Kindergarten

Social Studies

Unit: 07 Lesson: 02

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 SkillsTEKS:

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)3B

Key Understandings and Guiding Questions:
  • Las celebraciones, las costumbres y las tradiciones nos definencomo comunidad.

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

—¿Por qué algunas personas de nuestra comunidad participanen celebraciones?

Vocabulary of Instruction:

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Kindergarten

Social Studies

Unit: 07 Lesson: 02

  • comunidad
  • celebración
  • símbolo
  • festival
  • desfile
  • bandera
  • voto
  • valor

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Grade/Course

Social Studies

Unit: Lesson:

Materials:

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Grade/Course

Social Studies

Unit: Lesson:

  • Refer to the Notes for Teacher section for materials.

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Kindergarten

Social Studies

Unit: 07 Lesson: 02

Attachments:

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Kindergarten

Social Studies

Unit: 07 Lesson: 02

  • Teacher Resource: Decision Making Process Possible Questions
  • Teacher Resource: Brainstorming Web

©2012, TESCCC 04/22/13page 1 of 10

Kindergarten

Social Studies

Unit: 07 Lesson: 02

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:

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Kindergarten

Social Studies

Unit: 07 Lesson: 02

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 Flagof 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

©2012, TESCCC 04/22/13page 1 of 10

Kindergarten

Social Studies

Unit: 07 Lesson: 02

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.

©2012, TESCCC 04/22/13page 1 of 10

Kindergarten

Social Studies

Unit: 07 Lesson: 02

Instructional Procedures
Instructional Procedures / Notes for Teacher
ENGAGE– Celebrations in local communities / NOTE: 1 Day = 30 minutes
Suggested Day 1–5 minutes
  1. Display the Teacher Resource: Celebrations Matrix created in the Lesson 1.
  1. Read aloud the list of celebrations.
  1. Recall the idea that people celebrate what is important to them, and that the things that people celebrate reflect who they are. Tie discussion to ways people are alike and different.
/ Materials:
  • Teacher Resource: Celebrations Matrix(that wascreated in Lesson 1)
Purpose:
Focus on celebrations in local communities.
TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B
EXPLORE –What do local communities celebrate? / Suggested Day 1 (continued) –10 minutes
  1. Show students pictures, websites, or advertisements from various celebrations in local communities around Texas.
  1. Facilitate a discussion where students talk about each picture. Ask questions such as the following:
  • Why do you think the people in this community celebrate this?For example: Why do people in Round Rock celebrate Frontier Days?(This celebration focuses on the history of the community. Sometimes people celebrate their cultural heritage. People in Fredericksburg 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 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 coast, for example, the community celebrates its uniqueness like Lakefest, Buccaneer Days.)
  • What kind of celebration is being depicted?(festival, parade, fair)
  • What are people celebrating? (jalapeños, mosquitoes, strawberries, art, music, cultural heritage, water, etc.)
  • Can you tell from the picture, website, or advertisement what music might have been played at this celebration?(Take clues from pictures: German music, Spanish music, Indian music, Country music, etc.)
  • What kind of clothes are people wearing at this celebration?(People might be dressed in traditional clothes of their cultural background)
  • What kind of food might be eaten at this celebration?(Indian food, German food, Mexican food, etc.)
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
/ Materials:
  • Pictures, advertisements, and other items obtained from local community celebrations
Purpose:
Provide more information about local community celebrations as examples in order for students to have an abundance of information from which to draw ideas.
TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B
Instructional Note:
  • An Internet search of various community celebrations can be conducted to find pictures. A slide show of these online pictures would be an alternative to showing actual pictures or advertisements, which might be more difficult to obtain. Showing actual websites with music would be a way in which students could experience samples of music at various celebrations.
  • Post pictures and advertisements in the classroom
  • If desired, use a visual analysis strategy to help students build social studies skills.

EXPLAIN – Review and summarize / Suggested Day 1 (continued) –5 minutes
  1. Display the pictures discussed in the Explore section above.
  1. 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 _____.
  1. Teacher circulates, listening to student statements.

EXPLORE – What should we celebrate? / Suggested Day 1 (continued) –10 minutes
  1. Introduce the idea of celebrations for the school or community.
  • What are some things that are important to this school/community?
  1. Explain that for this lesson, students will be planning a new celebration for the school community and that they will present their proposal to the school principal. This new celebration could focus on the school or community’s cultural heritage, a holiday not previously (or not recently) celebrated in the school and/or communityor other idea of value to the school/community.
  1. Assign students to small groups.
  1. 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.)
  1. 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.
/ Materials:
  • paper, drawing paper
Purpose:
Apply the idea that celebrations reflect what is important or of value to the community. Students brainstorm ideas for a new celebration that would be beneficial to the school community.
TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B
EXPLAIN – A good idea / Suggested Day 2–5 minutes
  1. 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
  1. In a very brief discussion, introduce the idea of making decisions.
  • What is a decision?(responses may vary)
  1. After students briefly respond to the question, provide an academic definition using words such as:
  • A decision is a choice you make about something after thinking about it.
  1. Allow students to apply learning to their lives by asking questions such as:
  • What decisions do you make every day?)
  • When you make a decision, how do you decide on one thing instead of another?
  • Are decisions always easy to make or are they sometimes difficult to make? Why?
  1. Pose different scenarios to help students understand this question and realize that all decisions are not easy to make.For example:
  • 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.)
  1. After each scenario ask:
  • Is this an easy decision or a difficult decision?Why?
  1. 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.
/ Purpose:
Understand the meaning of the word decision and how the decisions we make shape our lives every day.
TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B
Instructional Note:
Learning to make decisions is an essential step toward independent behavior in children. In teaching the steps involved in decision making and providing guided practice in making decision allows children to learn this skill in a safe environment. This allows children to objectively look at the process and remove the emotion that sometimes clouds decision making ability. As they become more confident in the process they will begin to apply the skill in their everyday life.
EXPLORE – Five steps of decision making / Suggested Day 2(continued)–15minutes
  1. Introduce the 5-step decision-making process. (See instructional note re: TEKS K.16B.) Use the task of choosing a celebration as a way to apply the 5-step decision making process. (If desired, use the Teacher Resource: Decision Making Process Possible Questions )
  1. Say or paraphrase the steps in the decision-making process
  • Step one: we need to make a decision about a new celebration we think should be planned
  • Step two: we have learned about celebrations so we have background information we may need.
  • 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 our school community
  • Step five: we need to create and implement a plan to make the celebration a reality and reflect on it when we are finished.
  1. Use the Teacher Resource: Brainstorming Web to organize ideas from Day 1on chart paper. Groups from previous day share the list of possible school community celebrations.Add ideas and details from the students’ descriptions of the celebrations they discussed to the web.
  1. Next, small groups reconvene to discuss brainstorming ideas, which ideas they like best and why.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.)
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
/ Attachments:
  • Teacher Resource: Decision Making Process Possible Questions
  • Teacher Resource: Brainstorming Web
Purpose:
Use the 5-step decision making process to choose a celebration to plan and implement.
TEKS: K11A; K.14 A; K.14B
Instructional Note:
  • Five Step Decision Making Process (K.16B):
  1. identify a situation that requires a decision,
  2. gather information,
  3. identify and generate options,
  4. predict consequences, and
  5. take action to implement a decision and reflect on the effectiveness of that decision.
  • Voting methods that could be used include secret ballot, voice vote, raising hands, choosing the three top choices and then ranking them.
  • As an extension, graphs could be created to organize the information collected about kinds of music, clothing, and food used to celebrate by families of the students in the classroom.

EXPLAIN / Suggested Day 2 (continued) –5 minutes
  1. 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
  1. On chart paper, write the name or idea for the celebration chosen by students. Elaborate on the idea by encouraging students to explain:
  • What will we celebrate?
  • Why is this important to our school/community?
  1. Explain that the next step in the process is to complete a plan. Things that need to be decided are:
  • The name of the celebration(such as the Mosquito Festival or the Pear Fair)
  • What will the slogan or symbol of the celebration be?
  • Who will the audience be (the whole school or one grade level?)
  • What format will the celebration be? A parade, a festival, a carnival?
  • What activities will be provided?
  • When it is to be held?
  • 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?
/ Materials:
  • chart paper
Instructional Note:
Each individual teacher will decide the scope and size of the celebration. If a large school-wide celebration seems overwhelming, plan one for the kindergarten classes only. Keep in mind that the end result should look like kindergartners planned it. The most important aspect of this lesson is to teach the decision making process in the context of planning a celebration. It is essential to use the details found in the TEKS (K.11A & K.11B) to plan the celebration. Students will benefit from working together in cooperative groups during the process. The process is as important as the actual celebration.