Curriculum Overview

Rationale:

One purpose of this unit of study is to give students a better understanding of a foreign culture  and how it compares to American culture. Students will also be able to write friendly letters that explain some of their own cultural traditions and school life to students from South Korea. The Korean students will explain their traditions as well. A theme of the work sample is Thanksgiving traditions in the US and how they compare to a different culture’s traditions (South Korea). It is important for students to understand that not everyone has the same traditions or concepts. Students should understand that people sometimes live in different types of homes, eat different foods, and celebrate traditions in different ways. Students should also learn important skills such as writing a letter and being able to use maps and calendars. It is also important for students to become familiar with publishing in a digital format, such as podcasting. These themes and goals are based on the standards of the state and district, as detailed below.

Common Curriculum Goals: 

1. Writing: write to inform on a topic.
2. Writing: use technology to publish writing.
3. Writing: Demonstrate command of conventions (capitalization, periods, spelling).
4. Geography: Use maps; understand regions.
5. Social Studies: Awareness of cultural diversity
6. Social Studies: History of United States

Oregon State Standards: 

• Social Sciences / Historical Knowledge: 2.3 – Identify community celebrations, symbols, and traditions and why they are important to some people. 
• Social Sciences / Geography: 2.8 – Identify relative location of school and community in the state of the nation and the world.
• Social Sciences 2.20.  Compare and contrast past and present situations, people, and events in neighborhoods and communities.
• Writing: 2.W.2 write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and a provide a concluding statement or section. 

Silver Falls School District/ Eugene Field Power Standards:

• Writing: EL.02 WR.12, WR.18 & 19 - Mechanics, grammar, writing process, clarity on topic
• Writing: EL.02 WR .21 Able to write a letter

Essential Questions:

• What and when is Thanksgiving? How do different people celebrate it? 
• What is a friendly letter, what do I include? 
• Where is South Korea? What are some facts about Korea? How to use a map?
• How is a Korean Thanksgiving similar or different to an American Thanksgiving?

Concepts:

• Traditions
• Maps
• Letters
• Similarities and Differences

Generalizations:

• Traditions are repeated and passed down by family and culture
• Know how to find locations on a map
• Know how to write a friendly letter using a heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature.
• American traditions have some similarities and differences with South Korean traditions

Pre-requisite Skills:

• Map recognition
• Basic knowledge of Thanksgiving
• Know how to write a basic sentence

Work Sample Goals:

• Students will gain understanding of the Thanksgiving holiday and traditions in the US and Korea and analyze how they are similar and different.
• Students will be able to recognize Thanksgiving traditions and be able to communicate them in a properly formatted letter. 

Work Sample Objectives:

• Students will be able to identify at least 3 facts about Korea. (Knowledge, C)
• Students will identify at least 3 American Thanksgiving traditions. (Knowledge, C/A)
• Students will identify at least 3 facts about the first American Thanksgiving. (Knowledge, C/A)
• Students will write properly formatted letters introducing self and explaining American Thanksgiving traditions (letters must include header, greeting, body, closing, signature, main idea and supporting details). (Creating, C/A/P)
• Students will be able to accurately identify Silverton, OR and South Korea on a map. (Applying, C/P)
• Students will be able to correctly use a Venn Diagram to name at least 3 characteristics of American and Korean Thanksgivings and identify how they are similar to each other. (Analyzing, C/A/P)