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Building Culture and Community in 5th Grade

Learning Module

Abstract

Though this community building project, students will be able to learn more about social-emotional attributes. They will learn about why building a strong community is important, how culture plays into different communities, and what their community needs most. They will learn, research, and plan a community event to help benefit their community. This Learning module should take the class about 8 weeks to complete.

Keywords

Community, Culture, Classrooms

Overview and Intended Outcomes

For the Student

Bielefeld, K. (2018, Aug. 5) Buidling Culture [online image] https://blog.mimio.com/how-to-build-classroom-culture-for-the-new-school-year

In these lessons, you will be creating a community project that will impact our school and community around our school. You will be discussing what other students your age have done in order to change their community.

Through discussion, research, and collaborative planning you will be learning about the importance of community. You will also be learning about the different cultures that are around our community. You will then use your collective intelligences to come up with a project in which you help our school community out.

Focus Questions:

What is community?

What does community in our classroom look like?

What is our community perspective?

How can rules shape our classroom community?

How does culture influence a community?

How can we research what our community needs the most?

Each of these focus questions will be addressed throughout the unit.  Each focus question is a different lesson, that will then be assessed at the end of the unit. 

Let’s Begin!

Comment:

What does community mean to you? Drawing on the background of your past experiences, how has your community or your classroom community helped you?

 

 

For the Teacher

Though this community building project, students will be able to learn more about social-emotional attributes. They will learn about why building a strong community is important, how culture plays into different communities, and what their community needs most. They will learn, research, and plan a community event to help benefit their community. This Learning module should take the class about 8 weeks to complete.  

The Social/Emotional ISBE standards that we will be discussing are:

Goal 2: Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships.

2A.2b. Describe the expressed feelings and perspectives of others.

2B.2a. Identify differences among and contributions of various social and cultural group

2B.2b. Demonstrate how to work effectively with those who are different from oneself.

Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

3A.2a. Demonstrate the ability to respect the rights of self and others.

3B.2a. Identify and apply the steps of systematic decision making.

3C.2b.Identify and perform roles that contribute to one’s local community.

What is community?

For the Student

Media embedded July 8, 2020

Kids Academy (2018, Dec. 28). Communities for Kids - Types of Communities | Social Studies for Kids | Kids Academy [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGC0zxgRNJQ

In her memoir, A City Year, Suzanne Goldsmith offers her own definition of the word community: "Communities are not built of friends, or of groups with similar styles and tastes, or even of people who like and understand each other. They are built of people who feel they are part of something that is bigger than themselves: a shared goal or enterprise, like righting a wrong, or building a road, or raising children, or living honorably, or worshipping a god. To build community requires only the ability to see value in others, to look at them and see a potential partner in one’s enterprise." (Goldsmith 1997)

 

Comment:

Write your own definition of community. Based on your definition, write a list of the communities to which you belong. Pick two of these communities and answer the following questions for each: What do you have in common with other members of the community? What responsibilities or obligations does membership involve? Who is not part of the community? Why?

Update: 

Define one of the communites that you are invovled in.  What makes this a community?  How do people in that community treat you? How do they treat others? 

For the Teacher

This activity builds on the first activity by:

  • distinguishing between a community and a group.
  • defining the word community.
  • identifying what makes their classroom a community.

Teacher tip:

This quote by Suzanne Goldsmith will have challenging words that students may struggle with. Help students by chunking or breaking down the definition to help them better understand

Social-Emotional Goal 1: Develop self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success.

 

1B.2b. Explain how family members, peers, school personnel, and community members can support school success and responsible behavior.

What does community in our classroom look like?

For the Student

Media embedded July 8, 2020

ATeacherReads (2017, May 11). Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlNgYno4W14

We all have the chance to make our classroom community the best it can be. Maya constantly was inviting people to play with her even though they made fun of her. Chloe also created a feeling in the classroom that even she didn’t like. We need to continue to show kindness in our classroom community in order to make everyone feel happy. We also want to make sure we are showing kindness before it is too late, just like it was too late for Chloe.

Choose one more book that will help you determine what you feel like our classroom community should look like.  

Media embedded July 8, 2020

Andreani, Lisette (2016, Jun. 20). The Recess Queen [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyXqd4CT900&feature=youtu.be

Media embedded July 8, 2020

Andreani, Lisette (2016, Jun. 18). Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-558WXi7LY&feature=youtu.be

Comment:

When is a time you felt that our classroom community was really good? What did you do to help make our classroom community better?  OR When is a time that you did not like our classroom community? What could you have done differently so our classroom community could have been better? 

Update: 

Define what your perfect classroom community would look like? What would your perfect school community look like? Would everyone be honest? Kind? open-minded?  

For the Teacher

This activity builds on the second activity by:

  • Distinguishing what the classroom community could look like
  • Defines what the classroom community does not want to be
  • Identifying a time that they liked and did not like the classroom community

Teacher tip:

There may be some students that have not typically had a good experience with a positive classroom community. Encourage those students to speak openly and discreetly. Also, encourage those students to not only think of the negative things, but think of the positive things that have happened.

Social-Emotional Goal 1: Develop self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success.

1B.2b. Explain how family members, peers, school personnel, and community members can support school success and responsible behavior.

What is our community perspective?

For the Student

Media embedded July 8, 2020

Everett, William (2013, Aug. 4). Dr Seuss' The Sneetches Full Version YouTube [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLPe7XjdKc

As you just watched in the Sneetches, we see that communities can break down if people do not feel welcomed or are told that they don't belong.  Thinking about how communities can shape the way people view the world.  These are different perspectives that people have on the world.  For example, we have a different perspective of the world, than someone who lives in China has.  

Read We and They by Rudyard Kipling.  Think about how there is an idea of in-groups and out-groups.  

We_20and_20They.pdf

Thinking about the perspective, we know that perspective is your point of view on the world.  What is your perspective? How is your perspective different than others? 

Comment: 

Identify a community to which you belong. How might your ideas be different from those of people who are not part of this community? How does being a member of this community shape the way you view those outside of your community? How do you think people from other communities view the ideas or practices of your community?

Update: 

Identify a group or a community. Next, select an object or event that represents this group’s experience. Write a paragraph describing this object or event from the perspective of a member of that group (the we perspective). Then, write another paragraph in which you describe the same object or event from the perspective of someone who is not a member of that group (the they perspective).

For the Teacher

Learning Objectives for this activity: 

  • Understanding the relationship between membership and community and will beable to identify ways in which communities define membership.
  • Defining the word perspective.
  • Considering how membership in a particular group can influence how people view those outside of that group.
  • Identifying examples of we and they distinctions in their own lives.

​

​​Teacher Tip:

You could have a discussion after listening to the sneetches. Have students think about communites that they have heard of that treat people like the sneetches do. You could also point out a particular society that you might be learning about. Talk about that society's perspective.

Social Emotional Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

3A.2b. Demonstrate knowledge of how social norms affect decision making and behavior.  

How can rules shape our classroom community?

For the Student

 

Please click on the link below: While you are on this link add a comment and answer the question: What qualities does a class have when all students are able to do their best learning? What would make the best classroom community? 

https://padlet.com/klauer3/5yx4z6op4bf7ca4c

What is the difference between rules and laws? What we have in the classroom are those rules or laws? Why do we have rules? What rules do we have? Watch this video to help give yourself a better definition of the rules and laws. 

Media embedded July 12, 2020

fat0hippo0 (2016, Sep. 9). 2747- Difference between Laws and Rules [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPZXU6W1XQg

Comment: 

What is the difference between writing the rules yourself and being told what the rules are? What role should community members have in creating the rules?

Update:

Define one of the following words: identity, community, membership, conformity, bystander, upstander, laws, customs, contract, and society. Once you have defined one of the words in your own words, please write an example of a time that you encountered that term.  

For the Teacher

Learning Objectives for this activity:

  • Developing an understanding of the relationship among laws, customs, and community cohesion.
  • Defining the terms rule, law, contract, and custom.

​​Teacher Tip:

You could have a discussion with your students about how they have created consequences to their rules.  Have students analyze how that is like having consequences when breaking the law.  Have students analyze the laws in their community and what happens when the law is broken.  

 

Social Emotional Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

3A.2b. Demonstrate knowledge of how social norms affect decision making and behavior

How does culture influence a community?

For the Student

Media embedded July 12, 2020

Master Communications (2010, May 17). If the World Were a Village of 100 People: A Story About the World's People - Trailer [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtYjUv2x65g&feature=youtu.be

Sometimes when we ony think about the people around us, we forget that there are people all over the world.  People all over the world dress, talk, and eat differently than we do.  We need to think about all cultures when we are looking at building an appropriate classroom culture.  

Media embedded July 27, 2020

Story Time with Miss Evelyn (2020 Mar. 27). What We Wear Dressing Up Around The World [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A88SFRwPqt4

What is culture? Culture is the beliefs, customs , arts of a particular society, group. place, or time.  Look with me at these cultures.  Below is a video of New York City's Chinese Culture.  

Media embedded July 12, 2020

Strictly Dumpling (2016 Oct. 23). New York City Chinatown Tour Part 1! BROOKLYN 8th Ave Chinatown [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8Ni3L3c4Y&feature=youtu.be

This video looks at New York City's Chinese culture and their Italian culture. 

Media embedded July 12, 2020

Travelocity (2013 Jun. 5). Little Italy and Chinatown | New York City | Let's Roam [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIaGogA4Zus&feature=youtu.be

Comment: 

How does culture shape or impact the different communities?  How does the culture outside of school impact our classroom community? 

Update: 

Identify what the culture is outside of our school?  What do we wear, eat, or believe?  OR have you ever been somewhere with a culture different from ours?  What was it like? What was different? What was the same? 

 

For the Teacher

Learning Objectives for this activity:

  • Determining how culture influences a community.
  • Defining the culture around our school and around the world. 

​​Teacher Tip:

You could definitely make these lessons a little more surrounding the cultures that are around your school. I would highly suggest making sure you do talk about other cultures in other countries to really help students think critically about what is the same and different in cultures.

 

Social Emotional Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

3A.2b. Demonstrate knowledge of how social norms affect decision making and behavior

What characteristics should our classroom community reflect?

 

 

For the Student

What is the value of our classroom? What does value even mean? Watch the video below to see if you can determine what value means.

Media embedded July 13, 2020

Brightly Storytime (2019, Jan. 9). All Are Welcome - Read Aloud Picture Book | Brightly Storytime [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/mwS3FOn4-Ow

So what is Value? Value is something that has desired or esteemed characteristics or qualities. Our words and actions say what we value.

All communities have different values. Just watch the first few minutes of this video. While watching it I want you to think about:

  • What does our community value?
  • What do other communities value?
  • What does this community value?
  • How is it the same and different from what we value?

 

Media embedded July 13, 2020

GlobeTrotterAlpha (2016 Sep. 28). MANHATTAN | NEW YORK CITY - NY , UNITED STATES - A TRAVEL TOUR - UHD 4K [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjU_x1106pg

Comment: 

What is something that is important to you? What do you value? How can your actions show that? 

Update: 

What values would you like to see in our community?  Have you seen these values before in our classroom community? Outside of school community?  What did that look like when you saw those values?  

For the Teacher

Learning Objectives for this activity:

  • Determining how our values influence our community.
  • Defining our values and our communities values.

​​Teacher Tip:

You might want to give students a list of positive values. It will be easier for students then to start coming up with their own.  You could also work with the students on a list of your own and have a classroom list.  

Social Emotional Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

3A.2b. Demonstrate knowledge of how social norms affect decision making and behavior

3C.2b.Identify and perform roles that contribute to one’s local community.

Survey: What should our classroom community look like?

For the Student

Think about what you would want our classroom to look like.  How do you feel it is going? What could we work on.  Please take the survey then respond to the comment and create a new update.  

 

Comment: 

What do you love about our classroom community?  Who or what are you most grateful for in our school community? 

Update:

Identify one the values we have in our classroom community. Define it in your own words and give an example of a time you saw someone showing that value.  

For the Teacher

This survey will help you get a sense of how your students really feel about your classroom community and outside of school community.  This will help you be able to determine if there is something going on with your students that you were not aware of.  This will also help you determine the great things you are doing in your classroom. The things the students are proud of in your classroom community.  Finally, this will help you figure out what your students value most so you can bring more learning situations to them.  

Survey Results: Go to the Survey Tool in Publisher. Then go to Find a Survey => Already Distributed Surveys => Results.

Teacher Tip:

Students might be a little apprehensive at being honest when it comes to this survey. Make sure that students feel comfortable that they will not be in trouble if they want to change something about our classroom.  You could also make students feel secure in letting them know only you will see the survey.  

Social Emotional Goal 2: Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships.

2A.2a. Identify verbal, physical, and situational cues that indicate how others may feel.

Project Plan and Draft

For the Student

Project name: Our Classroom Community Contract

Description:

We are going to work together in order to make a classroom contract.  We will begin by creating your own, then we will condense everyone's into one classroom contract. You need to give me 5 paragraphs about what you think we should have in our classroom contract.  Describe what you feel like our classroom should look like, what values should we hold highest in our classroom, and if we change our classroom community how can that help others outside of our classroom change.  

Check the Work Request in your Notifications. Click on this link to open the “Untitled Work” in Creator. Then, change the title, and begin a first draft. Go to About This Work => Project => Description for further project information.

For what you need to do in order to write a good informative/explanatory text, go to Feedback => Reviews => Rubric. Keep the Rubric open and refer to it as you write.

When you are ready to submit, click “Submit Draft” below the work. This is the version of your work that will be sent to others for review.

Comment:

What questions do you have about submitting your work on Scholar?  

For the Teacher

Assigning the project to the students at this stage is important to set clear expectations, and also so students understand how the activities that follow will support them.

As students begin to draft their work, encourage them to use the Structure tool to organize some of the key ideas they have gathered from the reading and inferring activities. The Structure tool supports students at making sure they have the 5 different paragraphs or parts of the project. 

Students should also refer to the rubric as a guide as they write in Creator. If necessary, look through the rubric with students.

For first time users of Scholar, the following Overt Instruction Updates from the Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing in the New Media may be useful to add to Community:

  • How to Write in Scholar
  • Using the Rubric and Checker
  • Planning Using the Structure Tool

Rubric: 

Social Emotional Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

3A.2a. Demonstrate the ability to respect the rights of self and others.

3A.2b. Demonstrate knowledge of how social norms affect decision making and behavior.

Assessment of our Community

For the Student

Think about our classroom since we have been learning this whole time about Classroom Culture.  I want you to fill out the Classroom Culture Evaluation Survey.  Please be honest! It is ok if things are still not the best.  We will know that these are things that we can work on together.  

Bielefeld, K. (2018, Aug. 5) Buidling Culture [online image] https://blog.mimio.com/how-to-build-classroom-culture-for-the-new-school-year

Comment: 

What is one thing that you learned from this project?  What is one thing that has changed in our classroom culture that you are proud of?

 

For the Teacher

This evaluation will help you determine whether the students feel that the classroom culture really has changed.  You will be able to determine what the classroom has done well and what they still need to work on.  

Survey Results: Go to the Survey Tool in Publisher. Then go to Find a Survey => Already Distributed Surveys => Results.

In this survey you should be looking for how students truly feel about the classroom culture. Look for ways that your classroom culture could do better and how to fix those.  Look for ways that your classroom culture is doing well and figure out what makes that work so well.  Then keep it so studetns are feeling comfortable.  

Teacher Tip:

Be honest with the students about the results. This will only help students work on the parts that had the lowest score.  Make sure that you, as well as your students, are takings this evaluation more than once so that way you can determine if you have started lacking in one of the parts or not.  

Social Emotional Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

3A.2a. Demonstrate the ability to respect the rights of self and others.

3A.2b. Demonstrate knowledge of how social norms affect decision making and behavior.

 

References

Andreani, Lisette (2016, Jun. 20). The Recess Queen [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyXqd4CT900&feature=youtu.be

Andreani, Lisette (2016, Jun. 18). Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon  [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-558WXi7LY&feature=youtu.be

ATeacherReads (2017, May 11). Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlNgYno4W14

Bielefeld, K. (2018, Aug. 5) Buidling Culture [online image] https://blog.mimio.com/how-to-build-classroom-culture-for-the-new-school-year

Brightly Storytime (2019, Jan. 9). All Are Welcome - Read Aloud Picture Book | Brightly Storytime [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/mwS3FOn4-Ow

Everett, William (2013, Aug. 4). Dr Seuss' The Sneetches Full Version YouTube [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLPe7XjdKc

fat0hippo0 (2016, Sep. 9). 2747- Difference between Laws and Rules [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPZXU6W1XQg

GlobeTrotterAlpha (2016  Sep. 28). MANHATTAN | NEW YORK CITY - NY , UNITED STATES - A TRAVEL TOUR - UHD 4K [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjU_x1106pg

Goldsmith, S. (1997). A city year: On the streets and in the neighbourhoods with twelve young community voluteers. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

ISBE. (n.d.). SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL LEARNING STANDARDS. Retrieved July 17, 2020, from https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Social-Emotional-Learning-Standards.aspx

Kids Academy (2018, Dec. 28). Communities for Kids - Types of Communities | Social Studies for Kids | Kids Academy  [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGC0zxgRNJQ

Master Communications (2010, May 17). If the World Were a Village of 100 People: A Story About the World's People - Trailer [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtYjUv2x65g&feature=youtu.be

Story Time with Miss Evelyn (2020 Mar. 27). What We Wear Dressing Up Around The World [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A88SFRwPqt4

Strictly Dumpling (2016 Oct. 23). New York City Chinatown Tour Part 1! BROOKLYN 8th Ave Chinatown [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8Ni3L3c4Y&feature=youtu.be

Travelocity (2013 Jun. 5). Little Italy and Chinatown | New York City | Let's Roam [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIaGogA4Zus&feature=youtu.be