Jordan Boyd

Kristen Reiter
Megan Turnham
Michelle Hansen
Natasha Schroeder
Multicultural Education Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: America, A Home for Every Culture
Subject Area and Grade Level: Language Arts, 3rd grade
Approximate time/length of lesson: 60 minutes

Part 1
State Content Standards:
EL.03.RE.09.: Draw upon a variety of comprehension strategies as needed--re-reading,
self-correcting, summarizing, class and group discussions, generating and responding to
essential questions, making predictions, and comparing information from several
sources.
EL.03.RE.26.: Distinguish the main idea and supporting details in informational text.
EL.03.RE.08.: Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex text through
discussions.
Modification/Adaptations: Modifications that can be made to this lesson are:
1. Labels and visuals for all icebreaker terms and loanwords
2. Schedule of the lesson (either on the board or in print form)
3. Words in large print
4. Extra time if needed
5. Have a student help with giving clues (if a certain student needs this)

Part 2
Materials:
1. 10 sheets of paper (marked 1-10)
2. List of words for the icebreaker (some listed below)
3. Index cards with pre written loanwords
Focus & Purpose: EQ: What cultures make up the Unites States? Food, languages,
music, and even sports in the United States come from other cultures. Through hands
on activities and classroom discussion students will be more aware of the cultures that
are present in the United States. Also, as other lessons are taught, students will be able
to recognize different cultures that might be present.
Objectives:
Students will identify words that became part of the English language as a result of
immigrant groups settling in America.

Students will participate in a class discussion about languages and cultures being
integrated into the United States.
Procedure:
Open: 10 minutes
Gain the students attention.
State the lessons objective and why they are important.
Ice Breaker
Take students into the hall. (10 sheets of paper should already we lined up on
the wall ranging from 1-10)
Encourage students not to talk during this activity (they will be able to
discuss the activity later)
Then say Im going to name some concepts, items or titles. I want you to
move to an area based on how you rate each one. For instance, if you like
something a great deal, move to the 7 or 8 area. If you love it, move to 10. If
you really hate it, move to the 1 or 2 area.
Read the following list:
ice cream
broccoli
rock n roll music
sports (either watching or playing)
country music
math
reading
Body: 30 mins
Direct Instruction
Ask what languages are spoken all around the world. (make a list on the
board)
Ask students of the languages that they listed, which are spoken in the
United States.
Mention There are more than 6,000 languages in the world, and over 300
languages are spoken in the United States, according to the 2000 Census.
If anyone can speak another language in the classroom ask them to count to
5 or 10.
Group Work
Does anyone know what a loanword is? A loanword refers to a word taken
directly from one language and used in another.
Divide the class into small groups (about 5 per group if possible)
Give each person in the group one index card with a loanword on it. (Cards
were made earlier.)
Each person in the group will get a chance to provide clues to everyone else
that will help them guess the word.
Once the word is guessed correctly everyone in the group will try and

correctly guess the words place of origin.

Using your quiet signal, gain the students attention and inform them they
have ten minutes left. (if a group is done encourage them to find other words
that might be loanwords.)
Close: 20 minutes
Grand Conversation
Go through and discuss each word. Ask students what clues they gave to
others to help them guess the word. Also, what place of origin they thought
the word was from.
Try and make the connection between our language and other languages
along with our culture and other cultures.
Introduce how, like certain words, we have foods that come from all over the
world.
Hand out recipe handout and explain how to fill it out and when to bring it
back.
Part 3
Taking it further:
Food - The next lesson in the unit would involve food. Students would explore where
food comes from and if we can get it here in the United States. We will also explore what
foods their families eat and what recipe is often made in their house. Students will be
able to put together their own cookbook.
Music - Music could also be added into this unit.
Resources:
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade-34/America_A_Home_for_Every_Culture#
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/one_world/lesson_plans/index.
asp?article=lessonx5
http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/me-and-we-we-are-all-similar-and-different
Handouts:
My Recipe:
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/~/media/ArtsEdge/LessonPrintables/grade-34/america_culture_my_recipe.ashx
Food Crossword:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/one_world/lesson_plans/pdfs/
NFLLesson5.pdf
Food Crossword Answers:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/one_world/lesson_plans/pdfs/
NFLLesson5_answer.pdf