Multicultural Lesson for English (Literature) Target grade level: 5th grade Goal: To achieve a lifelong appreciation of reading multicultural literature among the various ethnic groups. Objectives: · Students will be able to activate prior knowledge and expand their prior understanding about each ethnic group. · Students will be able to decorate a book/cultural box containing 3 to 5 objects or pictures relating to the culture. · Students will be able to recognize and identify the many traditions in each ethnic group. · Students refine their knowledge of the topic, which introduced to some key vocabulary words and developed a purpose for reading. Procedure: Teacher will present students with five overheads with the list of words relating to the ethnic groups: Hispanic American, Asian American, African American, Native- American, and Jewish American. With the list of words relating to each group, the teacher will read each word and students will have to identify words on the list that relate to each ethnic group, as well as those that do not relate. Once students have activated their prior knowledge relating to each ethnic group students will be divided up into five groups. The teacher will then explain to the students that they will be given a book that represents an ethnic group. As the teacher passes out the books she will tell each group quietly without telling the whole class which ethnic group their book relates to. Here are the following books: Hispanic American Going Home by Eve Bunting African American Faraway Drums by Virginia Krull Native American Grandmother Five Baskets by Lisa Larrabee Jewish-American Marven of the Great North Woods by Kathryn Lasky Asian American A carp for Kiniko by Virginia Krull Once the teacher has divided the class into groups and passed out the books she will explain to the class they will have about 20-25 minutes to read the book in their group. The teacher will pass out the transparency of words relating to the groups ethnic group, which they're reading about. Have the students read the assignment, noticing weather words in from the prior activity are mentioned. After reading, have students check their brainstorming list and make corrections based on their reading. They will put check marks by related words and cross out unrelated words, regardless of whether they circled them earlier or not. After groups are finished reading the book teacher will have each student make a list of words of the most important objects mentioned in the book. Once each student has made a list, the teacher will give each student a small box and then they will decorate it with the name of their book as well as the ethnic group and related pictures and words. The teacher will show example of a book box to give the class an idea, the will not use an ethnic group which the children will be making because the students should be creative in making their book boxes. The teacher will then give each student crafty art supplies, so they can make and place 3 to 5 objects and pictures in the box relating to the book, as well as the ethnic group. While students are making their book boxes, they may place an inventory sheet in the box with all the items listed an explanation of why the items were selected. Once the students are all done with their book boxes, have students present and share by presenting to the class what they made relating to the book. Closure: Have students write in they're journals about what they learned from this assignment and how they can incorporate it in their own personal lives.