Lesson Plan Template

NEPF + Components of an Effective Lesson Hybrid

Name

Ashley Moreno

Grade Level

Eighth

Subject Area

Social Studies

Main Topic

Culture

CCSD Standard

Describe the elements of culture.

Standard 1: Learning Purpose and Connections

What will the students be learning?
What are the big concepts for the lesson?
How will students know the objectives for the lesson? [Daily Objective]
How will students know the purpose and relevance of the lesson?
What resources/technology will help students make connections to previous learning? [Daily Review]
How will students receive feedback for their review?
How will students build their current knowledge?

How will the lesson be introduced? [Introduction]

The big concepts for this lesson are the seven elements of culture: social organization, customs and traditions, language,
arts and literature, religion, forms of government, and economic systems.
I will discuss the objectives of this lesson with the students before I begin to teach the lesson.
Students will know the purpose and relevance of the lesson as I begin to give examples of each element of culture. They
will hopefully relate to an example, which will lead them to the purpose of this lesson. The purpose of this lesson is to show
the students that our planet holds many different cultures. This is also meant to be an eye-opening lesson.
A PowerPoint presentation will be used to help students connect with this learning. I will also use a pull-down map to show
the students where countries are so that they can connect a culture to its country.
Students will receive feedback for their review through whatever grading system the school I am working at uses. For
example, if I were working at a Las Vegas high school they would receive feedback through Infinite Campus.
Students will build their current knowledge through a group discussion. I will have them pair up with others to discuss what
they learned and share their perspectives on what they thought of each element of culture.
The lesson will be introduced with me asking the students what they believe culture is. I will ask for examples, definitions,
or just personal opinions.

Standard 2: Learning Tasks and Cognitive Demands

How are students supported in achieving the learning goals?
What Depth of Knowledge levels will students experience in the learning tasks?
How will students be supported to experience deeper learning? Address any SPED, Gifted or ELL students [Concept and Skill
Development and Application]
How will students be challenged to advance their thinking and skills? [Concept and Skill Development and Application]

DOK: Questions to increase depth of knowledge.

o Why would a culture located in America be different than a culture located in a different country? What may some of
these differences be?
(DOK 4)
o How does Americas economic system work? Why do you think it works that way? (DOK 2)
Support:
o Visual: Clothes other cultures wear, food other cultures eat, PowerPoint, video
o Auditory: Lecture, use Spotify to listen to music from other cultures, video
o Kinesthetic: Building a map of the continents and pinning certain cultural aspects such as food and clothes on each
continent
o SPED: Put students in small groups for discussion or form classroom centers that contain information and materials of
each element of culture
o ELL: Allow ELL students to offer insight on their culture if they please, have short group discussions after each
element
o Gifted: Create a small scrapbook of their culture that contains images and written examples of each element of
culture. Images could be drawn, found online, or personal
Learning Activities:
o Play video: Bidi Bidi Bom Bom by Selena https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKGbjJarMeA
o Teach words of Bidi Bidi Bom Bom to students. Since I speak Spanish, I will be able to translate and explain the
meaning of the song to the students. Any other Spanish-speaking students will be encouraged to participate in the
translation of this song.
o Have a potluck.
Materials: Plates, forks, spoons, cups, other utensils, food, napkins, drinks.
Method:
Explain why, when, and how cultures eat certain foods. For example, it is a tradition in Mexico to eat a
pastry called Rosca de reyes on January 6 (Kings Day).
Certain foods popular in America originated in other cultures. Students will attempt to guess which food
originated where. I will then share the answers with them. For example, pizza is a popular American
food, but it originated in Italy. I would have students submit their guesses to Kahoot. The student with
the most correct guesses will get extra credit.
Students will discuss with other students what foods they recognize and what foods they do not
recognize. I would also like them to share any stories they have associated with foods they have eaten

before. For example, Mol is a popular food in my culture. I would talk to my students about how my
Grandma makes the best Mol anyone has ever eaten.

Standard 3: Engagement Strategies and Discourse

How will students engage in interactive dialogue and/or discussions? [Guided/Independent/Group Practice]
How will students develop their skills in argumentation, explanation, and critique, using logic/evidence to support or refute a claim or
position?
How will students use multiple representations of concepts in their thinking? (i.e., graphic organizers, visuals, drawings, concept maps, videos,
simulations, data formats)
What opportunities will students have to use their personal experiences and knowledge to connect to the new concepts and skills?

How will students collaborate with each other?

Students will be allowed to critique cultures as long as they are not saying anything offensive. Some things other cultures
practice are seen as taboo in ours, so they will be allowed to share their opinion on these taboo practices. If they do not
agree with some of these practices, they will have to explain why using reasons that are logical. Only saying the practice is
weird will not suffice. Other students will be able to refute whatever a student has to say about a cultures practices.
As mentioned in Standard 3, kinesthetic learners will have the option of building a map of the continents and pinning
certain cultural aspects such as food and clothes on each continent. This option will also be available for other learners. I
may decide to just break the class into separate groups. Creating classroom centers for each element of culture that
contains these maps and pins will also be something I may do. The simplest way to do this would be to have a map of the
continents displayed on the Smart Board. Photos of different cultural aspects will also be displayed. Students will be able to
go up and drag an aspect to a continent. Each of these representations will have students build a connection between
certain cultures and cultural aspects.
At the end of this lesson, students will be told to use Microsoft Word or Google Docs to write a short paper on their culture.
In that paper, they will identify how the seven elements of culture apply to their culture. They will compare and contrast
their culture with a culture of their choice.
The main way students will collaborate with each other is through group discussions. As I mentioned in the first bullet point,
they will be able to debate about certain cultural aspects. There will also be what I mentioned in the second bullet point.
For that one, the students will be able to work together to come up with the correct answers.

Standard 4: Student Understanding of and Responsibility for Learning

How will students reflect on their learning progress through structured metacognitive activities?
How will students reflect on the learning goals, the performance criteria and purpose of the lesson?

How will students share their progress?

How will students be supported in revising their learning strategies based on their progress?

Students will reflect on the learning goals, performance, criteria, and purpose of the lesson by writing a short paper at the
end of the lesson. I described some requirements of this paper in the third point of Standard 3. I would also have them
reflect on what they learned by comparing what they thought culture was to what they think it is after the lesson.
Students will share their progress by writing short paragraphs on what element we learned that day. The paragraphs will be
posted on their Penzu accounts. This will help me determine which elements I need to re-cover and which ones I need to
cover less.
I will use Remind to text message students who are struggling with certain elements. For example, if a student is struggling
with the Arts and Literature element of culture, I will send that student the video of Selena performing Bidi Bidi Bom Bom
to remind them that music is an example of arts and literature.

Standard 5: Assessment Integrated into Instruction

How will student progress be assessed?
How were student pre-assessments or work samples used to plan this lesson?
What evidence of student learning will be generated during the lesson? (i.e., writing, one-to-one conferencing, discussions with peers,
instructional tasks)
How will students receive formative feedback?
How are instructional adjustments made based on student formative assessment results?
What homework will be issued to support the lesson? [Homework]
How will the lesson be closed? [Closure]
How will the lesson be reviewed? [Long-term Review]

The group discussion at the beginning of this lesson on how the students see culture (mentioned in the final point of
Standard 1) is something that I would use to plan this lesson. For example, if a student defines culture as a persons race,
then I will make sure to clarify that there is more to culture than just a persons race as I go through the lesson.
Student learning will be evident through group discussions, writing, and one-to-one conferencing. I will use one-to-one
conferencing with students who are struggling to grasp the concepts of the lessons or for students who are struggling with
a specific element of culture. Instructional tasks include students bringing in food for the potluck, finding songs, or wearing
clothes from their culture.
Students will receive formative feedback in person (I will talk to these students) for assignments we complete in class. For
assignments done or completed at home, students may reach me through our classes Edmodo account. I will answer any
questions the student or parents may have through Edmodos messaging system.
While assessing the work my students have done, I may notice that some of them are not fully grasping a concept. For
those students, I will re-cover whatever they do not understand. Students that understand the concepts will be able to work
together using Voki to create an avatar that discusses
the concepts that the other students are struggling with. The Voki
will then be presented to the rest of the class, and the struggling students will be
able to see how others have perceived
the concepts they have been struggling with. A different perspective and my one-on-one instruction will hopefully help
them fully grasp the concept.
Homework that will be issued includes: students finding a song from their cultures so that we can create a playlist, students
asking their family members about the cultures they came from, students wearing clothes their cultures wear and
bringing in food their cultures eat, etc. For the family member assignment, students will have to write the answers on a

paper I will provide.

Showing the students one of the most memorable episodes of I Love Lucy, which is a show that has a huge impact on
Americas culture, will close the lesson. The episode will be Job Switching.
Throughout this lesson, I will be taking photos of the activities students perform in class using a digital camera. For
example, I will be taking pictures of the students while they are listening to music they have collected, while they are
mingling during the potluck, while they are working in groups or working at the classroom centers, and while they are
watching the I Love Lucy episode. I will also take photos of any students that have brought food or clothes to wear. These
images will then be uploaded on Animoto and turned into a presentation that will be displayed on the Smart Board. We will
watch the presentation as a class and we will discuss the photos and what cultures we are seeing in each photo. We will
also discuss our memories of the days that were photographed. This will be our review of this lesson.