US Collaborating Schools Session 2 Module 1 Week 1 1

Sharing Cultures

General Information Class Period (Time) – Recommended once weekly. 35 minutes (minimum) Elementary School (ES) 40 minutes (minimum) Middle School (MS) Session 1 (04NOV-08NOV) Introduction Week – How to Use the ePals website. Session 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Session 3 (18NOV-22NOV) Module 1 – Sharing Cultures Session 4 (25NOV-29NOV) Special Session – Thanksgiving (Chinese classes only) Session 5 (02DEC-06DEC) Skype Session 1 Session 6 (09DEC-13DEC) Session 7 (16DEC-20DEC) Module 2 – Culture Cuisine Session 8 (23DEC-27DEC) Special Session – Holiday Celebration (Chinese classes only) 3

Required equipment for all classes 1. Computer and Projector – for course curriculum PPT delivery. 2.Laptops or computer lab (one per student or group designated) for and PPT. 3.Internet access for questionnaires. Materials 1.Lesson Plans (PPT in workspace) 2.PPT decks – ePals Information, Sharing Culture, Culture Cuisine, Skype. All materials will be available in the Workspace. Post all s and PPTs to the workspace. 4

Posting/Sharing Student Work 1.Teacher compiled s. 2.PPTs ready for sharing. Post and share all work in the Class Workspace. 5

Sharing Cultures NeuPals

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures Session 2 – Overview Sharing Cultures Module 1 Week 1 Highlights: 1. ebooks – show one or both Check List: Arrange Skype Sharing Session with Partner Class. Teacher compiles and sends to ePals class. Deliverables: 1. Write introductory and share with your ePals partner class. 2. Contact ePals Catherine Channell, and let her know the schedules for the Skype 7

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 1.Goals for the Unit (1minES/MS). Please review the Goals of the Unit with the students by projecting and reading goals aloud from Slide 2 of the Sharing PPT. These goals are the foundation for the course and the sharing of cultures. You will begin to build collaboration and understanding through and explorative learning activities. 8

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 2. Agenda (1minES/MS) Explain to the students that their ePals partner class is participating in the same course at the same time. Say: We begin with culture (in general) and cultural artifacts because they are the most visible aspects of culture. Cultural artifacts come in many shapes and forms: they include folk art, traditions in dance and music, pictures and sculpture, buildings and structures, food and people. We will share these special things about our culture with our ePals class and, in turn, they will share their culture with us. 9

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 3. View and Discuss the Peace Corps eBooks presentation (13ES- 15minsMS) Share the introductory Peace Corps eBooks presentation. You may show one or both

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 4. Teach culture with the Sharing Cultures PPT (10minsES-13minsMS) Begin the class by sharing an understanding of culture. Culture is made up of the shared values, beliefs, behaviors, activities, and traditions of a group of people. Each group can be defined in different ways. For example, you behave differently in your home culture as compared with your school culture. We are also learning about our ePals partner class. They do some things in ways that are similar to our culture and other things in ways that are different. Today we will be talking about aspects of our culture that we may choose to share with our ePals friends. 11

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 4. Teach culture with the Sharing Cultures PPT (10minsES-13minsMS) Notes to Teacher: A “cultural artifact” is created by humans and gives information about you and the people who live around you. It tells us who you are. It won’t tell the whole story but it will give us clues. Notes to Teacher: A cultural artifact can be a common, everyday object or it can be something special. Students might find them in their own homes or in their communities. These items tell many kinds of stories. They tell us how people talk and relate to each other. They tell us about how people are the same and how they are different. Studying these objects helps us find out more about our history or the history of others. 12

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 4. Teach culture with the Sharing Cultures PPT (10minsES-13minsMS) Notes to Teacher: Ask students 1. WHY this cultural artifact exists, 2. Why it is SIGNIFICANT, 3. and WHAT it says about culture. Show the culture slides and check for understanding. 13

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 5. Write an introductory friendly to your ePals (5minsES/MS) – Meet our ePals. Notes to Teacher: It is time to write the first introductory to your ePals class. This is a class generated that requires input from your students. The will be compiled by the teacher from the students’ work and sent to the ePals partner class. 14

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 5. Write an introductory friendly to your ePals (5minsES/MS) – Meet our ePals. EXAMPLE - What is a friendly ? A friendly is a class-to-class note that builds a written conversation with your ePals. Include in a friendly 1. Information and ideas relating this week’s topics to your culture. 2. Questions about this week’s topics as well as personal questions about your ePals’ class. 3. News about your class and your class members. 4. Photos of your class with descriptions of the photos. 15

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 5. Write an introductory friendly to your ePals (5minsES/MS) – Meet our ePals. Composing an through Shared Writing: 1. Project the text on to a large screen. 2. Allow students to contribute their ideas. 3. Teacher acts as a scribe doing the typing so that students focus on thoughtful composition. 4. Teacher demonstrates the conventions of writing (spelling, grammar, punctuation). 5. Teacher asks questions of students to reinforce English language convention and to encourage thoughtful contributions. 6. Teacher pauses to reread – making sure it makes sense and demonstrates editing/revising while composing. Remember that the ePals partners in China are English language learners. Both ePals classes are following the same course structure. 16

Greeting: Greet your ePals and express your excitement about receiving your ePals’ letter. Class Update: Share what is happening in your class. Don’t forget to make it conversational by asking your ePals questions too. Answer any questions your ePals asked about your class. Information and Questions about the Cultural Topic: Share your thoughts about the topic of study as it relates to your culture. Ask your ePals questions to learn about their culture. Closing: Wrap up your letter. Thank your ePals for the letter you received. Our Photos: Describe any photos you have attached. Friendly Template: Dear__________________________, Closing____________________________________, Class Name _________________________________ SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 5. Write an introductory friendly to your ePals (5minsES/MS) – Meet our ePals. 17

Writing a Friendly – What is a friendly ? A friendly is a class-to-class note. It builds a written conversation with your ePals partner class. Include in a friendly Information and ideas relating this week’s topics to your culture. Questions about the week’s topics and questions about the ePals’ class. News about your class and your class members. Photos of your class with descriptions of the photos. The teacher compiles the from work done by students and shares with partner class. 18

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 6. Introduce the PPT assignment for the next class meeting (5minES/MS) Notes to Teacher: Each student will be asked to produce 1-2 PPT slides on an assigned topic and question in next weeks class. 5 topics for Sharing Culture - Introduce these 5 topics as the research topics: 1.Woodcarving and Folk Art 2.Glass-Blowing 3.The Charleston Dance 4.Navajo Weaving 5. Holiday Wreaths 19

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 6. Introduce the PPT assignment for the next class meeting (5minES/MS) 5 questions that are applied to each topic: 1.What is the history of XXX in the US? 2.Is XXX popular in your area? Why or why not? 3.Should we preserve XXX? Why or why not? 4.Share a fun or interesting story about XXX. It can be a story you found in your research or from your personal experience. 5. Summarize what XXX represents in US culture? 20

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 6. Introduce the PPT assignment for the next class meeting (5minES/MS) You have 5 different topics and 5 questions for each topic. We recommend that you divide your class into 5 equal groups and assign a group leader for each group. Assign each group a topic: you may write each topic on a piece of paper, place the topics in a bag, and then have the group leader draw from the bag. Assign each student a specific question. To keep students engaged when assigning specific questions, you can have the students count off (one, two, three, four, five) and then assign the questions with the same number. Suggest that they think about what they might want to write and the images they want to use before your next class meeting. 21

SESSION 2 (11NOV-15NOV) Module 1 Week 1 – Sharing Cultures 7. Thinking at Home – Students thinking and working outside of school. Notes to Teacher: If students have time at home, they can research the topic and select their images before to prepare for creating their PPT slide(s). If students have cultural artifacts at home they would like to share, they can bring them to the class next week. Your ePals class is very interested in the cultural artifacts that students keep at home or at school. Photograph the artifacts students bring in and attach them the pictures to the or PPT. 22

Sharing Cultures NeuPals