Celebrations of the Local Community



|Lesson Synopsis: |

Lesson 2 builds on the foundational understanding about the importance of celebrations from the previous lesson. Students utilize their understanding of local celebrations to create a proposal for a celebration based on their school community. The celebration will focus on what is important to the school. Students learn the decision making process and work in planning groups to determine key aspects of the celebration and write a letter explaining the proposal to an authority figure in the school, such as the school principal. Students use voting as a way to make a group decision.

TEKS:

|K.11 |Culture. The student understands similarities and differences among people. The student is expected to: |

|K.11B |Identify similarities and differences among people such as music, clothing, and food. |

Social Studies Skills TEKS:

|K.14 |Social studies skills. Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired |

| |from a variety of valid sources including electronic technology. The student is expected to: |

|K.14A |Obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid oral sources such as conversations, interviews, and music. |

|K.14B |Obtain information about a topic using a variety of valid visual sources such as pictures, symbols, electronic media, print material, |

| |and artifacts. |

| | |

|Getting Ready for Instruction |

|Performance Indicator(s): |

• Identify a custom or holiday celebrated in the local community. Explain why and how it is celebrated. (K.11B; K.14B) [pic] 3B

|Key Understandings and Guiding Questions: |

• Las celebraciones, las costumbres y las tradiciones nos definen como comunidad.

— ¿Cómo las celebraciones, las costumbres y las tradiciones nos definen como comunidad?

— ¿Por qué algunas personas de nuestra comunidad participan en celebraciones?

|Vocabulary of Instruction: |

• comunidad

• celebración

• símbolo

• festival

• desfile

• bandera

• voto

• valor

|Materials: |

• Refer to the Notes for Teacher section for materials.

|Attachments: |

• Teacher Resource: Decision Making Process Possible Questions

• Teacher Resource: Brainstorming Web

•

|Resources and References: |

• None identified

|Advance Preparation: |

1. Become familiar with content and procedures for the lesson.

2. Refer to the Instructional Focus Document for specific content to include in the lesson.

3. Select appropriate sections of the textbook and other classroom materials that support the learning for this lesson.

4. Preview website according to district guidelines.

5. Locate a variety of information sources.

6. Explore celebrations from the local community in which you live and gather resources to share with students.

7. Obtain pictures of various celebrations.

8. Prepare Brainstorming Web on chart paper.

9. Discuss with the school principal the celebration-planning aspect of the lesson, including the letter the students will write to the principal.

10. Prepare materials and handouts as needed.

|Background Information: |

Traditions – are developed from the process of sharing knowledge and practices through generations with and without written instruction.

Customs – create a bond based on common experience and shared values.

Voting – an expression or preference for a particular person or issue that needs to be resolved or validated. The majority vote always wins.

Celebration – a day or event with ceremonies of respect, festivity, or rejoicing; a joyful occasion for special festivities to mark some happy event.

Holiday(s) – A holiday is a day when one is free from work or school. Legal holidays at the state or national level pay respect to the accomplishments of historical figures (Martin Luther King or Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln) or to groups of people (Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, and Labor Day). Holidays also commemorate significant events (Fourth of July, Texas Independence, and Juneteenth). These are secular holidays as distinct from religious holidays or holy days, examples of which include Christmas, Hanukkah, and Passover. Thanksgiving is a legal holiday recognized by the U.S. government as the official day to give thanks for the good things in life.

Veterans Day – honors U.S. troops. It began as a celebration of peace after World War I ended. Originally called Armistice Day; the armistice (truce) ending World War I was signed November 11, 1918 (in the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). Armistice Day became an official federal holiday in 1938. The holiday was renamed Veteran’s Day in 1954, and became an official holiday honoring all United States Veterans. Veteran’s Day is observed each year on November 11 in the United States.

Independence Day – commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 and was first celebrated in 1777.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all.” (1954)

Definitions courtesy of the Social Studies Center [defunct]. (2000). Glossary. Austin: Texas Education Agency.

Pledge of allegiance. (2013). Retrieved from

|Getting Ready for Instruction Supplemental Planning Document |

Instructors are encouraged to supplement and substitute resources, materials, and activities to differentiate instruction to address the needs of learners. The Exemplar Lessons are one approach to teaching and reaching the Performance Indicators and Specificity in the Instructional Focus Document for this unit. Instructors are encouraged to create original lessons using the Content Creator in the Tools Tab located at the top of the page. All originally authored lessons can be saved in the “My CSCOPE” Tab within the “My Content” area.

|Instructional Procedures |

|Instructional Procedures |Notes for Teacher |

|ENGAGE – Celebrations in local communities |NOTE: 1 Day = 30 minutes |

| |Suggested Day 1 – 5 minutes |

|Display the Teacher Resource: Celebrations Matrix created in the Lesson 1. |Materials: |

| |Teacher Resource: Celebrations Matrix (that was created in Lesson 1) |

|Read aloud the list of celebrations. | |

| |Purpose: |

|Recall the idea that people celebrate what is important to them, and that the things that |Focus on celebrations in local communities. |

|people celebrate reflect who they are. Tie discussion to ways people are alike and | |

|different. |TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B |

| | |

|EXPLORE – What do local communities celebrate? |Suggested Day 1 (continued) – 10 minutes |

|Show students pictures, websites, or advertisements from various celebrations in local |Materials: |

|communities around Texas. |Pictures, advertisements, and other items obtained from local community |

| |celebrations |

|Facilitate a discussion where students talk about each picture. Ask questions such as | |

|the following: |Purpose: |

|Why do you think the people in this community celebrate this? For example: Why do people |Provide more information about local community celebrations as examples |

|in Round Rock celebrate Frontier Days? (This celebration focuses on the history of the |in order for students to have an abundance of information from which to |

|community. Sometimes people celebrate their cultural heritage. People in Fredericksburg |draw ideas. |

|might celebrate their German background; people in San Antonio celebrate their Mexican | |

|heritage. This can also be related to Unit Six, Lesson 1 about the physical |TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B |

|characteristics of place. The physical characteristics make the community unique and very | |

|often that is the focus of a local celebration - if the community is on a lake or the |Instructional Note: |

|coast, for example, the community celebrates its uniqueness like Lakefest, Buccaneer |An Internet search of various community celebrations can be conducted to|

|Days.) |find pictures. A slide show of these online pictures would be an |

|What kind of celebration is being depicted? (festival, parade, fair) |alternative to showing actual pictures or advertisements, which might be|

|What are people celebrating? (jalapeños, mosquitoes, strawberries, art, music, cultural |more difficult to obtain. Showing actual websites with music would be a|

|heritage, water, etc.) |way in which students could experience samples of music at various |

|Can you tell from the picture, website, or advertisement what music might have been played|celebrations. |

|at this celebration? (Take clues from pictures: German music, Spanish music, Indian |Post pictures and advertisements in the classroom |

|music, Country music, etc.) |If desired, use a visual analysis strategy to help students build social|

|What kind of clothes are people wearing at this celebration? (People might be dressed in |studies skills. |

|traditional clothes of their cultural background) | |

|What kind of food might be eaten at this celebration? (Indian food, German food, Mexican | |

|food, etc.) | |

| | |

|Summarize the analysis by explaining that many local communities have a variety of things | |

|they celebrate throughout the year that represent the people and individuality of that | |

|community. This is evidenced by the pictures and advertisements. | |

| | |

|Reinforce the purpose of celebrations using words such as: | |

|These celebrations help people remember what is important to people and what identifies | |

|them as a community. | |

|EXPLAIN – Review and summarize |Suggested Day 1 (continued) – 5 minutes |

|Display the pictures discussed in the Explore section above. | |

| | |

|In pairs, students each choose one picture and explain it to their partner by using a | |

|sentence stem such as: | |

|This picture shows people celebrating ____. It shows that the people value _____. | |

| | |

|Teacher circulates, listening to student statements. | |

|EXPLORE – What should we celebrate? |Suggested Day 1 (continued) – 10 minutes |

|Introduce the idea of celebrations for the school or community. |Materials: |

|What are some things that are important to this school/community? |paper, drawing paper |

| | |

|Explain that for this lesson, students will be planning a new celebration for the school |Purpose: |

|community and that they will present their proposal to the school principal. This new |Apply the idea that celebrations reflect what is important or of value |

|celebration could focus on the school or community’s cultural heritage, a holiday not |to the community. Students brainstorm ideas for a new celebration that |

|previously (or not recently) celebrated in the school and/or community or other idea of |would be beneficial to the school community. |

|value to the school/community. | |

| |TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B |

|Assign students to small groups. | |

| | |

|Groups discuss and brainstorm some ideas of what could be celebrated in the school | |

|community - something that is not currently being celebrated. (These planning groups will | |

|remain consistent throughout the lesson.) | |

| | |

|Groups discuss ideas and then report to the whole class. Groups should attempt to come up | |

|with 1 to 3 ideas to share with the class the following day. Teacher lists student ideas. | |

|Leave the lists posted for use on Day 2. | |

|EXPLAIN – A good idea |Suggested Day 2 – 5 minutes |

|To review Day 1 learning, students choose one of the celebration ideas discussed in the | |

|Explore section of Day 1 and write a sentence telling why it is a good idea. | |

|ENGAGE – What is a decision? |Suggested Day 2 (continued) – 5 minutes |

|In a very brief discussion, introduce the idea of making decisions. |Purpose: |

|What is a decision? (responses may vary) |Understand the meaning of the word decision and how the decisions we |

| |make shape our lives every day. |

|After students briefly respond to the question, provide an academic definition using words| |

|such as: |TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B |

|A decision is a choice you make about something after thinking about it. | |

| |Instructional Note: |

|Allow students to apply learning to their lives by asking questions such as: |Learning to make decisions is an essential step toward independent |

|What decisions do you make every day?) |behavior in children. In teaching the steps involved in decision making|

|When you make a decision, how do you decide on one thing instead of another? |and providing guided practice in making decision allows children to |

|Are decisions always easy to make or are they sometimes difficult to make? Why? |learn this skill in a safe environment. This allows children to |

| |objectively look at the process and remove the emotion that sometimes |

|Pose different scenarios to help students understand this question and realize that all |clouds decision making ability. As they become more confident in the |

|decisions are not easy to make. For example: |process they will begin to apply the skill in their everyday life. |

|It’s raining outside and you need to decide how to dress to go to school. Do you wear | |

|rain boots or not? (This is probably an easy decision.) | |

|You were asked to go play with a friend, but your family already has plans to go the zoo. | |

|Do you go play with the friend or go with your family? (This might be a difficult decision| |

|because both activities would be fun.) | |

| | |

|After each scenario ask: | |

|Is this an easy decision or a difficult decision? Why? | |

| | |

|Discuss what might make a decision difficult. Decisions are sometimes difficult when the | |

|choices are equally appealing and the person would feel a loss for not being able to | |

|participate in both of them. | |

|EXPLORE – Five steps of decision making |Suggested Day 2 (continued) – 15 minutes |

|Introduce the 5-step decision-making process. (See instructional note re: TEKS K.16B.) |Attachments: |

|Use the task of choosing a celebration as a way to apply the 5-step decision making |Teacher Resource: Decision Making Process Possible Questions |

|process. (If desired, use the Teacher Resource: Decision Making Process Possible Questions|Teacher Resource: Brainstorming Web |

|) | |

| |Purpose: |

|Say or paraphrase the steps in the decision-making process |Use the 5-step decision making process to choose a celebration to plan |

|Step one: we need to make a decision about a new celebration we think should be planned |and implement. |

|Step two: we have learned about celebrations so we have background information we may | |

|need. |TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B |

|Step three: we have brainstormed ideas that are relevant to our school | |

|Step four: we can predict what the celebration might look like and how it might benefit |Instructional Note: |

|our school community |Five Step Decision Making Process (K.16B): |

|Step five: we need to create and implement a plan to make the celebration a reality and |identify a situation that requires a decision, |

|reflect on it when we are finished. |gather information, |

| |identify and generate options, |

|Use the Teacher Resource: Brainstorming Web to organize ideas from Day 1 on chart paper. |predict consequences, and |

|Groups from previous day share the list of possible school community celebrations. Add |take action to implement a decision and reflect on the effectiveness of |

|ideas and details from the students’ descriptions of the celebrations they discussed to |that decision. |

|the web. |Voting methods that could be used include secret ballot, voice vote, |

| |raising hands, choosing the three top choices and then ranking them. |

|Next, small groups reconvene to discuss brainstorming ideas, which ideas they like best |As an extension, graphs could be created to organize the information |

|and why. |collected about kinds of music, clothing, and food used to celebrate by |

| |families of the students in the classroom. |

|In whole group, allow students to share ideas to determine which celebrations they believe| |

|would serve the purpose best. Students must support their ideas with information and | |

|predictions. Add these details to the Brainstorming Web. | |

| | |

|Choose three celebration ideas that the majority of the students are interested in and | |

|would work well in your school setting. (A voting method can be used.) | |

| | |

|Remind students of the purpose of voting and how it works. Students will vote on which | |

|celebration they want to create a plan for to present in a letter to the school principal.| |

| | |

|Encourage students to reflect on the process of decision making so they realize the | |

|benefits of following the process and using it in everyday life. | |

|EXPLAIN |Suggested Day 2 (continued) – 5 minutes |

|Facilitate a discussion where students recall their learning and discuss it using complete| |

|sentences and using appropriate academic language. | |

|Include questions such as: | |

|Who makes decisions? (Everyone makes decisions in the course of a day.) | |

|Can you use the 5-step decision making process for other decisions? (yes) | |

|What are the 5 steps of the decision making process? (see Instructional Note) | |

|Who is responsible for the decisions you make? (you - the person who makes the decision) | |

|Are there consequences to decisions? (yes, sometimes they are positive and sometimes they | |

|are negative) | |

|ENGAGE |Suggested Day 3 - 5 minutes |

|On chart paper, write the name or idea for the celebration chosen by students. Elaborate |Materials: |

|on the idea by encouraging students to explain: |chart paper |

|What will we celebrate? | |

|Why is this important to our school/community? |Instructional Note: |

| |Each individual teacher will decide the scope and size of the |

|Explain that the next step in the process is to complete a plan. Things that need to be |celebration. If a large school-wide celebration seems overwhelming, plan|

|decided are: |one for the kindergarten classes only. Keep in mind that the end result|

|The name of the celebration (such as the Mosquito Festival or the Pear Fair) |should look like kindergartners planned it. The most important aspect |

|What will the slogan or symbol of the celebration be? |of this lesson is to teach the decision making process in the context of|

|Who will the audience be (the whole school or one grade level?) |planning a celebration. It is essential to use the details found in the|

|What format will the celebration be? A parade, a festival, a carnival? |TEKS (K.11A & K.11B) to plan the celebration. Students will benefit from|

|What activities will be provided? |working together in cooperative groups during the process. The process |

|When it is to be held? |is as important as the actual celebration. |

|Where it is to be held? | |

|How to tell others about it or advertise it? | |

|What music will be played? | |

|What food will be provided? | |

|What clothes or costumes will be worn? | |

|EXPLORE – Planning the celebration |Suggested Day 3 (continued) – 20 minutes |

|1. Communicate to students that each item that needs to be decided will require the use of|Materials: |

|the decision making process. It does not need to take a long time to go through the |chart paper |

|process, but the steps should be followed. | |

| |Purpose: |

|2. Only focus on one item at a time. Students work in small groups to come up with ideas |Use the decision making process to plan a celebration. |

|for each decision to be made. After the small groups have time to brainstorm ideas for | |

|each individual item, the whole group will reconvene and vote on each detail, using thumbs|TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B |

|up or paper ballots. | |

| |Instructional Note: |

|As each decision is made, write the decision on chart paper, beginning with the title. |Go through this process until the thirty minute class period is over. |

|Use a list format or a web format. |Stop at the appropriate time and continue the next day. (Begin with a |

|Begin the process. |brief ENGAGE activity to review decisions made the previous day.) This |

| |entire process should take about two days. |

|Title: | |

|Remind students of the selected celebration and ask students to brainstorm names for the | |

|proposed celebration. | |

|Discuss attributes of the celebration and how a name will help the people of the community| |

|identify the celebration and what it represents. | |

|After a name is chosen, write it on a large piece of white chart paper. | |

| | |

|Slogan: | |

|Explain to students that they will work in their small group to create a slogan and | |

|picture for their festival. | |

|Share several slogans with students from other festivals in different communities from the| |

|pictures used in the engagement portion of the lesson. | |

|Provide groups time to develop a slogan and create a visual of their selected symbol on | |

|drawing paper. | |

|Explain that although each group decided on a slogan and symbol, the students may choose a| |

|slogan and symbol from a different group as their favorite choice. | |

|Hang up each group visual on the board. Allow students to vote on their favorite slogan | |

|and symbol using a “thumbs up” vote or paper ballot. Once a choice has been made, present | |

|the selection to the class. Glue the winning slogan and symbol to the chart paper where | |

|the name of the celebration has been written. | |

| | |

|Audience: | |

|Ask students who they want the celebration to be for: the entire school or just | |

|kindergarten or just their class? (If the teacher has made this decision previously, skip | |

|this step.) | |

|Who might be interested in this celebration? Who would want to participate? | |

|Have groups decide what they think and present their decision to the class. | |

|The class will vote and then add this to the chart paper. | |

| | |

|Format: | |

|What format will the celebration be? A parade, a festival, a carnival? | |

|Ask students what they think the celebration should look like. If there are parameters to| |

|work within, explain this to students. | |

|Have groups decide if it should be a parade, a festival, or a carnival and present their | |

|decision to the class. | |

|The class will vote and then add this to the chart paper. | |

| | |

|Activities: | |

|Ask students to brainstorm what activities should be available at the celebration. | |

|Create a list of students’ ideas on a piece of paper and then choose 3-4 ideas to add to | |

|the chart paper for the celebration. | |

|The teacher may choose the 3-4 ideas to be added or may have students vote once again. | |

| | |

|Date and Time: | |

|When it is to be held? | |

|The teacher may provide possible dates and times. Students may choose from possible dates| |

|and times. | |

|Ask students to decide on the date they like best in their small group. | |

|Vote in whole group on a date and time. | |

| | |

|Location: | |

|Where it is to be held? | |

|The teacher may provide possible locations. Students may choose from those possible | |

|locations. | |

|Ask students to decide on the location they like best in their small group. How much room | |

|is needed? What spaces are available on the date and time chosen? | |

|Vote in whole group on a location. | |

| | |

|Advertising (if applicable): | |

|How should we tell others about it or advertise it if it school wide? | |

|Students brainstorm ways to tell others in the school about the celebration. What should | |

|be included in the advertisement? Look at advertising samples from earlier lessons for | |

|ideas. | |

|Ask students to decide which kinds of advertising they should use in their small group. | |

|How many advertisements are needed? Who should be responsible for making them? | |

|Vote in whole group to decide advertising. | |

|EXPLAIN – Summarize |Suggested Day 3 (continued) – 5 minutes |

|Student pairs use the chart created in the Explore section to lead their discussion of the| |

|decisions that have been made so far, becoming familiar with the choices and | |

|enumerating/summarizing them. | |

|ENGAGE – Review planning |Suggested Day 4 – 5 minutes |

|Display chart and outline the decisions made during Day 3, reviewing with students in | |

|preparation for continued planning on Day 4. | |

|EXPLORE/EXPLAIN – Planning the celebration |Suggested Day 4 (continued) – 15 minutes |

|Continue the planning/decision-making process for the remaining topics for the | |

|celebration. | |

| | |

|Music: | |

|What music will be played? | |

|Brainstorm ideas for music that would add to or enhance the celebration. | |

|Ask students to decide in small group what music should be played at the celebration? | |

|Vote in whole group to decide on music. | |

| | |

|Food: | |

|What food and drinks should be included? How will they be provided? | |

|Brainstorm ideas for food and drinks that would be appropriate to have at the celebration.| |

|Who would pay for the food and drinks? Who would prepare the food and drinks? Who would | |

|serve the food and drinks? | |

|Ask students to decide in small group on food and drinks. | |

|Vote in whole group on food and drinks. | |

| | |

|Costumes: | |

|What clothes or costumes will be worn? | |

|Brainstorm ideas for costumes that would be appropriate to wear at the celebration. What | |

|costumes would follow the theme of the celebration? Who would make the costumes? Who would| |

|wear the costumes? | |

|Ask students to decide in small group on costumes. | |

|Vote in whole group on costumes. | |

| | |

|Last, discuss with students again the purpose of celebration in a community and how the | |

|celebrations represent what is important to the community and its people based on the | |

|community’s cultural heritage, community spirit, natural resources and environment. | |

| | |

|Guide students in creating a 2-3 sentence summary about how this celebration, if chosen, | |

|would represent the school community in one or more of these or a similar way. Add the | |

|sentences to the chart about the proposed celebration. | |

| | |

|Place students back into their planning groups to discuss and finalize their ideas for the| |

|proposed celebration. Ask students to think about celebrations in the local community that| |

|have been discussed throughout this unit of study. Include questions such as: | |

|Is there anything more to add to the proposal? | |

|Are there additional ideas that should be included in the letter? | |

|Do the students think people of the school community would understand the reasons for the | |

|celebration and what it represents? | |

| | |

|Students return to the whole group and share their ideas, thoughts and/or concerns with | |

|the class. Make any adjustments if needed to the proposed plan (chart paper) for the | |

|celebration. (This reflection is part of the process.) | |

|EXPLAIN – Write a letter to the principal |Suggested Day 4 (continued) – 10 minutes |

|As a group, students write a letter to the principal explaining the proposed celebration |Materials: |

|and how this celebration will help identify the school community by featuring the school |Chart paper for letter writing |

|or community’s cultural heritage, community spirit, natural resources and environment, | |

|their work or their people. The letter should include aspects of the plan chosen by the |Purpose: |

|students including ideas such as the name of the celebration along with the slogan or |Allow students an opportunity to describe the celebration and explain |

|symbols. The letter should also include a few details of the celebration such as events of|its purpose and worth. |

|the celebration or the format. | |

| |TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B |

|Share the letter with the principal and request a visit to the classroom so he/she can | |

|respond. | |

|ELABORATE – Key Understandings & Guiding Questions |Suggested Day 5 – 5 minutes |

|Facilitate a discussion about celebrations, customs, and traditions using the Key |Purpose: |

|Understandings and Guiding Questions to help solidify their understanding. Encourage |Ensure students recognize the Key Understandings and can answer the |

|students to use celebrations discussed as evidence to support their answers and support |Guiding Questions of the lesson. |

|the key understanding. | |

|Celebrations, customs, and traditions define us as a community. |TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B |

|How do celebrations, customs, and traditions define us as a community? | |

|Why do people in our community participate in celebrations? | |

|EVALUATE – Determine mastery |Suggested Day 5 (continued) – 25 minutes |

|Identify a custom or holiday celebrated in the local community. Explain why and how it is |Materials: |

|celebrated. (K.11B; K.14B) [pic] 3B |Paper, 8 ½ X 11 drawing paper (optional) |

| | |

|To introduce the Performance Indicator and help students begin thinking about the task, |Instructional Note: |

|ask questions such as: |This evaluation can be conducted orally, one-on-one with each child. An|

|What are some of the local celebrations we learned about? |alternate way to evaluate might be to have students identify the |

|Think about a celebration that we have learned about. Name one celebration and explain |celebration or holiday by drawing a picture and writing the explanation.|

|why and how it is celebrated. | |

| | |

|Use a rubric to determine mastery. | |

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