General Curriculum Ideas

The Global Cultural Community curriculum ideas follow the very general theme of Coming to America, with a special emphasis on diversity. Teachers, however, should always be encouraged to follow their own interests and talents. Each lesson should have the emphasis of vocabulary and vocal recitation with a focus on clarity of pronunciation.

The various lesson ideas included here are suggestions only and presented in no specific order. Staff are free to follow these lessons as they are written but also encouraged to modify the lessons to suit the skill and confidence level of the teacher as well as the students. Further, staff can expand or modify any lesson, but most activities are designed to extend over two or more class periods. Thus, a given theme may last a few days for one teacher and a longer or shorter period for others. The number of lessons or themes covered is far less important than the quality of the experience provided to students. Many books and supplies for all the lessons suggested in this manual (but not the miscellaneous ones) will be made available in the staff resource room; these materials will need to be shared.

The lessons that follow include a few goals or purposes. One purpose will be to teach something about U.S. culture, with a built-in component for the return sharing of Chinese culture, if appropriate. Another goal will have to do with the English that the lesson will stress through repetition of certain vocabulary and sentence structures. The teacher will have to adjust this to fit the level of students. Therefore, the teacher may not teach grammar in the sense of telling the students, for example, they are now using the present progressive tense, but rather just repeating that structure over and over (What’s he doing? He’s jumping.). A third goal is to include a fun activity in each lesson such as a game or a simulation. For ease in constructing the lessons, these purposes will be labeled Culture, English, and Activity.

Your choice of what to teach will depend both on availability of materials, thelanguage level of students, and the confidence of the instructor. In developing the lessons that follow or in the creation of new lesson, attempted to follow these criteria:

• Lead to important and largely new knowledge?
• Increase English vocabulary?
• Provide opportunities to speak aloud?
• Help accomplish our goals of sharing cultures, making friends, and promoting a verbal exchange of English?
• Include review?
• Hold the interest of the student?
• Make good use of the limited instructional time available?
• Include time for student questions?
• Include content and method appropriate culturally for student in the host country?
• Include content and method appropriate for the age and developmental level of the students?
• Include a provision for the student to share comparable information about the cultural of the host country?

Your National Teacher might like to teach a class or two but, generally, she/he will manage class order, provide translation when absolutely necessary, and observe you. The American teacher can learn from their teaching methods, so check with them.

Language Class Lesson Idea:
What questions do they have about American life and the diverse nature of its people? To find out, ask students to give a word, phrase, or full sentence to communicate their interest in knowing about diversity among Americans. Questions could be easier to generate by studying the pictures of people in The New Oxford Picture Dictionary (i.e.) hair of black Americans, people in advertisements, eating places in America, music interests of Americans, etc. Again, the interpreting of questions via National Teachers may be the most effective way to respond to student inquiries.

Language Class Lesson Idea: “Interview an American”
Explain to students that it is their assignment to interview an American. There are four (or more) parts to the interview.

Part 1:  Inquire about the home state and city of this American, including the diversity of people living there.

Part 2:  Ask students to find out three or four things about the job or career of each person being interviewed. (i.e.) Do you like your job? What is hard about this job?  Does it pay well? etc.

Part 3:  Ask the origins of the American’s ancestry and how far back this origin takes them.

Part 4:  Have the students ask the American about a friend who does not have the same skin color or who came to America from another country. How do you know this person? (A question about the American’s ancestors who immigrated to the US would also be a useful question for an interview.)  Have students bring the interview information to class and relate some of what they have learned.

Language Class Lesson Idea: “Advertisement Analysis”
Ask students to look through various American magazines. Ask students to relate differences noted among the people, while keeping the described differences in simple language: tall/short; thin/wide; dark skin/light skin/medium skin; wide nose/thin nose; curly hair/straight hair; old/young, etc. Help students to notice that a wide range of ethnic differences among U.S. citizens is common. Also, help them realize that America is a nation of immigrants.

Note: Before 1500 we were a land of many native Indian nations. Most geographic names on the U.S. map are Indigenous words or combinations. (“Minne” in an Indigenous word meaning water. “Polis” is Greek meaning city.) Native American culture lessons may be developed at the discretion of the teacher.) The cities with the largest neighborhoods having vastly different ethnic and racial groups are New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Miami, and Minneapolis. Ask students to locate three or more pictures of people in a magazine that appear to show racial differences. Share the pictures with another person or, if working in pairs, to another pair. If this is an advanced group, the teacher may want to ask them to look for signs of the influence of different ethnic customs as well: dress, food, dance, music etc.

ANGUAGE LESSON IDEA: “Picture Story”

Purpose: Learn about Nouns
    Exercise their English
Time: Two lessons
Materials: Magazines, Scissors, Tape or glue, Large sheet of construction paper
Procedure:

1.Distribute magazines with a variety of pictures. Working in pairs, instruct students to look for and cut out images that are, for whatever reason, interesting. These should include people, places, and things. Each pair of students should have about 10 pictures (10 minutes).
2.On a surface (desk, floor) organize the pictures in a sequence that might tell a story. Give the characters names. Not necessary to use all the pictures.
3.Attach the images to the construction paper in story order.
4.Pairs will stand before the class, hold up their sheet and proceed to point to each picture and, in English, tell their story.