book
Press.
Choi, Y. (2001). The Name Jar. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
Depalma, K. (2019). Let’s Celebrate!: Special Days Around the World. Cambridge, MA:
Barefoot Books.
Dooley, N. (1991). Everybody Cooks Rice. New York, NY: Scholastic.
Lamonthe, M. (2017). This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around
the World by Matt Lamonthe. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
Williams, V. B. (1982). A Chair for My Mother. New York, Ny: Scholastic.
Woodson, J. (2018). The Day You Begin. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
Thoughtful Process Reflections:
Matilda:
After completing this thematic unit, I have learned that I value journaling and multiple
means of expression. I think that students gain a deep understanding of knowledge through
reflection. I think that it is important to get students to learn content knowledge through rich
activities. I value doing deeper, rich activities that help solidify content knowledge instead of
surface level activities because students will be more engaged and learn about content in a more
meaningful way.
During this unit, I have learned a lot more about the relationship between the needs of
learners and content knowledge. I have become more thoughtful in the process of instructional
planning. I personally think that, now, I first think about all of the ways I can use UDL during
planning. It is much more effective to plan for all learners' needs instead of simply adapting a
lesson last minute for one particular learner. I think that the lessons and activities we used in our
unit met the diverse needs of our potential fourth graders. We created lots of activities that may
play to the strengths of different students. I have also learned a lot about how to utilize books for
instructional purposes. Now, when reading a children’s book, I can visualize all of the potential
activities that may fit perfectly with that book. There is so much merit to using various books in
the classroom and in a unit like we demonstrated here. We used them for read alouds,
discussions, journaling, and even to scaffold some other activities.
Something I can do in the future to make learning accessible to a range of diverse
learners is to plan, plan, and plan some more. I think that it is very important to create units that
can meet students' diverse needs. I have learned a lot about my personal pedagogy too in that I
like to offer a diverse range of activities so that students remain engaged and I think that in turn
this helps me plan for diverse learners. I am utilizing UDL when I think ahead and incorporate
differentiation in the unit.
In our prospective daily schedule we have set aside time for remediation and enrichment
activities to accommodate learners. If students aren’t picking up what we are teaching, there is
easily time for us to go back and reteach with some scaffolding. On the other hand, we are
offering extensions that allow students to go beyond what they are learning during our unit time.
I think after completing this assignment, I am more aware of how much detail goes into
planning a unit. I understand a lot better now just how much planning a teacher does and how
detailed they need to be. There are so many things to keep in mind while planning for our
learners, and this comes easier with practice, but there is always so much to have in the back of
our minds as we plan units and lessons and everything that happens in the class. This was only a
15 day unit and I definitely wouldn’t say that it was easy. Each day that we worked on it, it felt
like we had forgotten another detail that was actually detrimental to the unit planning. And, I
have learned that it is hard to stop planning. There is so much depth and so much opportunity to
plan for a unit. There are so many possibilites and we as teachers want to maximize our time
with students. It was quite challenging to figure out when to stop, or what all to include or
exclude. I think personally, it helps ease my anxiety and stress about future planning because I
am a planner, that’s my personality. I plan out everything, so in some ways, planning for
instruction almost excites me. Now, I have even more practice keeping in mind the
accommodations that I will need to provide for my diverse learners. I think the most valuable
thing I have gained from doing this assignment is practice. The more practice, the more
comfortable I am with my own ability to teach in the future.
I see myself using this unit in some way in the future. I would love to teach fourth or fifth
grade at this point and I can see myself coming back to this unit for ideas or as a starting place.
One way that I would modify this unit is to have the unit be longer and be more thorough. I think
that we have some great ideas and topics, but I would probably spend more time on each main
idea and go deeper. For example, for the family tree, we could easily spend a whole week or
more learning about different family structures and even how to make a family tree. But, I think
that what we created was a good starting place for our first unit. I think that we did a good job
drawing from class ideas and really utilizing them throughout our unit. I enjoyed doing this
assignment, however stressful it was, I think I learned a lot about the process of planning and
designing lessons as well as about my own pedagogy.
Baley:
While creating this unit plan, there were a lot of things that kind of surprised me. Using
literacy to build a unit wasn’t that difficult for me, however implementing cross cutting standards
was surprisingly difficult. The more we thought on the types of content we wanted to include, the
easier it became however. Literacy remains a capstone in my teaching philosophy and this unit
really shows just how important it can be.
Being able to demonstrate content knowledge is crucial for my students. I am a firm
believer that this demonstration can come in different ways for different students, but
communicating in some way is important. I really want my students to have a deep
understanding of the content, because it ensures that the knowledge will stick with them as they
move on from my class. Many students will not see this in real time, so it is crucial that I
monitor for them in some ways. I believe that we have included plenty of opportunity for
students to solidify their understanding of the material and go above and beyond the standards.
To be honest, this unit hasn’t done a lot towards changing my pedagogy. I feel like I
have learned a lot about planning for instruction, but my values as far as actually teaching the
material remains the same. I believe that there is a strong relationship between the needs of
students, their content knowledge, and my own pedagogy. My pedagogy is built heavily on
meeting student needs in whatever manner I can while building up their depth of knowledge and
helping to shape them into lifelong learners. My belief in this has deepened as I have been able
to see a unit in all of its depth, but ultimately, these beliefs have been with me for quite a while.
Making learning accessible for all my students can be difficult. In terms of creating this
unit, it was difficult for us to plan for all levels of accessibility,as we do not know exactly what
our classroom would look like. The most important thing for us to remember is that everything
can be adapted. We made sure to include adaptations for students of different backgrounds so
that everyone has the ability to learn throughout this unit. Communication is a huge part of this,
though, because we can’t always know exactly what every student needs from us. Our plan
would be to remain vigilant over the students to ensure that no one falls behind or gets too bored.
In our daily schedule, we have included remediation/enrichment time twice a day. This time is
set aside for us to check in with students and help those that may be falling behind or be ahead.
This time also gives us an opportunity to go back over some more difficult topics that may not
have been covered completely the first time. This time is important because it allows a little bit
of flexibility within our unit.
One thing that I understand about teaching that I did not before is the dedication that
planning something from scratch takes. Many teachers will borrow resources from their peers
and teach their units, but I believe that catering to your class is more effective if we as teachers
have the possibility to do so. Going along with this, I also learned just how many resources there
are out there for teachers. For example, finding book lists or assignment templates is super
beneficial because it can take away a lot of the more tedious aspects of lesson planning without
taking away the teachers freedom to adjust lessons to their class.
This unit could be very useful to me in the future. My hope is to obtain an English
position at the middle school or high school level. Although this unit is designed for a fourth
grade class, it is a great foundation to build off of for older grades. I think the topics of identity
and culture are so important for students to understand and I will definitely be teaching a unit on
these topics no matter where I end up teaching.
Yessi:
After completing this thematic unit, I realized that there is so much that goes into
planning a unit. I think that gaining a deeper understanding in what is being taught is really
important and one way to assure that students are giving deeper thought is journaling. Journaling
is an assessment that we used a lot because of its value. It gives the students a safe space to
deeply think and communicate what they are thinking and learning. I value deeper understanding
because we are used to learning superficially and only what is important, when we dig deeper we
are able to not only learn nor about the content but ourselves too.
While collaborating and creating this unit, I gained a better understanding about the
relationship between the needs of learners and content knowledge. I have heard many teachers
that sometimes that create a lesson last minute but I think that it is important to be thoughtful
and take the time to create lessons that takes inconsideration all of students needs’ and as an
English Language Learner student with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other
diagnostics I have an idea how important this is for students that need accommodations to
successful succeed. We included many assignments that were made in favor of many students'
needs. We also used many picture books and I think that these will help English Language
Learners and other students to gain a better understanding of what we, the teachers, and what to
transmit to the students.
Some things I can do to make learning accessible to all my students is to plan and with
that planning of the lessons plan accommodations for not only English Language Learners but
also for students with disabilities, gifted students, and in general students that need more support
from the teachers and others. I also think that it is important to learn all I can about my students
before and during so then I can make and provide lessons that will be beneficial to all my
students and not only to a group of them.
We have designed the unit in a way where we accommodate learners and with this, we
have time for us to go back, reteach, and dig deeper in what we are hoping for our students to
learn.
What I have learned after completing this thematic unit is that there is so much that goes into
creating a lesson. With that, creating a unit for fifteen days takes a lot more because we need to
critically think about how we are going to intertwine all the ideas we had and what was more
beneficial to the students. I thought that I was going to be hard creating ideas and assignments,
but I was wrong. That hard part was knowing when to stop because there are so many books and
assessments that the students would enjoy, especially because I am so passionate about the
subject, we decided to do our thematic unit on. At first, I thought that planning a unit of fifteen
days was going to be difficult and it was going to be hard having new content each day, but I was
also wrong about this. Fifteen days did not seem long enough, we could have easily made it
longer and we did plan for around seventeen days, by accident, and it was hard to pick which
days we would get rid of. It is not as hard to plan for many days because there is so much to
unfold and scaffold in each lesson.
I do not think I know that I will be using this thematic unit in the future once I become a
teacher and have my own classroom.
I am very passionate about culture and identity and helping students, or others in general,
learn more about others and their own culture is something I really enjoy doing. I find so much
value in finding our identity and being able to introduce both cultures and identify at a young age
is important to me because it builds empathy. I think it is a good subject to teach and go into
depth with at any age because I cannot stress how important it is to talk to students about
differences in others and how we are all still human and equal. This will help me build a family
where my students will uplift one another because they create about one another despite their
difference.
Jennifer:
After creating this thematic unit, I have realized how much it takes to plan and how much
preparation needs to go into units that teachers create. Although I knew planning and preparation
of a unit was difficult I didn’t feel like I knew what that felt like. Now that I have worked on
making a thematic unit with my group, I realized how much time and effort it takes. Teachers
also need to be aware of the students needs and make sure that they are being accommodated for
within the lessons.
When planning and preparing for this unit I have learned a lot about the relationship
between the needs of learners and content knowledge. Although my pedagogy has not changed
much because I think that it is extremely important that all students are receiving the
accommodations they need. But I have now valued the relationship between the learner’s needs
and content knowledge more. As a future teacher I need to make sure that I keep an open mind to
all the different UDLs that can be used throughout the lessons. Being able to make
accommodations for students will allow students to understand the content better and will also
allow them to gain the knowledge they need to know.
My group and I have made a schedule where we have set time aside for enrichment
activities to accommodate students. This will help us go back and re-tech the lesson to those
students that are not understanding the lesson well. These enrichments are being used to give
students extensions, which will allow them to learn in different ways that will help students gain
knowledge.
I would use this thematic unit in my future classroom. As of now I am interested in
teaching second grade and I feel like I would be able to use this unit, but also modifying it to the
needs of second graders. I feel like second grade would be a good grade for introducing identity
and culture. Students are becoming more aware of their surroundings and are becoming more
curious on culture and identity. I feel that this is why it would be a good time to teach this unit.
Of course this unit was made for fourth graders, but I would go into each lesson and would make
modifications so that the lesson is relevant to second graders. I would eventually add worksheets
as well because I feel that journaling can be quite stressing or difficult for some students.
Overall this thematic unit made me realize that it takes a lot of time and effort into
making them. I have learned once again how important it is to teach literacy. I have learned a lot
about making lessons and being able to make accommodations to those students that need it. I
am glad I got to make this thematic unit with a group. I feel that group projects can either be
good or bad and this one was good. My group and I got along well and we all had great ideas.
We bounced off of each other’s ideas and learned new information as well.
COLLABORATION FORM
Working together on an assignment or project means sharing the responsibilities for completing that
assignment. While each member will naturally shoulder different responsibilities while working on the
project, collaboration does not mean merely tacking someone else’s name to the project so that they can earn
credit for completing it. Listed below are the members of our collaborative group along with our signatures.
We have also specified the aspects of the project for which each one of us was responsible and rated ourselves
on our collaborative work.
Names of Group Responsibilities Self-Assessment

Members &
Signature
Jennifer Aceves We all collaborated equally on this I feel that I put in 100%
unit. We scheduled daily zoom effort into this thematic
meetings and worked on each unit. I was on time for
Jennifer Aceves chunk of the unit together. We the zoom meetings and
never split up the work, we all was engaged. I felt that I
worked together collaboratively. collaborated with my
group well in making
this unit. I also took
responsibility when I
needed to.
Matilda Bunch We all collaborated equally on this I feel like I put in 100%
unit. We scheduled daily zoom effort into this group
meetings and worked on each assignment. I was on
Matilda Bunch chunk of the unit together. We time for zoom meetings
never split up the work, we all and engaged and ready
worked together collaboratively. to work/ collaborate with
my peers. I feel like I
held myself accountable
and worked well with my
partners to create a
great unit.
Yessi Cancino We all collaborated equally on this I think that i could have
unit. We scheduled daily zoom been more helpful on
meetings and worked on each this assignment but I do
Yessica Cancino chunk of the unit together. We think I did as much as I
never split up the work, we all could with other things
worked together collaboratively. that I am juggling. I
made it to the zoom
meetings and engaged. I
think I worked well with
my partners to create
this great unit together.
Baley Westberg We all collaborated equally on this I think that I could have
unit. We scheduled daily zoom been more helpful on
meetings and worked on each this assignment, but feel
Baley Westberg chunk of the unit together. We like I put in as much
never split up the work, we all effort as I could.
worked together collaboratively. Although I had a lot of
external stress, I tried to
make this assignment a
priority and think that I
did make a difference in
the creation of the unit.
I participated equally in
the zoom meetings and
feel like I worked well
with my partners.
Our signatures above attest that we all contributed equally in this project.

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Thematic Unit Title:

Who Am I?: Exploring Culture and Identity

Team Members Names & Collaboration Form:

Thematic Unit Topic/Theme/Issue/Problem:

Content, Scope & Sequence Chart/Table: (Abbreviated/Paraphrased SWBAT)

Common Core State Standards:

Speaking and Listening:

Speaking and Listening:

Fifteen Days’ Worth of Lessons/Activities

Day 1- Main Idea: What is identity/ culture?

Day 2- Main Idea: Who am I?

Day 3- Main Idea: What do I like to do?/ What do my peers like?

Day 4- Main Idea: What do I like to do?/ What do my peers like?

Day 5: Main Idea: Where do we come from?

Day 7: Main Idea: What is my family like?

Day 9: Main Idea: What do I celebrate?

Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3.d-Use concrete words and phrases and sensory

Day 13: Main Idea: Why is celebrating diversity important?

Day 14: Starting Explosion Box Presentations

A Table of Daily Schedule/ Connection to Other Content Areas:

Time: Activity: Relation to Unit:

8:00-8:15 SEL N/A

8:15-9:30 Mathematics Geometry Unit.

9:30-10:15 Specials (Spanish, Art, Music, N/A

10:15-10:45 Read Aloud For read aloud time, we will be choosing

11:45-12:10 Remediation/Enrichment During our first enrichment break, students

12:12-12:45 Lunch N/A

12:45-1:00 Recess N/A

1:00-1:30 Remediation/Enrichment Cont. After recess, students will be given menu

1:30-2:15 P.E./Library N/A

2:15-2:55 Science/Social Studies Social studies will also be relating back to

3:00-3:15 Prepare for Dismissal N/A

Dear parents/ guardians,

Thank you so much!

Reading & Writing Materials/Resources:

Book: The Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson

What is Identity and what does it mean to you?

Book: The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

1. Pick one hobby or interest that you enjoy.

Hobby/ Interest Paper Instructions:(Each activity/project will be introduced with verbal

1. Pick one hobby or interest that you enjoy.

Where do I come from?

Book: A Chair for My Mother by Vera B.Williams

Williams, V. B. (1982). A Chair for My Mother. New York, Ny: Scholastic.

What does family mean to you?

1. Make a list of all of your family members

See example for help:

Favorite Tradition/ Celebration Poster Instructions: (Each activity/project will be

1. Think about a personal family celebration or tradition that you enjoy.

1. Think about a personal family celebration or tradition that you enjoy.

What did I learn about my classmates?

Video: Explosion Box Tutorial

Book: Everybody Cooks Rice by Norah Dooley

Dooley, N. (1991). Everybody Cooks Rice. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Video: Explosion Box Tutorial

Book: Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown

Video: Explosion Box Tutorial

Universal Design for Learning/Accommodations:

Accommodations for ELLs:

Accommodations for Gifted and Talented:

Accommodations for SpEd:

Culture and Identity Unit Pre-Assignment

3. What factors are important to your own identity?