2012 Defining Culture and Examining its Role in Daily Life Lesson Plan Date your papers: Friday, August 31, 2012 Tuesday, September 4, 2012 Wednesday, September 5, 2012 Thursday, September 6, Geography Lesson Homework Due Friday, September 7, 2012 Monday, September 10, 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012 Quiet Question: Type Two Prompt---Using your geography notes from the previous lesson, the atlases, and the textbook, write an Acrostic Poem for GEOGRAPHY to review the key concepts. Directions: Each line must begin with the letter of the GEOGRAPHY. Each line must be a complete thought and cannot be one or a few words. Each line must contain a definition or example for a definition. You cannot repeat concepts. See the examples Ms. Barben will show on the Smartboard.

Friday, August 31, 2012 Pair-Share: Turn to your partner and share your Geography Acrostic Poems. Make sure the information is accurate. Help your partner complete any unfinished letters. THEN WITH YOUR PARTNER, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING TYPE ONE PROMPT: WHAT ASPECT OR ASPECTS OF GEOGRAPHY DO YOU THINK AFFECT US MOST IN AMERICA AND EXPLAIN WHY AND GIVE EXAMPLES IN THE SPACE PROVIDED BELOW.

Friday, August 31, 2012 Class: Have pairs share their Type One Prompts. Use as a transition to the Nacirema Activity. A anthropologist in the 1950s wrote this article about an indigenous people that shocked many citizens of the United States. We are going to take a look at what was so shocking about this culture. Class: You are to read the CLASS COPY of an article on the Nacirema and answer the following questions:

Friday, August 31 and Tuesday, Sept 4, 2012 Questions: Answer below each question. It is okay to use bullets. Are you familiar with the cultural group described in the article. If no, where do you think these people live and why do you think that. If you who are familiar with the group, do not reveal what you know about the Nacirema until the class has finished reading. Just write down what aspects gave the identity away? How does Minor’s description of the Nacirema affect our ability to identify them? What are the techniques Minor uses to describe the Nacirema? (He uses a distinctively anthropological form of observation and writing called “ethnography.”) Brainstorm other rituals of the Nacirema that might seem odd to someone from another culture or even from another planet. (For example, playing a particular sport, preparing and eating food, watching TV, shopping, going to a party, sitting in a classroom, etcetera.) Write a paragraph or two describing another “ritual of the Nacirema,” either from the brainstorm list or one they think of on their own, using the same techniques Minor uses in his story. Then students will read their paragraphs within a small group and have the group identify the ritual described. What were the other rituals your group members described?

Friday, August 31 and Tuesday, Sept 4, 2012 After the individual answering of questions and group sharing, you will now answer THREE of the following Reflection Questions: Reflection Questions: Select THREE of the SIX. Were you surprised when you figured out who the Nacirema were? Explain why or why not. How does Body Ritual Among the Nacirema help us understand our own view of other cultures and how we are viewed by other cultures? Why do some of the practices and rituals of other cultures seem odd or foreign to us? How do our own cultural norms affect our understanding and perception of other cultures? What assumptions do we make about other cultures? What are some examples of practices in other cultures that we find odd and hard to understand? (For example, arranged marriages, eating and preparing unusual foods, ritual body piercing, rites of passage.) Go back to the brainstorm list created earlier about a specific cultural group. What are the listed assumptions based on? How does our own cultural worldview affect how we perceive this specific group? What techniques can we use to notice when we are making assumptions about others, and how can we avoid this?

Friday, August 31, 2012 Homework: Work on your Geography Lesson Homework

Tuesday, September 4 and Wednesday, Sept 5, 2012 Class: Ms. Barben is going to begin her Powerpoint Lecture on Culture. You are to take notes in the provided graphic organizer. Homework: Work on your Geography Lesson Homework. Remember it is due on Thursday, September 6, 2012

Thursday, September 6, 2012 Groups: Using your notes in the graphic organizer, you and your group members are going to create a Pictoword for CULTURE. As a way to check for understanding and review what the term culture is all about, in your assigned groups, you will be creating a Pictoword for CULTURE. A Pictoword or Sociogram uses images related to the word to form the shapes of each letter. As you shape-spell out the word, you are also defining the word and providing examples of what the word is all about. You may have done this in middle school as one of your art projects. Ms. Barben has examples posted around the room and will also show examples on the Smartboard. There are also examples uploaded on her Teacher Page. You will use your graphic organizer notes and the internet to help complete this project.

Thursday, September 6, ___________ The student used pictures, symbols, and images to form the shape of each letter. The student did not just outline the letter and stick pictures to it. And the images spell out---CULTURE 2.____________The images each defined a different aspect of CULTURE. That means SEVEN different characteristics. No concepts or images were repeated. If an image or aspect is repeated, it will not be counted. Must be done in color. You may use computer images from Ms. Barben’s PowerPoint, the internet, or hand-draw them. Must address: – What is culture? – What are different institutions of culture? – What are cultural universals? – What are norms? – What are values? – What are mores? The art part of this project is worth 50 points.

Thursday, September 6, ____________ There was a detailed TYPED key that explained the symbolism for each letter. The key was well-developed and served as a good review of the notes. Each key description was a minimum of THREE well- developed sentences that defined, explained, and provided examples. This must be typed, spell-checked, and grammar- checked. It should be done in size 14 Calibri Bold font. The writing portion of the project is worth 50 points.

Thursday, September 6 –Monday, September 10, 2012 Work Days for Pictoword: Thursday, September 6, 2012 and Homework for that night Friday, September 7, 2012 and Homework for the weekend Monday, September 10, 2012: LAST DAY to work on it. Due at end of class.