Curriculum Unit Overview
In Cultures, Critters, and Communities, lower primary grades students learn about the interconnectedness within and between communities worldwide. The study of South African cultures, wildlife, and physical geography serves as the focal point for students’ developing awareness of their own cultures and their responsibilities within the local community. Specifically, students will learn about the visible and invisible features of culture, concluding that humans are more alike than different. The beautiful diversity evident in South African cultures and landscapes invites children to reflect upon the rich diversity in their own communities and how people work to protect vulnerable and endangered species. Lastly, contemporary global interdependence is explored through the marketplace. Students learn how South African beaded clothing reflects their cultural traditions and the available natural materials in the local environment. The unit’s summative assessment empowers children to design and sell a product that uses natural materials to express their own culture.
Author Biographies
Yvonne Ketchum has been teaching Kindergarten and 1st grade in Onslow County Schools for 10 years and was a teacher participant in the SACHL project. She has a Bachelor's degree from UNCW in Elementary Education. She currently teaches at Carolina Forest International Elementary school which was the first school in North Carolina to be certified as a Model Global Ready School. Yvonne represented her school as Teacher of the Year in 2014 and is currently representing her school as Global Teacher of the Year in 2017.
Lara Stiles is a teacher at Carolina Forest International Elementary, a North Carolina Model Global-Ready School in Jacksonville NC and a participant in the SACHL project. She has taught in Onslow County Schools for three years as a first grade teacher, and previously taught preschool/daycare students for 11 years. Lara graduated from UNCW with a BS in Psychology and attained her teaching certificate through the Watson School of Education.
Becky Tyson has been teaching 1st and second grade in Onslow County Schools for 12 years and was a teacher participant in the SACHL project. She has a Bachelor's degree from UNCW in Elementary Education. She currently teaches at Carolina Forest International Elementary school which was the first school in North Carolina to be certified as a Model Global Ready School. Becky represented her school as Teacher of the Year in 2010. She has served as a WNCW partnership teacher for numerous interns and a for mentor for new teachers since 2012.
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1: Places and People In My World introduces students to the beauty of our diverse planet. Using hard copy and digital maps, students will view photographs of landmarks and prominent places around the world to include Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, South Africa, as well as other cities and continents, identifying land and water features and discussing how physical geography impacts how people live. Students will apply their learning of geographic concepts by creating a graphic organizer outlining their own contexts. Students will determine that where they live is only a small part of a larger world.
Lesson 2: Building upon prior learning of our diverse world, I Am a Part of My Community engages students in exploring their roles in the local community. Students will learn citizenship concepts, including their responsibilities as citizens, in order to foster a respectful and positive community. Working in small groups, students will design and present a poster depicting their ideas for citizenship participation at the local (or global) level.
Lesson 3: Diversity in the Classroom explores the many forms of human diversity that may be present in a single classroom. Using an isiXhosa children’s book Utata kaJafta, students will compare the classroom context to their own. The lesson urges students to avoid cultural stereotyping and to examine deeper level features of culture and how they enhance the richness of our human experiences.
Lesson 4: All Animals Matter extends students’ learning of the value of human diversity to other living species. Students will learn the causes of animal endangerment, particularly of South African wildlife, and why societal rules and laws are necessary to protect them. This lesson aims to empower children to consider how they can take action to protect the lives of animals locally and globally.
Lesson 5: In this final lesson, Quilting or Beading?, students apply their learning of diversity, human-environment interaction, and citizenship by designing and selling a product that uses natural materials to express their culture. Students will become aware that trade builds interconnected communities and fosters community responsibility. As a class, students will determine to whom the proceeds from their goods will be donated to support a cause of their choosing.
