Bridgewater College

Education Department Lesson Plan: EDUC215

Small Group Members

Date: April 23, 2013

Kendyl Kelly_________________
Sarah Rohrer_________________
Anna Ward__________________
Title of Lesson: Learning About Ethnocentrism through Childrens Literature and Geography

Subject Area(s):
Grade Level(s)/Course:
Elementary
5th Grade Social Studies
Content Objective(s)
1. Given a blank map of the world, the learners will demonstrate the ability to identify ten world regions and countries
by placing a hat that corresponds to the regions culture in the appropriate place on the map at 100% proficiency.
2. As a result of this experience, students will demonstrate the ability to understand the presence of ethnocentrism in
literature by comparing The Hatseller and the Monkeys and Caps for Sale during class discussion at 90%
proficiency.
3. As a result of this experience, students will demonstrate the ability work collaboratively by working in groups to
correctly label ten regions on a world map at 100% proficiency.
4. As a result of this experience, students will demonstrate the ability to understand the importance of cultural
consciousness by explaining how ethnocentrism can negatively impact school climate at 100% proficiency.
Summative Assessment
- Learners will be assessed on their geographical knowledge by working in small groups to label regions on a map and
showing their finished map to the instructor.
- Learners will also be assessed on geography mastery by identifying their assigned region for the class on a map
projected on the Smartboard.
- Learners will be assessed on their understanding of ethnocentrism and cultural consciousness by answering a series of
questions asked by instructors throughout the lesson.
Materials
The books we will use are The Hatseller and the Monkeys and Caps for Sale. The materials to be used include hats,
maps, glue sticks, markers, the Smartboard, a PowerPoint, and a song as an attention getter.
Integration of Technology
How will you integrate technology into your lesson? What types of specific technology will you use?
We will utilize technology in our lesson through the use of a song as an attention getter as well as displaying a map on
the Smartboard. Our lesson will also include the use of a PowerPoint presentation.
Time Planned
Anticipatory Set (Focus)
How will you arouse students interest in the lesson? How much time will be needed?
1 Minute
We will use a song related to the lesson as the students enter the room in order to immediately grab
the students attention.
Access/Review Prior Knowledge
What prerequisite knowledge and skills are needed to learn the lesson content? How much time
will be needed?
We will review a map of continents and major countries.

3 Minutes

Topic presentation
What information, activities, and experiences1 will you provide to help students acquire the
knowledge and skills they need to attain the learning outcomes? Include teaching strategies (5)
that respond to values, beliefs, backgrounds of 3 cultural groups. (Minimum)
Read Hatseller
Act out portion of Caps for Sale
Group map activity
Whole-class map labeling activity
Telephone game
Teaching strategies
Cultural group
Background, values, beliefs, etc.
1.
2.

African American History demonstrated

through the book Hatseller and the
Monkeys
Acting out a scene from Caps for Sale

3.

Presentation of Class Agenda

4.

Map Work in Groups

5.

Woman acting as the Cap Seller

African
Americans

History is often or not included

Poor and Working

Class
Students with
Disabilities

Are emotionally expressive

Latinos and
Asians
Women

PL94-142 states that students with

disabilities are presented with
schedule of class lesson
Collectivist society and emphasis on
the group over the individual
Women have been segregated into
lower paying and traditionally
female jobs. Depicted as
submissive to dominant male culture

Closure

6.5 minutes
5 minutes
5 minutes
1-2 minutes
2-3 minutes

Total: 22 min

2 minutes
How will the material be summarized to enable students to tie the new learning together?
-

Ask questions about the stories and how they connect to ethnocentrism and cultural
consciousness.
Explain how cultural consciousness can positively impact student lives (academic, social,
family)

May include:
Modeling: How will you incorporate demonstration of knowledge and skills to your students?
Guided Practice: Checking for Understanding: What in-class activities will you use to provide guided practice and check for student
understanding? How much time will be needed?
Independent Practice: What independent assignments will help students to achieve the learning objectives? How much time will be needed?

Anna Ward
EDUC 215-01
Harris
2 May 2013
Word count: 1,648
Diversity Lesson Essay
Planning and teaching a diversity lesson helped provide me with a better understanding of the effort and
importance of being a culturally responsive teacher. A fair and equitable teacher needs to make lesson plans and
objectives that relate to all of his or her students. They also need to understand how to deliver the content in an
appropriate and unbiased way. Presenting a lesson to our class gave me wonderful practice and insight on lesson
planning and teaching to a multicultural classroom.
Our lesson addressed the issue of ethnocentrism and also integrated the concept of cultural
consciousness. We tied these ideas to a geography lesson, and explained how knowledge and information about
other regions and cultures can help prevent ethnocentrism. We used the book The Hatseller and the Monkeys
as well as Caps for Sale to show students how two stories could be almost identical, but then made different
across cultures. The lesson plan was designed to show children how ethnocentrism can occur as well as how we
can move beyond ethnocentric attitudes. Using the two different stories was one way we planned to show
students that having differences from another culture does not make one better or lesser than the other. We
explained ethnocentrism to our fifth grade students by asking them how they would feel if someone thought
they were better or more important just because of the color of their skin or the country they come from. From
there, we planned to ask students it those were things that someone could easily and quickly change. Asking
these questions helped to illustrate the unfairness of ethnocentrism as well as get students to explore how
ethnocentric attitudes could hurt them or others.
Our lesson did not stop at explaining and providing awareness about ethnocentrism. After asking
students how they would feel about someone having negative attitudes towards them, we applied some of the
possible emotions we anticipated our students to give to show how this could impact the classroom. The plan
explained that those attitudes could hurt students, causing them to dislike school or have bad relationships with
one another. Then, our lesson introduced the idea of cultural consciousness. A small way we applied cultural
consciousness was by having the students find different countries or continents on a map. Having them aware of

other countries and geography can help eliminate some ethnocentric attitudes that arise from lack of exposure or
education. Further, our plan explained that being different does not make someone more or less important;
instead of criticizing differences, students can learn about them and celebrate the uniqueness of themselves and
other students!
We had four objectives for our lesson on ethnocentrism, geography, and cultural consciousness.
Labeling the ten given regions on the map using hats at 100% proficiency was one of our lesson objectives.
Fifth grade students have already learned some world geography, so 100% proficiency should be a reasonable
goal. This objective focused more on the geography piece of the lesson instead of the diversity aspect. Working
collaboratively in groups to correctly label world regions at 100% proficiency was an objective that integrated
geography and diversity content. Students should learn from one another, help one another, and figure out how
to problem solve as a group. Our goal was to have students correctly label the map, but more importantly to
work effectively in a group through positive social interactions. Positive social interactions between students
can improve classroom environment by creating a classroom of peers and friends rather than strangers. We also
wrote an objective stating that students should be able to identify and explain aspects of ethnocentrism by
comparing the two books presented in the lesson. Ethnocentrism is a big and complex concept for fifth graders,
so we expected this objective to be completed at 90% proficiency. Our last objective declared that students
would understand how ethnocentrism can negatively impact the classroom, but that cultural consciousness can
improve the classroom environment. They could address this objective by explaining how having someone treat
them differently due to something they could not change would make them feel. Then we explained that those
feelings will hurt students in our classroom, but that learning about one anothers differences and accepting
them can help create a happy and safe place to learn.
To assess student learning, we used a number of informal methods. We assessed geography knowledge
by having students label maps in groups. Students had to show an instructor their completed map before we
could move on in our lesson. Another way we assessed student understanding of geography was by having them
label a map on the SmartBoard with members of their group. This gave us an overall picture of how students
worked together as well as if they learned the different countries and regions presented to them geographically.

After reading and acting out stories and presenting content, we informally assessed student understanding of
ethnocentrism by asking a series of questions. We asked how some ethnocentric attitudes could make others feel
as well as how it could impact friendships. Students expressed whether or not those attitudes are fair, and then
we explained how cultural consciousness could create awareness of ones own culture as well as the cultures of
those around them. This aspect of assessment could have been improved by having a more concrete set of
questions, or doing a more formal assessment. I do not feel that asking the questions adequately provided us
with a picture of student understanding about ethnocentrism and cultural consciousness.
Teaching our lesson required using multiple culturally conscious strategies to reach all of the students in
our classroom. Our lesson started by presenting an outline of the class agenda. This was done to provide
students with disabilities a class schedule which is required by PL94-142. Often times, African American
history and heritage are left out or misrepresented in curriculum. We addressed this issue by reading the book
The Hatseller and the Monkeys. Reading this book helped to include one aspect of African American heritage.
Then we had students act out a portion of the same story, but from the book Caps for Sale. We included this
activity to address students from poor or working class families who are emotionally expressive. For the acting
activity, we had a female play the role of the cap seller and explained the both men and women can have
businesses. Females have often been portrayed in lower-paying jobs for women, so this strategy was used to
show students that men and women can do a lot of the same things. The acting activity also gave students an
opportunity to interact with the content and satisfy individual cultural needs. Lastly, students worked in groups
to label maps; we allowed for group work to acknowledge the value of the group over the individual held by
Latino/a culture.
Planning and teaching this lesson gave me great ideas for my future teaching. After reflecting on
diversity teaching, I feel that it is important to have a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach. By
facing issues head on, I can provide the basic guidelines and expectations in my classroom. I can impact the
lives of my students by teaching them how to address differences and the appropriate way to talk about them. A
reactive approach can be necessary if there are more complex issues that arise during class time, but overall I
feel that waiting for something to happen would not be an activist approach to anti-biased teaching. I plan on

using different bits and pieces of diversity content throughout my varying subject areas, so that students are
comfortable and well informed from many different standpoints. We can take time daily to apply something
from the curriculum to diversity or cultures represented in our classroom. I also plan on reviewing the content,
and making needed changes to ensure that the content is appropriate and relatable to my students. All of the
students should feel that their cultural history, heritage, and values are present and correctly represented in
classroom content and activities. Lastly, I can use books addressing diversity concepts for literacy groups and
projects. That way, students are learning how to read and how to relate to one another in a respectful and
positive manner.