Final-Crosscurricularunitplan-Dekam 1

ELEMENT
Author
Name
Mini-Unit
Name
Content
Area(s)
Must
include at
least 2
(Language
Arts and
something
else)
Grade
Level(s)
Duration
(Must be
10 Days)
Unit
Theme and
Overview
Text
Resources
(3-5)
Standards
being
addressed
(from all
content
areas
integrated
)
DESCRIPTION
Breanna DeKam
Cultures Holiday Traditions
Writing
Language Arts
Social Studies
2nd Grade
10 lessons in the second grade classroom.
The unit is focused on different cultures around the world and comparing
them to our own cultures within the U.S. and the students home life. The
students will research and study about Christmas holiday traditions within
other cultures. There are 10 60 minute lessons within ten days. They will
be exposed to cultures in different regions of the world through the book,
Christmas around the World by: Chuck Fischer. We will explore five
different specific cultures and their Christmas traditions including the U.S.
The students will choose and write a letter to a pen pal from that
culture explaining comparisons of traditions, including a Christmas card.
Christmas Around the World by: Chuck Fischer
Nine Days to Christmas by Maria Hall
My First Kwanzaa by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate
Lucia Child of Light by Florence Ekstrand
Light the Lights by Margaret Moorman
Christmas in America by Callista Gingrich
http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/
Social Studies:
2. US.2.1. Students are able to compare ways different cultures shared
traditions.
2. W.2.1. Students are able to compare holidays celebrated in different
countries
Writing:
2. W.6 With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital
tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
2. W.5 With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic
and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.
2. W.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from
provided sources to answer a question.
Language Art:
2. L.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. a. Capitalize
Daily
Learning
Targets or
Objectives
Final
Assessme
nt of
student
success
(Descripti
on of the
Culminati
ng
Project)
Instructio
nal
Strategies
and
Activities
(10 days)
Technolog
y must be
integrated
in a
minimum
of 2 days.
holidays, product names, and geographic names

2. RL.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why
and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
I can use a variety of technology tools with my teachers help to write and
share projects with my classmates.
I can write about one topic with supporting details.
I can revise my writing with help from others.
I can edit my writing with help from others.
I can use what I know, what I have read, and/or what I have learned to
write an answer to a question.
I can learn about different cultures traditions.
I can compare my own holiday traditions with other cultures traditions.
The students will choose one of the cultures we studied within the week.
They will write a letter to a made up pen pal explaining comparisons
from the chosen culture to either the students own family traditions or
American traditions. They will display the letter with a Christmas card
made for the chosen cultures. (The pen pal will not be real but they will
write like they are a really sending it out.)
Lesson One:
(1 day60 minute lesson)
Objective/Learning Target: I can study the Mexican holiday traditions through the authors
writing and find the meaning behind the traditions.
I can summarize what I learned and researched from the book and website.
Stage in the Writing Process: Studying
Mini-Lesson Description:
What is a holiday or Christmas tradition?
What are some holiday symbols?
Read Aloud: Read the story Nine Days to Christmas by Maria Hall
As you read ask the students to think about what is happening in the story. Questions to
Ask:
What are they celebrating?
What are the characters searching for?
Why cant they find any place to stay?
After the story is read talk about what the traditions of the Mexican culture. Create a chart
with the whole class about what they learned from the story. What the traditions are, are
there symbols, and other important factors from the story.
Individual Work time/Assessment: Using either iPads or computers, students will research
further into the Mexican culture. They will use the website provided to start their research.
They can use other resources they find on the web or library. They will fill out the
worksheet Culture Traditions Research Study Sheet about what they found about the
Mexican Christmas holiday traditions.
http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/mexico.shtml
They will research and complete the worksheet.
Debrief: The students will get into groups of four to five, depending on the class size, and
share what they found new about the traditions. They can add to their worksheets if they
found something new or interesting.
Lesson Two:
Objective/Learning Target:
I can study the African holiday traditions through the authors writing and find the meaning
behind the traditions.
I can summarize what I learned and researched from the book and website.
What is a holiday or Christmas tradition?
What are some holiday symbols?
Read Aloud: Read the story My First Kwanzaa by Deborah M. Newton Chocolate.
Ask:
What are they celebrating?
What are the characters in the story doing?
What is new to the main character?
Is there a symbol that represents African culture?
After the story is read talk about what the traditions of the African culture. Create a chart
with the whole class about what they learned from the story. What the traditions are, are
there symbols, and other important factors from the story. Are there people today in
America that celebrate these traditions?
further into the African culture. They will use the website provided to start their research.
They can use other resources they find on the web or library. Today the students will
research as a group. They will need to work together and research more about the culture.
They will fill out the worksheet Culture Traditions Research Study Sheet individually about
what they found about the African or African American holiday traditions.
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/kwanzaa.shtml
They will research and complete the worksheet in groups .
Debrief: The groups will share one new thing they found about the culture and where they
found that interesting fact. The other groups can choose to write down the new
information.
Lesson Three:
I can study the Sweden holiday traditions through the authors writing and find the meaning
I can summarize what I learned and researched about the Swedish Christmas traditions
from the book and website.
Where is Sweden?
Read Aloud: Read the story Lucia Child of Light by Florence Ekstrand.
Ask:
Who is our main character?
What is special about Lucia?
After the story is read talk about the Swedish traditions. How did the traditions change over
time? Create a chart with the whole class about what they learned from the story. What the
traditions are, are there symbols, and other important factors from the story. Are there
people today in America that celebrate these traditions?
further into the Swedish culture. They will use the website provided to start their research.
research as a group. They will need to work together and research more about the culture.
They will fill out the worksheet Culture Traditions Research Study Sheet individually about
what they found about the Swedish holiday traditions.
http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/sweden.shtml
They will research and complete the worksheet in groups .
Debrief: The groups will share one new thing they found about the culture and where they
found that interesting fact or share any new symbols they found in that cultures traditions.
The other groups can choose to write down the new information.
Lesson Four:
I can study the Israel holiday traditions through the authors writing and find the meaning
I can summarize what I learned and researched about the Israel holiday traditions from the
book and website.
Where is Israel?
What is the Israel religion and what do they celebrate at Christmas time?
Read Aloud: Read the story Light the Lights by Margaret Moorman.
Ask:

What is holiday they are celebrating called?
What are some traditions they do every year?
After the story is read talk about the Israel traditions. What is the holiday called? Create a
chart with the whole class about what they learned from the story. What the traditions are,
are there symbols, and other important factors from the story. Important questions to keep
in mind when researching are, are there people today in America that celebrate these
traditions and how did the tradition come about, what started it?
further into the Swedish culture. They will use the website provided to start their research.
research on their own. They will primarily use the website given to research the culture but
can use the library too. They will fill out the worksheet Culture Traditions Research Study
Sheet individually about what they found about the Jewish holiday traditions.
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/hanukkah.shtml
They will research and complete the worksheet.
Debrief: The students will pair up at the end of class. They will compare the notes they
took and share anything interesting they found about the new culture.
Lesson Five:
I know and understand the American traditions in the United States.
I can summarize what I learned and researched about American Christmas traditions.
I can share what my own Christmas traditions are.
Today we are talking about American Christmas traditions. We are going to talk about what
are things we do with our families around the holidays and we are going to discuss why we
do those traditions.
Read Aloud: Read the story Christmas in America by Callista Gingrich.
Ask:
Where did those traditions come from?
What is holiday they are celebrating called?
After the story is read I am going to make a chart on the board. One part is going to be
traditions we read about in the book, and another column is going to be traditions we do at
home. The students are going to tell traditions they do at home for Christmas and we are
going to write those down compared to those in the story.
Individual Work time/Assessment: The students are going to get their worksheets out that
they completed the three days earlier. They will use those worksheets to complete the
venn diagram today. The students will choose one of the three cultures we talked about
earlier in the week and compare it to their own American traditions. The will complete the
diagram with the chosen culture. They will have time to do more research if necessary. I
will tell the students that whatever culture they choose they will be writing about, so
choose something that you found interesting.
The venn diagram must include symbols, food, and traditions or customs.
Debrief: I will meet with each student briefly to talk about what culture they choose to
write about. I will go over their diagram and make sure they are understanding the
concept. I will talk about the final project. I will tell them about the pen pal letters so they
can start thinking about what they want to write about.
Lesson Six:
I understand the outline of a letter.
I can write in letter format and use correct punctuation.
Stage in the Writing Process: Drafting
We are going to look at letter writing. We are going to make a simple outline of what our
pen pal letters are going to look like and what they are going to include.
Example: Dear Santa letter
I will project the dear Santa letter onto the board or smart board and I will go over the
important format of letters. We will talk about indenting and proper use of commas,
punctuation, capitalization, and signatures. I will point out the right and wrong ways of
both.
After going over the right and wrongs of letter writing, I will ask the students questions.
When starting a paragraph what do you do first? What do you start a letter off with? What
going after the Dear whoever? How do you end a letter?
Individual Work time/Assessment: The students are going to write a draft of their pen pal
letters. They will make sure to have all headings, and signatures correct. They will also
start brainstorming ideas for what to include in their letters. They will write one or two
sentences of what they want to include in each paragraph.
Debrief: The students will partner up and switch their drafts with a partner. The partners
will look over the draft and make any corrections needed. I will meet with any students that
need extra help.
Lesson Seven:
I can expand my ideas when writing.
I can continue to write my pen pal letter.
Stage in the Writing Process: Drafting
Today is going to be a day for writing and getting our ideas down on paper.
We will make a chart in class about what should be included within the body of the letter.
They should talk about, the pen pals traditions, their own traditions, things they share,
things that are different, and what they find interesting about the new culture. They will
refer to their venn diagrams for help with comparisons.
The students will need to make sure that they are pretending to write to an actual students
in a different country. It will need to have correct punctuation and style of writing.
Individual Work time/Assessment: The students will have most of the time for writing. They
will use their references and worksheets if needed when writing. With about fifteen minutes
left in the lesson the students will had their letters to another student. They will read what
they have so far and then they are going to talk to each other about the writing. Give
pointers or something that went well in their writing. This is a time to get away from their
own writing and have a break. They will have a few minutes to add anything or change
anything they felt their classmates said was a good idea.
Debrief: We are going to make another chart in the front of the class. The students are
going to share what comparisons they made in their letters so far. This will show the
different ways everyone is thinking with writing and may give others some new ideas.
Lesson Eight:
I can use descriptive words in my writing.
I can write to create images in the readers mind.
I can write about one topic with supporting details
I can revise my writing with help from others.
Stage in the Writing Process: Revising
Today is about adding details and descriptive words into our letters. We are going to be
working with imagery.
Read Aloud I am going to read Christmas around the World by: Chuck Fischer.
Before I read the story I will ask the student to get a notebook and pencil out. They will
need to be writing down any descriptive words they hear while I am writing. I will also not
show them the pictures. They will have to write down any part in the story that really drew
a picture in their minds.
Ask:
What pictures are you drawing in your minds?
How does the author do this?
What are some words you heard so far that are descriptive?
After I read the book we will make a chart with all the descriptive words they heard in the
story. We will then put them into categories of how each of those words made them feel.
Did the word make you feel happy, sad, confused. These are the types of words you should
include in your own writing so they reader can get a sense of feeling what you are feeling
too.
Individual Work time/Assessment: The students will go back and continue writing their
papers. The challenge today will be to go back and include descriptive words. They should
be able to make the reader create an image in their minds. I will hold meetings with
students to talk about their writing and see how they are doing so far.
Debrief: We are going to trade our letters again to another classmate. The classmate is
going to be looking for descriptive words and write them down on another sheet of paper.
They will also write how those specific words made them feel. They will had the paper and
letter back for the writer to look over. This will show the writer how their reader felt when
reading the letter and they will have to decide if that is what they are trying to accomplish.
Lesson Nine:
I can finish my letter.
I can use correct grammar and punctuation.
I can edit my writing with help from others.
Stage in the Writing Process: Editing
This lesson will be all about editing and finishing up writing the letter.
Read Aloud I am going to reread Christmas Around the World by: Chuck Fischer.
This time they will be able to see the pictures. I want them to focus on the special
punctuation and overall structure of the story.
Ask:
How did the story start?
Have you seen any special punctuation, if so how was it used?
How did the author end the story?
Since today is the last day for writing, we will talk about good ways to end the letters. What
is a good way to finish your thoughts? Do you have any remaining questions that you could
ask?
Individual Work time/Assessment: Students will have most of the time to finish up writing.
They will need to complete their thoughts and any revising. The last half of the time will be
spent on editing the letters. They will hand the letters over to a partner and they will refer
to editing posters hung in the room when reading the essays. They will mark any
corrections that needs to be made. Students will have time to meet with me if they have
not yet met with me for anything.
Debrief: I will ask the students how they are feeling about their letters. Do they think that
everything went well or is there something they feel they need more work with? This is a
time for students to tell me what they thought went well or not so well.
Lesson Ten:
(2 days60 minute lesson)
Day one - I can use technology to publish my letter.
Day two - I can create a Christmas card to include with my letter.
Stage in the Writing Process: Publishing
Today is a day for using the computers for publishing and printing our letters.
We will get out our computers and talk about how to use a word document. They will have
used it before, but we will refresh how to use it and how to use it for letter formatting.
Individual Work time/Assessment: Students will write out their letters using word
document. When they are finished, they will save them and send them to me so I can look
them over before printing. This day will be about using the computer for the end product.
The second day of this lesson the class will be making simple Christmas cards to go along
with the pen pal letters. They can be very creative when creating their cards. They will
need to be a mixture of both cultures, but other than that the students can include what
they want. (The cards will be on display along with the letters.)
Debrief: We will talk as a class about the unit and what they learned. We will talk about all
the cultures and what they liked about them.
List of
Formative:
Day
Standard
Artifact
How it will be
Assessme
nts
(formative
and
summativ
e)
1-4
2.RL.1
Note taking
sheet
2. US.2.1.
2. W.2.1.
2. W.8
Venn Diagram
Standards
Assessment
Tool
Final Rubric
Summative:
Day
After the Final
Project is
completed
Differenti
ation
used
To see who has
done the
research
necessary for
the final project
and who knows
the culture well.
(Will be used
later for
project)
To compare
multiple
cultures. Used
for
brainstorming
writing ideas.
How it will be
Used
This will be the
final grade for
the unit.
2. US.2.1.
2. W.2.1.
2. W.6
2. L.2
The books can be audio for students who are auditory learners.
Christmas cards can be created graphically online for students who work
better with technology. Students will be able to have meeting with the
teacher about the writing process and anything they feel they are
struggling with.
Rubric for Culminating Activity:
Culture and
Holiday
Traditions
Selection
(A)
Advanced
4
Proficient
3
Basic
2
Below Basic
1
Students is
able to choose
a culture
studied in the
week and tell
what
traditions are
important and
Students is
able to choose
a culture
studied in the
week and tell
what
traditions are
important and
Students
choose a
culture
studied in the
week and
write about
their
traditions, but
Students write
a paper that is
not about a
culture and
their
traditions.
Letter Format
and Structure
(B)
Detailed
Writing
(C)
Publishing
(D)
Scoring Guide
compare them
to either their
own family
tradition or an
American
tradition.
Students are
able to
correctly
format their
letter and
have no
mistakes.
Students have
descriptive
writing. Their
letter includes
imagery
multiple
times.
Students
creates final
letter using
Word
Document on
the computer.
compare them
to an
American
tradition.
do not
compare them
to other
traditions.
Students are
able to
correctly
format their
letter with
only one or
two mistakes.
Students have
descriptive
writing. Their
letter includes
imagery at
least once.
Students are
able to
correctly
format their
letter with
only a few
mistakes.
Students use
descriptive
words, but
does not have
any imagery
included in the
letter.
Students
creates final
letter using
Word
Document on
the computer.
Students
create a
Christmas
card that
includes both
cultures and is
detailed and
creative.
Add the total
points used
for each
section
Students
create a
Christmas
card that
includes both
cultures.
Use the cut

scores to
determine
proficiency
Students
creates final
letter using
Word
Document on
the computer.
A
D
Students
create a
Christmas
card, but does
not include
both or either
of the
cultures.
C
Advanced 1614
Proficient 1310
Basic-9-7
Below Basic 6
and below
Students did
not format the
letter
correctly.
Students did
not use
imagery or
descriptive
words.
Students did
not create a
final letter
using the
computer.
Students dont
make a
Christmas
card.
Student resources and materials. List here and attach to the unit plan:
Venn Diagram: The students will write the two cultures on the line and finish filling out the
chart.
Culture Traditions Research Study Sheet

Name:
Name of Culture:
Name of holiday celebrated:
Traditions done every year:
Ionic Symbols:
Special Food or Meals:
Interesting Facts:

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ELEMENT

holidays, product names, and geographic names

(1 day60 minute lesson)

(1 day60 minute lesson)

They will research and complete the worksheet in groups .

(1 day60 minute lesson)

They will research and complete the worksheet in groups .

(1 day60 minute lesson)

Who is our main character?

They will research and complete the worksheet.

(1 day60 minute lesson)

Read Aloud: Read the story Christmas in America by Callista Gingrich.

(1 day60 minute lesson)

Stage in the Writing Process: Drafting

Example: Dear Santa letter

need extra help.

(1 day60 minute lesson)

Stage in the Writing Process: Drafting

(1 day60 minute lesson)

Stage in the Writing Process: Revising

(1 day60 minute lesson)

Stage in the Writing Process: Editing

(2 days60 minute lesson)

Stage in the Writing Process: Publishing

Rubric for Culminating Activity:

Use the cut

Culture Traditions Research Study Sheet

Traditions done every year:

Special Food or Meals:

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