Each lesson in this unit was important for the discipline of social studies because students need to develop a strong sense of what community is, what culture is, and where they fall within those bounds.  The learning goals chosen are meaningful to my students because they allow them to see themselves in the content. They are represented in the books I’ve chosen, the cultures I’ve chosen to explore, and the experiences we will discuss. 

This unit was created to build upon the apparent strengths in my classroom and reinforce the areas of student need. I knew that through collaborative activities, students would have ample opportunities to share, speak and listen, write, and discover new ideas together. I intentionally addressed vocabulary during read alouds of poems and books as well as did a shared write for the collective definition of “culture” which would be crucial to them throughout the lessons. Additionally, I used sentence stems and starters in writing prompts, assessments, and worksheets to eliminate the burden of starting writing assessments. 

By using small-groups, I allowed myself to be a free agent in the room and walk around to observe their thinking. I could help groups as they had problems emerge but I encouraged them to try and solve it on their own. By allowing them to express their ideas and try them out with each other before sharing in front of the entire class, I hope to see more participation from voices who do not often speak out in whole-group. In the many lessons, I made sure to have the students think as researchers and social scientists. They had to find evidence, become experts, explore accurate resources and form opinions or conclusions working in a group with one another. By letting them become social scientists, they practiced those skills directly and with purpose. The final assessment allowed for quick synopsis of content retained.